Web traffic

Web traffic is monitored to dertermine the efficency of a website.  Web traffic data includes how many hits a website is receiving, which pages within a website are most popular, who is visiting the site, and what countries most visitors are coming from.  The data gathered when monitoring websites is used to help identify security problems, structure websites, and identify a potential lack of bandwith.

Web traffic is measured by viewing the traffic statistics found in the web server log file.  When a web page receives a hit, it receives a request to the server for a file not a page.  A web page can be made up of different files, including images, audio files, and javascript files. Therefore a web page can receive multiple hits depending on the number of files on the page.
The following types of information are collected when monitoring web traffic:
  • The number of visitors to a web page.
  • The average number of pages each visitor views
  • The total length of a user's visit. (the more time they spend the more they're interested in your company)
  • How long a page is viewed for.
  • Domain classes – all levels of the IP Addressing information required to deliver Webpages and content.
  • The most popular viewing times of the site (shows the best time to post promotions, and the best time to shut down for maintenance)
  • The sequence of pages viewed by visitors from entry to exit
  • Referrer pages. (host site can track and determine which sites are generating the most traffic for a particular page)
 
Increasing web traffic:
Web traffic can be increased by investing in advertisements and placement in search engines.  According to the small business informer there are 7 steps to increase web traffic. 
 
1.    Optimize your website for a high search engine ranking.  By using a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy the site owner can increase the amount of traffic to a website from search engines, by increasing their ranking.  Rankings can be increased by using keywords effectively in a webpage. SEO consultants can be paid for these services or they can be done by employees in house.  

2.    Link Swap with Other Sites.  Another tool to increase a websites rankings is to link from other sites. Sites that share similar content will usually agree to link swap (One company puts a link to another site on their page, and the other company does the same). This strategy not only increases traffic to a site, but it increases rankings in search engine results.

3.    Advertise your site.  Purchasing advertising such as banner ads, pop-up ads, and bulk emails all help increase traffic to a site. Another type of advertising is pay per click advertising, where the company pays each time their link is clicked, and essentially pays for web traffic.

4.    Use your website address where ever you can.  Including a web address on stationery, business cards, letter heads and printed advertisements is a free way to attract visits to a web site.

5.    Provide Rich Content.  By providing useful content and regularly updating, more and more people are drawn to a site.

6.    Get On Web Directories.  By submitting a website to web directories people have an easier time finding a business.  Being on a web directory also increases search engine rankings.

7.    Structure Your Site For Easy Navigation.  If people cannot find their way on your website they will get frustrated and leave. A well structured and logically organized website will allow multiple users to navigate through a site.

 

IBM (measuring web traffic)

 
 
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