Web analytics is the process of extracting insights by collecting and analyzing data on visitor activity on your website. You can use this data to improve your website content, increase conversions and optimize the site to improve traffic. It’s not an easy task to evaluate dozens of different web analytics tools
IIt’s quite hard to decide which web analytics tool you will use for your website. And of course, you want the best analytics software that will help you grow your online business. There are many great options on the market, but some tools are better than others. Let’s find out the best tools of 2019.
Mouseflow
Mouseflow is somewhat of a combination of UserTesting and Crazy Egg. You can see video of users interacting with your website, including every mouse click and movement, scrolling and keystrokes. You also get to view heat maps from different time periods so that you can see the effect of changes that you make on your page. Pricing varies depending on how many sites you want to cover and how many sessions you want. For a single site and up to 100 recorded sessions, there is no cost. Over that, prices start at $13 a month.
Countly
Countly is an analytics platform you can use across all your websites and mobile applications. The focus is on improving the buyer’s journey by providing you with the data you need most.
Countly tracks individual online sessions in an effort to help you understand how your website is currently being used by visitors.
In turn, you can identify what content is working and where you need improvements.
An additional benefit of using Countly is that you can build your own plugins to add analytics unique to your business needs.
Countly offers both on-premises and cloud versions. Their Community edition is free, and their Enterprise Edition offers tailored plans to fit your requirements.
CLICKY
Clicky is easily one of the most popular web analytics tools available. If you search for alternatives to Google Analytics, chances are, every single page you open will include it on their list. There’s a very good reason for this: Clicky is one of the strongest tools on the market for web analytics, and unlike many of its competitors it offers real-time updates. The main dashboard might be a little overwhelming for beginners, but you’ll soon learn to love the variety of available statistics. This includes a link report, which tells you exactly which external sites and pages are actively directing users to your own. We’ve mentioned the importance of backlinks many times, and this tool helps you see exactly why.
Just like BBClone, Clicky also provides search data comprising of all the incoming search query keywords being used to direct users to your site from the SERP. Where Clicky overtakes BBClone in a big way is that the tool also comes with the Sheer SEO tool. Sheer SEO helps you to see how well your keywords are ranking, which is valuable information to have and understand.
Another interesting feature is Twitter Search Tracking, which lets you monitor Twitter tags, keywords, and retweets on the social media platform. ClickyTouch, the iPhone app, also allows you to stay up to date with all your analytics while on the go. Clicky is inherently free of charge and is available as a WordPress plugin too. If you need to use it on multiple sites, or your site generates more than 3000 views a day, you’ll start having to pay a minor fee though.
COREMETRICS
Often used by ecommerce websites, in particular, CoreMetrics was acquired by IBM in June 2010. It now also goes by the name of IBM Digital Analytics but is not to be confused with IBM Unica NetInsight—which we’ll get into later on as well.
This tool boasts an easy-to-use interface and offers detailed data statistics that are also highly customizable. No matter what your business type and model, IBM have taken the original CoreMetrics module and ensured that there’s a little something for everyone. With the increased personalization, users can better convert the analytics reports into actionable marketing plans. In this way, the company promises to extend your customer lifecycle by helping you find ways to retain existing users as well as attract new ones. Furthermore, they boast that this also gives you a higher return for the money you spend on marketing.
It’s for this very reason that the web analytics tool is so popular with online sites. You can see this more clearly when you realize that, unlike most of its peers, CoreMetrics also gives you a comprehensive report on the abandoned cart value—how much a client was going to spend, but didn’t. If nothing else, its popularity also proves just how invaluable CoreMetrics can be to an e-commerce business. With a price range starting at around $5,000, it’s not a viable option for small start-up companies. If you plan to use a premium web analytics tool alongside a free one, this tool remains a fantastic choice.
Visual Website Optimizer (VWO)
Visual Website Optimizer (VWO) gives you the tools to perform experiments by A/B testing different graphical and textual on-page elements.
It also gives you the ability to record visitor sessions for playback analysis. For example, one company used the live user recording feature of VWO to discover a critical shipping error that appeared randomly throughout the day. As a result, the bounce rate on that page decreased by almost 45 percent.
VWO offers a free trial of its web analytics tool and asks you to contact them for pricing.
ClickMeter
Determining the ROI of various marketing channels can be tough. ClickMeter gives you the ability to create pretty URLs and then track and analyze them by looking at over 100 different parameters.
ClickMeter integrates with Google Analytics and will allow you to redirect, track, and analyze website traffic.
It also gives you the ability to understand the true value of your marketing efforts and eliminate those traffic sources that aren’t converting.
Pricing starts at $29/month and tops out at $349/month.
Fathom
If you’re concerned about protecting the privacy of your customers or visitors, consider using Fathom as your web analytics tool.
Fathom doesn’t collect personal data of visitors, nor does it utilize cookies.
What it does do is collect the data needed to see how visitors are interacting on your website. You can also track your KPIs on its easy-to-use dashboard.
Fathom sends you a report via email every week, alerting you to the performance of your website. If you have several websites, you can track them all and receive reports on each one.
Plans start at $14 per month for up to 100,000 page visits.
Conclusion:
If you deal with marketing or website optimization, then you know that web analytics tools are a valuable asset. They provide real-time and historical data on the performance and behavior of your site and, with the right tools, can help you predict future trends. To get the most out of your analytics tools, it’s important to understand how they work and what they can bring to your business.