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Are there any Google Analytics users here at SuN? If so, what do you think about the service? What do you like or dislike about it? Have you used other analytics services in the past? How would you compare them to Google Analytics?
Would you recommend Google Analytics to others? Thanks!
David Jackson
David,
I thought you don't like Google Analytics because it's not real time as the stats reporting software from your web host?
Yeah, I use Analytics. What I like:
a. FREE (this stats software used to cost thousands in license fees before Google bought the company... and repackaged it as a free online service, which we now know as Google Analytics)
b. Can be used as a "big picture" reporting tool. See trends, animate the timeline.
c. or do fine-grain analysis... paths taken, overlay map, etc
d. if you're also an Adwords customer, you can integrate the two systems and see how effective your Adwords advertising is, ROI, etc.
e. User Interface - feels like a desktop application
Dislike:
a. the Analytics keyword reports may not be the exact phrases the user actually entered. I think the broad match of Google Adwords has something to do with it. But there's a hack going around the net to take care of this.
Other stats software I've used in the past... Statistics Server, then renamed as LiveStats (used to cost thousands back in year 2000). Company non existent anymore I think...
David,
I thought you don't like Google Analytics because it's not real time as the stats reporting software from your web host?
I would never use Google Analytics, because it's not real time. But this information isn't for me, per se. It's for a special project that I'm working on. Thanks for the detailed information! This is extremely helpful to me.
I use Analytics. I prefer the interface to the software on my web host. You can also drill down better.
I use it for my website at http://www.greenandchic.com
Though I've been using it for a while, I am just now getting the hang of it and using it to my advantage. There is so much about GA I dont really know though.
I haven't used it for a long time, but used to use it constantly. When I did use it, I liked it.
I use Google Analytics. We only got it working properly recently (but that was because of our hosting company). I have nothing to compare it to, but I like it!
This is just off topic but if you include a big range for your start and end dates in Google Analytics (like a couple of years or more), and display the graph results by "month", you can see a BIG PICTURE of what's happening.
What I've noticed with my website, is like clockwork, every 6 months, traffic increases to the next level dramatically (it looks like stair steps.) It doesn't look like a steady ramp, it looks like a stair step!
Now most of my traffic comes via Google search (I could occupy 7 out of the 10 results on the 1st page depending on the keyword you searched for.)
The only thing I can think of is Google does some major upgrades to their search engine indexes every 6 mos, and that's why I see my increase in traffic as distinct "stair steps". Doesn't matter what changes I do to the site, it's "effect" will show on the next scheduled Google "upgrade".
My stair step dramatic increase in traffic happens every July, and December. In between those months, traffic could have a slight incline or just be consistently flat.
That's been my experience, don't know if that applies to every site.
i would never pay for another program after having used GA
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