Web analytics, web metrics, and how to use them to track and improve conversions

There's actually a list of top Web Analytics Posts for 2007 - 18 most popular Web Analytics blog posts of 2007 - and three of my posts are on the list.

I also pulled Engagement Stats from Compete.com on 5 of the 6 blogs I could include - which show my blog to be the most "engaging" though my posts often mix in celebrities and Web Analytics - I doubt a pure Web Analytics blog could drive all that much "engagement" except to a certain "niche" audience.  I go for a large swath, which is why my engagement numbers are higher - if we trust this methodology.

But whatever Eric is doing... it must be working as his stats are the only one with real momentum - they're clearly going up in a steady fashion. 

"....Occam’s Razor
by Avinash Kaushik

1. I Got No Ecommerce. How Do I Measure Success?
2. Rethink Web Analytics: Introducing Web Analytics 2.0
3. Excellent Analytics Tip #10: How Thick is Your Head and How Long is Your Tail?

Web Analytics Demystified
by Eric T. Peterson

1. Damn you Steve Jobs, damn you, damn you, damn you
2. EXCLUSIVE Microsoft Gatineau presentation and screen shots
3. Is Google Analytics the Killer App? No.

Visual Revenue
by Dennis R. Mortensen

1. What and how to measure Social Networking websites
2. The Long Tail ... and how to calculate missing Revenue
3. Tracking RSS subscribers via the IMG tag - a quick Web Analytics HACK

Web Analytics World
by Manoj Jasra

1. Ultimate Web Analytics Comparison Resources
2. 21 Reasons Why You Do NOT Need Web Analytics
3. Web Analytics Implementation: Items Overlooked

Increasing Your Website’s Conversion Rate
by Robbin Steif

1. Criticize Google Analytics. Win Prizes
2. How to Set Up the new GA Site Search
3. Answers to your Top 10 Google Analytics Questions

Web Metrics Guru
by Marshall Sponder

1. Cloverfield Trailer - JJ Abrams Buzz - Cloverfield Movie, updated (talks about tracking Viral Marketing using Web Analytics)
2. 1 18 08 Online and Google Analytics traffic stats on Cloverfield Movie Trailer
3. Locational Buzz using Google HotTrends - Donda West's passing
   

 

(BTW, I can't put in Web Analytics World since it's hosted on Blogger.com - it would just pick up the entire Blogger.com domain).

I had a huge traffic spike in September due, largely to the Vanessa post, but which I can't really maintain (no one can) due to Google's Blog Network page rank adjustments in October, while Lunametrics is steady. 

And Eric Peterson's blog gets the longest average visit, while mine, the shortest -   

But that's partly due the the high focus of WebAnalyticsDemystified.com; Lunametrics is also highly focused, my blog is probably a mixture of a Web Analytics and Celebrity Blog with a little Art mixed in - people who come to my site, if they didn't see what they wanted right away, often leave - that's just the way it is.

Also, WebAnalyticsdemystified and LunaMetrics produce the most pageviews per visit, with my blog being the lowest:

And attention, well, here's where my blog excels, because it's the only one, according to Compete.com that's actively continuing to grow audience outside Web Analytics - but I don't know how accurate the methodology is - though statistically, it's sound:

Here's Compete's description of Velocity:

"..Velocity reports the relative change in daily Attention. Velocity is used to determine the relative growth of a domain over a particular time frame or compared to other sites.

Velocity is an effective way to measure the impact of planned (or unplanned) events, such as new advertising campaigns, product/service launches or general site growth. Simply choose an event date as the starting point to see how it has affected a site's attention over time."