A survey by Nielsen / Net Ratings, and published in The Australian newspaper recently, showed that people in regional areas use the Internet more than people in the city.

The survey shows that people in the country log on more often, and also stay on longer.

Some areas that have shown the greatest increase in net usage are Internet banking, as well as accessing news and other information.

The higher rate of Internet use can often be attributed to the lower amount of shop fronts and community services available in most country towns.

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24 June 2002

WHERE ARE YOUR VISITORS COMING FROM?

Obtaining quality statistics about who is visiting your web site can really help you fine tune your marketing plan or business direction in general. We look at the reasons why, and how you can track your visitors easily.

A lot of web sites either don't record how many hits they are getting, or if they do it's only a simple hit counter that tells you how many times someone viewed the page.

While the number of hits is useful, there are a whole range of other statistics that can be easily obtained that tell you much more about your market. The kind of statistics you can get from your site are often far better than other forms of market research because they tell you more, they are in real time, and they don't need to cost you anything.

Let's take a look at some of the main types of statistics that most tracking services provide:

• Number of visits - as mentioned above, this is standard, but is useful - especially over time. Being able to tell whether your web traffic is increasing or not will at least tell you whether your site is doing OK, or whether it needs more work or more promotion. While we're on the subject of tracking hits, our opinion is that visible "hit counters" on your site are often something that you want to avoid - especially if you're traffic is a little slow. A hit counter on your site that tells your potential customer that he/she is the 64th visitor since May 1999 isn't going to fill them with a lot of confidence. Invisible trackers are usually better.

• Where your visitors live - most traffic counters can tell you which country your visitor is from. This can be very useful in helping you fine tune or develop a plan to export your product. Finding out that your site is extremely popular in Estonia could be useful in a number of ways.

• Whether you are getting new visitors or repeat visitors - this information can help you decide whether your current customers are interested in your site and returning, and whether you are attracting new customers. This can then help you modify your marketing plan if needed.

• What web sites referred your visitors - this is a very important one. It is useful to find out how your visitors got to your page. Was it by clicking on a link from another site? If so, which site? Did they type your address direct into their browser? Did they find you in a search engine? If so, which search engine and what did they type in the search box? Finding out how people are finding you, or how they AREN'T finding you, can help you target those areas which will increase your traffic.

• What your site looks like to your viewers - a whole range of information about your visitors' computers and Internet browsers can be obtained, such as what version of Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator they are using, or what their screen resolution is set at. If large percentages of people are viewing your site with systems that make it look bad, you may need to consider having your site redeveloped to suit more browsers.

• What pages of your site your viewers find most interesting - statistics can be obtained that tell you which pages of your site are popular, how people navigate through your site, or what page they were on when they left your site. This can let you know what areas of your web site need to be made more interesting or valuable to your visitors.

• When people are visiting your site - this information could provide insights into when people are visiting your site most often. It could be interesting to know that, for example, the majority of your visitors view your site after hours (eg. in the evenings).

There are more statistics you can get, but most services will provide the ones above. There are lots of services that provide much more, and many that will charge fees to do so.

But seeing as though we're always keen to show small business how to do things cheaper on the Internet, we want to tell you about a great service that can provide you with a range of statistics for free. Hitslink.com provides statistics for your web site with a system that is very easy to add to your web site. The catch is that the required coding places a small HitsLink logo on your page. If you don't want this, however, you can choose to pay a monthly fee to avoid having their logo on your site.

HitsLink.com can be found at www.hitslink.com.

Want any more info on this article? Email us at admin@southwestecommerce.com

Disclaimer: This newsletter is designed to provide information only and is not a substitute for advice that is specific to your business. Before acting on any of the information above it is important you seek further advice from a professional who has taken into consideration the nature and circumstances of your business.