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Google Analytics - How Accurate is it?

Discussion in 'Google' started by matt-, Oct 4, 2007.

  1. #1
    Hey all,

    I've been using analytics for 6 months, and thought all was well and good. However i've recently started looking at my AwStats data too, and the two are reporting completely different things.

    Analytics is saying that the site receives 30-45 visitors a day, but awstats says 90-150 visitors a day. They also go completely opposite directions on some days, i.e. Analytics is high, Awstats is low.

    Based on the fact that Awstats uses apache logs, and Analytics uses a JS Widget, im wondering if Analytics is the less accurate of the two?

    My other theory is that perhaps Awstats doesn't filter spider traffic.

    All still seems weird though, whats your thoughts on it?
     
    matt-, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  2. usasportstraining

    usasportstraining Notable Member

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    #2
    I think there's delays, at least for Google Analytics that could contribute to the differences.

    Also, Google Analytics uses java script, which can be blocked by browsers, thus throwing off your results.

    The best thing you could do is go to your server logs and compare them with Awstats and Google Analytics. It would give you the best idea as to which is most accurate.
     
    usasportstraining, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  3. bomberman

    bomberman Peon

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    #3
    Try statcounter and then compare the result of Google Analytics, Statcounter and Awstats. There, you can find if Google Analytics is accurate or not.
     
    bomberman, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  4. trichnosis

    trichnosis Prominent Member

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    #4
    in my opinion, analitics gives better results but it's allways better to compare with the others
     
    trichnosis, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  5. Mike Taylor

    Mike Taylor Peon

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    #5
    I was wondering the same thing...sometimes I see different stats on Adwords and Analytics for the same day.
     
    Mike Taylor, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  6. corlock

    corlock Banned

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    #6
    stat tool has their own algo of obtaining data and obviously, shows different informations. its up to you what tool you will focused on. but its all useful.
     
    corlock, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  7. terminator69

    terminator69 Notable Member

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    #7
    What is the bounce rate? and also how often are stats updated? sorry if this is off topic, perhaps i should create my own thread.
     
    terminator69, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  8. ronald.allan.mojica

    ronald.allan.mojica Peon

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    #8
    Bounce rate is The percentage of web site visitors who arrive at a web site entry page, then leave without going any deeper into the site.

    why compare analytics to others? just asking?
     
    ronald.allan.mojica, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  9. usasportstraining

    usasportstraining Notable Member

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    #9
    Ronald is right on the bounce rate.

    The best place to look for actual hits is your server logs. You may have the ability to run some stats from your server, but these tools tend to be server resource hogs and may not be allowed by your hosting company.
     
    usasportstraining, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  10. PhilSF

    PhilSF Peon

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    #10
    Yeah, logs are the best resource here.
    I don't usually look them, though, I use Analytics 'cause I like its detailed results and charts
     
    PhilSF, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  11. Pixelrage

    Pixelrage Peon

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    #11
    Analytics may not be counting the hits that come from your IP address.
     
    Pixelrage, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  12. gostats

    gostats Peon

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    #12
    GoStats.com can help you here. GoStats uses both js and an image to count your traffic. Further, GoStats can breakdown your traffic on to some extra levels so that you can see what is really being counted as a visitor. (like IP, cookie session, page views, returning visitors, etc..)

    -Also, you may want to check how your time zones are seutp, if they are not the same, you may find that the hits per day might not be comparable.

    -Also, make sure that your tracker is installed on each page
    -Oh and yes, awstats can get confused from much non-standard "bot" traffic.
     
    gostats, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  13. usasportstraining

    usasportstraining Notable Member

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    #13
    Ooh, that's a good point! I've never heard of GoStats before. Thanks for mentioning it.
     
    usasportstraining, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  14. SteveAR

    SteveAR Well-Known Member

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    #14
    analytics is the better one for sure. although its not completely accurate it give a lot more details.
     
    SteveAR, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  15. Deano

    Deano Sail away with me.

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    #15
    Analytics undercounts: some people have javascript disabled
    Awstats I feel over counts: counts robots, perhaps?
     
    Deano, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  16. gostats

    gostats Peon

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    #16
    Yes. And as I mentioned previously, GoStats.com is your in between solution since it uses both js and hard images to get an accurate reading of real visitors.
     
    gostats, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  17. story97

    story97 Peon

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    #17
    For many reasons analytics is inaccurate. and so is any other tracking that you put a snippet of code in to track.

    awstats, properly configured, using a couple plugins is by far better. it's not even comparable.

    and it's free too
     
    story97, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  18. charter

    charter Guest

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    #18
    Is there a way to see earnings on more than just the 200 channels that Google provides? I got adspytracker from Callen but I suspect google analytics would have been just as good as that.
     
    charter, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  19. vpguy

    vpguy Guest

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    #19
    I prefer Analytics because it filters out the bots that are scraping your site. You might be inadvertently filtering out the small percentage of people who don't have javascript disabled, but that's hardly worth worrying about.

    If you want the bots to be included in your stats then you should use awstats, otherwise use Analytics if you're interested in the number of humans that are visiting your site (the latter being a far more valuable statistic, in my opinion).

    Of course, if the "bot" is actually a script kiddie's version which uses IE to scrape sites, then visits from such bots will most likely be included in Analytics' stats, but the majority of bots will be filtered out. Another nice thing about Analytics is that you can filter out your own traffic too if you are testing something.
     
    vpguy, Oct 4, 2007 IP
  20. tushardhoot1

    tushardhoot1 Active Member

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    #20
    I don't know why, but my analytics are always different from other trackers....

    I'm always wondering which one is right and which one is wrong.
     
    tushardhoot1, Oct 4, 2007 IP