Hi there, Hope I have put this in the right category I have launched a number of new sites (WP on my own domains) - I have the hosting from Hostgator and like a lot of newbies I check traffic figures every day - but there is a real difference between the number of visits Hostgator says I have and what Google Analytics say have visited - which figure would be more accurate do you think? Also can backlinks work with these type of sites - they are niche sites mostly, written on WP - I ping etc but am looking for something a little more sustainable. Thanks for any advice Lisa
Not sure about the discrepancies you are seeing between Google and HostGator, but backlinks should be helpful. Consider using Angela's Backlinks or another provider that will include many high PR sites.
Are you using AWStats to check your stats in HGs CP? And are those numbers higher than your GA numbers? I may be wrong, but it's my understanding that awstats tracks every bot in creation, so that will skew your numbers. GA is a little more selective in what it tracks, and those number are probably a bit more accurate. And another thing that throws in a monkey wrench. If I remember correctly, GA will track your own visits to your site. I use GA and StatCounter and usually just average the numbers between the two.
Thank you - I presume it is the AW Stats that I am using in HG - yes in cpanel and they are higher than the GA numbers - I will hunt out what this StatCounter is (thank you for the tip) and go from there - which figures would be best used for proof of traffic to a site you are selling do you think?
Click statistics that are not heavily filtered heavily don't mean much, virtually all your traffic could be crawlers of one sort or another. You should concentrate on your referral statistics, there should be a module where you can see how much actual search traffic you are getting. These are probably your only real human visitors. You want to see what search engines are sending you traffic and on what search terms, this is useful information to see if the site has any traction.
Google Analytics is not accurate when it comes to numbers. I've been using it for years now but I wouldn't touch the thing to calculate numbers with it.
There is a difference between "hits" and unique visitors. Google isn't perfect but their analytic package is the best free solution I've encountered.
Thank you for your replies @cerno - I have that module on HG I think and yes the number there is more like the Google stats thank you @emo_ralez - Yes as above there is a huge difference between all figures and human figures (once you take the bots out) thank you @laceygirl - thank you @internet marketing IQ - thank you Will focus on human figures - means I have a lot more work to do, lol but thank you everyone for clearing this up for me.
GA is more accurate, because it eliminates more of the chaff. I know it's tempting to believe whoever gives you the highest number, but that's going to include bots that hit the server without calling the page up, and dynamic IPs that change with every page change.
One of the best methods of studying traffic, particularly if you wish to really narrow down on a certain page, browser, IP address or search engine referrals is to download your RAW server logs. A server log is basically just a text file that contains every request that has been made to your server. A request may be for a page, an image or any other element contained on your web site. From your hostgator cpanel you can also download your RAW server logs. Extract them with for instance this free tool: weblogexpert.com It might not be a very big deal, but if your visitor’s browser doesn’t support cookies and/ or javascript, the visit won’t get counted by Google Analytics.
Thank you again for the help - who knew working out who visits your site could be so complicated @kyhell - thank you @magda - Yes, I know I thought it was great when I knew HG was showing such good traffic figures but if they aren't an accurate representation of human visitors then it isn't a lot of use - I have learned a lot from this thread @horsey67745 - I am not sure what you mean sorry, are you refering to external links back into the site? @webar2007 - thank you for this great tip - so GA isn't 100% accurate either? So if you were considering buying a site what traffic figures would be considered the most credible - GA?