What’ So Great About Web Analytics?

I remember it like it was yesterday. Javascript errors began appearing on virtually every page, pointing to a line in the code toward the end of the source. My worst fear had been confirmed. My Google Analytics tracking code was acting buggy! It felt like a small part of me was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it. You have to understand, I’ve been a huge proponent of all things Google for years. The error ended up being a line break in all the wrong places that broke the actual Javascript code which caused this issue only in IE8. But that’s a blog post for another night.

Despite the fact that my world didn’t end that day and I didn’t have to remove any tracking code from the website, it did raise the question about whether web-based analytics is the best way to go. We all know the benefits. Let’s take a look at some of the risks associated with using web analytics such as Google Analytics, Woopra and many others.

Everyone Visitor Loves Cookies… Right?

Not everyone! More and more people are getting rid of their cookies after closing the browser down, deleting everything to save space and help protect computers against malicious software, which also comes by way of cookies. It doesn’t take a whole lot of sense to at least understand the concept that you’re bound to lose some information due to those who delete their cookies and leave you going blind. Of course, the majority of people still keep their cookies so web analytics will still collect data for the majority of your visitors.

Be Happy With the Analytics You’re Given!

Another problem with many web based analytics tools is that your research has to conform in large part with pre-designated parameters. Sure, you can dig down pretty deep and look at some interesting stuff, but it’s nowhere near the insights you can find when you’re viewing actual log data. Products like Google Analytics are widely in use and they’re great, don’t get me wrong, but they’re definitely a pre-requisite to understanding server-side web analytics.

More Javascript is NOT Better!

No matter how simple the idea may be, it’s good to use as little code as possible to create your pages. This is one of the main reasons CSS is in such wide use, because it refers to a stylesheet that contains information, leaving your pages much lighter than, say, your website in 1998. Well, the same goes for Javascript. This stuff takes time to load and just because you’ve got the fastest connection on the block doesn’t mean your seriously lagging customer doesn’t.

There are plenty of great reasons to use cookie-based analytics software, and there are plenty of reasons not to. If you understand how to read logs or have a web log analyzer that can easily organize the information into something you can digest, then the best option is to just use both.