Google Analytics or another website stats program

Is it better to use Google Analytics or another website stats program?

One of the big questions that site owners ask us about is what website stats program they should use to help assess and analyze the performance of their affiliate websites. Usually, the question comes down to this — should they choose to use Google Analytics or another website stats program? Our simplest answer is – it’s a matter of preference, budget and a matter what your site structure and goals are.

First and foremost, Google analytics is free. Google analytics can also tie in to other Google programs like Google AdSense and Google AdWords, so you can have a nice neat package with different programs that seamlessly coordinate with each other for a more holistic view of your site performance. Google Analytics provides a wide range of stats and info. about your site and site traffic including conversion rates, time visitors spend on your site, traffic sources and more. For many site owners, Google Analytics is a solution that meets all of their needs and is easy to use.

On the other hand, there are many different stats programs on the market that provide much of the same data that Google Analytics does and some that offer more and different data. There are site owners that prefer other programs to Google Analytics because they think it’s more user friendly, it gives them more useful information tailored to what they want or they are already comfortable using another program.

Some website stats programs offer real-time analysis, which Google Analytics does not. So, if you want real-time data, there are a variety of website stats programs to choose from. There are even services like ShinyStat offer a visual, real-time analysis of video and multi-media content that you have on your site. Track this data to see how your site visitors are viewing your multi-media content to help refine your efforts for better results.

Many of these website stats programs are either paid services or have a free version that is limited, with a full version available for purchase. If you have a smaller site, then a free version may be enough to serve your purposes. If you have a larger site with a relatively high volume of traffic, however, you will most likely need to opt for a paid version of a website stats program. Having said that, the fees can be affordable, particularly when you consider how much valuable information you’ll be receiving. For example, StatCounter pricing starts at only $5 per month and goes up from there, based upon your monthly page hits volume.

In the end, you don’t actually need to CHOOSE between a Google Analytics and another website stats program. In fact, you can use two programs to compliment each other. If there are things about Google Analytics that you like but there is data missing that you’d like to see, then you can use Google Analytics for some stats and use another website stats program for the additional features that you like.

The MediaPlexa coaches are available to provide consultation about what stats solutions may be the best match for your affiliates websites and individual needs.