I'm a shareware author, which means my the potential customers can download and try the software i developed. I posted some original articles introducing my software and got some links. Now I want to track where people come from and if he download the software. also I want to know where the purchased customers know about my software? Is it possible?
Yeah. To track visitors there are many tools like analytics,webalizer etc. To track downloads use php scripts,there are many free download managers
From my point of view there are two options: Before they download the product give them to fill a quick form including the deatils you wich to collect you can rewards them with a extra free product for filling the form. Embed call home in you software that activate the trial version this can help collect the data.
dave, thanks for your reply. I know I can put a form before they download. but is there any other technical methods can track that?
Use a download manager like Joomla's remository. That will tell you exactly how many times it is downloaded without making them fill out any forms.
Google analytics could perhaps be ok. Also, it shouldn't be too difficult to create your own system if you know a bit of PHP/SQL You can create a survey and ask them (also ask for feedback about suggestions and perhaps something like "why you bought my product" to get better understanding about your benefits.
Use statistic programs like statcounter or google analytics(not sure about the last one) but statcounter enables you to click on specific user and track its path all over your page, this means, you can see where did he come from, what file did he download and etc. This means that you can get the information about where did they come from without asking them