Measuring Web Site Traffic - May 2000
By Jim Norris

Your web site is looking good and visitors are appearing every day. But do you know anything about them or where they came from. To formulate a promotional plan to increase traffic, you have to analyze your traffic using one of the many tools available.

   When people visit your site, they leave behind a trail of information essential to your promotional planning: Once analyzed it can reveal the following details: hits, page visits or visitors by day, week, month or year, visits to individual pages, time per visit, type of browser, operating system, monitor colour depth and resolution, country, language, browser set-up for plug-ins, java, javascript and cookies, referring URLs, domains, search engines and top key words used in search engines.This wealth of information is not only useful for your promotional campaigns but also the design of your site and possibly the selection of product sold through your site.

   There are three main methods of gathering and analyzing information about your site traffic:

   (1) Obtain the log files from the server where your web site resides and use desktop software to analyze these files once they are downloaded. Two excellent programs for this are WebTrends (www.webtrends.com) and FastStats (www.mach5.com/fast) These programs offer the greatest amount of information and beautiful graphs but they are relatively expensive and the log files become huge, running into hundreds of megabytes for busy sites.

   (2) You can run a script on your server which will analyze the server's log files or will generate their own log files with some code inserted into your web pages. The scripts are free or inexpensive but you will require a knowledge or Perl programming language or you will have to find a helper who does. A variety of scripts can be found at www.scriptsearch.com.

   (3) There are several outside services that offer software running on their servers that you can access with an ID and password using your browser. They require code insert in your pages and do not make use of your server's log files. Some are free but have limited information and require a banner to appear on your pages. To have more extensive analysis and no banner on your pages you will pay a small monthly fee. Check out Extreme Tracking (www.extreme-dm.com), Web Site Traffic Report (www.websitetrafficreport.com), Web Stat (www.web-stat.com), Web Site Tracker (www.websitetracker.com), Super Stats (www.superstats.com) and Free Stats (www.freestats.com). These services offer the most in convenience and take little time to set up.

Resources

• Allen & Heath has constructed a dedicated site for its ML5000 sound reinforcement console. Included are product features and an online zoom tool to allow visitors to focus on any area of the front or back panels. Visit the site at www.ml5000.com.
• Audiotrack Watermark Solutions Corp. has announced the AudioTrack Adaptive Watermark which they call a major breakthrough in audio watermarking technology. According to CEO Stuart Rosove, "The product is designed to adapt perfectly to the unique characteristics of each audio product it's applied to, as well as to characteristics of the playback application and environment." Visit their site at www.audiotrack.com.
• The Shure website has been re-launched with improved graphics, better organization and new features. The site now features improved improved navigation, expanded artist section, Shure Logo Wear and up to date news. Drop by at www.shure.com.
• CDstreet.com has expanded and is now representing artists outside of the U.S.A. Code can be added t a band website to enable the site to market globally using Cdstreet.com's secure credit card transaction software. Contact CDstreet.com at www.cdstreet.com or (214) 757-7900.
• Radio Free Khyber is a Canadian based Internet radio station featuring indie artists. The station is always looking for new Canadian indie talent. Contact them at www.kpentertainment.com or (780) 425-2345.
• Music Books Plus has greatly expanded their catalogue and now features online over 3,000 books, videos and CD-ROMs on music, recording, audio, songwriting, MIDI, multimedia and the Internet. You can join the electronic newsletter or request a printed catalogue online at www.musicboooksplus.com.
• If you are planning to visit North By Northeast in Toronto In June, drop by their website at www.nxne.com. You can register online and find information on the Conference, the bands and venues for the showcases. Also included is information for volunteer and marketing opportunities.
• Norris-Whitney Communications operates The Music & Audio Connection, the international on-line resource for music enthusiasts, musicians, music and audio professionals. Included are classified ads, products for sale, company showcases, discussion forums, associations, music education, music & audio resources, career information and file libraries. Updates to the site are available by e-mail or on The Pointcast Network. Visit at musicandaudio.com. For more information, e-mail to Fax (905) 641-1648 or call (905) 641-3471.