Web+Analytics

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=What Are Web Analytics?= Web analytics are the gathering of data related to internet usage. The data gathered can come in a myriad of different types of information. Many times the information is gathered by adding what is called a cookie to the computer that was used to access the website. This little bit of code left on the machine can be used to determine if this is a first or return visit to the site.

Using cookies has both pros and cons. Some see cookies as invasive and choose to block their usage. This can lead to inaccurate data being returned as to how many unique visits there are to a site. Another drawback to the use of cookies is that some sites are written to only work if cookies are enabled which can restrict traffic to the site. The positive aspect of the usage of cookies is that they can be used to gather data related to the initial visit to a site. And they can then be updated on subsequent visits to build valuable bits of data about site usage. Web analytics information can be simple in that it can gather basis statistics of how often a particular site or piece of information is accessed. For instance, YouTube gathers information based on how many times a particular video is viewed.

The information can be extremely detailed as well. Sites can gather information that tells them how many new visitors they have versus how many return visitors they received. They can also gather specific information about individual users such as what page they entered the site on, what pattern of clicking did they use to navigate the site, what pages viewed resulted in product sales, and what page were they viewing when they left the site. A Google search on “Web Analytic Tools” will return scores of tools that can be purchased, as well as open source solutions that can be utilized to gather the desired web usage data.

Usages
Data gathered can be used for various purposes also, but one of the biggest for an individual site is to see how effective the site is at bringing in, and maintaining traffic to the site. Web analytics can be used in various ways for instance the YouTube example above. Another usage for web analytic data is for search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and others. Search engines compile internet data about keyword searches to enable them to continually refine their search results. This allows them to return results in order of most likely to least likely matches for the keywords entered to perform the search. Web analytics are used many times to make decisions. The data gathered by web analytics tools are used in marketing to evaluate if new products or promotions are driving more traffic and sales within the site.

=Who uses web analytics?= Web Browsers and search engines as mentioned above use the information to hone and refine search results. Site designers and managers use the data to determine site design, such as what features to include or exclude. What content to update, and what content is no longer relevant or being accessed. Sites such as Amazon use analytic data gathered when you log in to your account to keep track of items tha you have viewed and purchased. This is how they are able to include information when you visit that says, “Customers who viewed this product also viewed. . .” They also gather information in site users reviews of products to drive which products are advertised the most heavily. They use sales data and product reviews to add and remove products that they offer. Web analytics can be used by researchers to gather data about web usage. If there is a piece of information that you desire about anything on the web there is most likely and analytical tool to help gather the data.

Broader impact for technical communication professionals
Web analytics data can be a valuable resource for technical communication professionals. Technical communication professionals can utilize the data gathered in web analytic tools to drive marketing decisions. Data is used to see what web design is functional, and can provide feedback on what features are of value and how their sites are being used. Where documents are incorporated into websites the information on how frequently documents are accessed can help drive decisions on what new information should be included. Web analytic tools can gather user information not only in behind the scenes ways such as tracking pages visited, but can also help the technical communicator by compiling user interaction data entered in forms, comments, reviews, etc. Web analytic reports are highly customizable and can gather very specific data that the technical communicator might find valuable.

=Related information/resources= 10 Cool Things you can do with Index Tools: [] Site Analytics Data Definitions: [] Web Site Analytics Resources: []