Webfusion

Analytics

Understanding site visitors can mean the difference between a popular, growing site and a mediocre one. While the vast amount of data generated by web analytics tools may seem intimidating at first glance, today’s most advanced software provides real-time data which can help identify traffic patterns so you can optimise on the fly:

Woopra
Woopra offers free, real-time analysis and is used on over 70,000 sites. What‘s different about the software is that it provides real-time tracking through a desktop client.

Known for a sleek interface and flexible API, Woopra provides live user tracking, which can help you make adjustments in real time. If you run multiple sites, you can monitor them all from a single interface, tracking over 40 unique metrics through customized dashboards which show the data that matters to you most. One innovative feature is integrated chat, which allows you to connect with site visitors in real-time, which makes it a great option for ecommerce sites.

Piwik
An open-source analytics package licensed under GPL, Piwik is one of the most comprehensive open data tools on the market. Written in LAMP, it has a large community of contributors who submit fixes, plug-ins and new features regularly.

The interface is completely customisable. You can add goals, full referrer information and detailed visitor tracking. And, with its open APIs, Piwik is ideal for developers in need of a custom solution.

Clicky
Over 100,000 sites use Clicky. It provides site publishers with real-time “spy” information that is invaluable for high-traffic sites (or those aiming for that level.)

Extensive segmentation allows you to understand visitors’ behaviour across geographical regions and to compare them. If you’re looking to optimise your site for international audiences, this feature can help make your site truly global. The developers have even integrated Twitter analytics into the software, giving you all the information you need to engage with your audience.

Snoop

For webmasters who want to closely follow specific user-events onsite, Snoop provides a desktop client complete with audio notifications. Users can set the client to track custom events, ranging from form submissions to cart abandonment. Ideal for site publishers looking to tweak and optimise for conversions, Snoop provides a wealth of real-time user data. Available in both Mac and PC versions, the software is flexible enough for use with nearly any type of conversion metric.

Yahoo Web Analytics

An improved integration of Index Tools, Yahoo Web Analytics offers a complete set of enterprise-level data tools in a sleek interface. It’s fully integrated with Yahoo advertising solutions and particularly useful if you rely on display advertising to drive ad revenues. Online stores can benefit from advanced merchandising, behavioural demographic and conversion funnel reports too, while pay per click reports provide insight into optimising paid search campaigns.