We’re Starting to Hate Google Analytics
As you may know, we cater to small business clients, and several of our clients are using a simplified visitor counting software such as Count Per Day or WordPress Stats in addition to Google Analytics. Many have asked why the numbers reported by their simplified software are far higher than those from Google Analytics. (We’re starting to call it GA around here, like a hacking noise kind of, and we think perhaps for good reason.)
I too have been using simplified software in addition to GA on my own websites – in my case the WordPress plugin called Count Per Day – and it too has consistently reported far higher numbers.
I like looking at Count per Day reports far better than I like looking at GA reports. ;^D
I’m starting to believe that Google Analytics is better suited to the really big boys because of all of its filtering, rejections, and rules – which would make for cleaned up data if you’re in the 50,000 hits a day and above range – but which I think drastically skews real data downward in a false way for sites with daily visitors in the 30 to 3,000 range – meaning most small businesses.
Frankly, a major part of the value in tracking visitors, clicks, and bounce rates is to mark trends upward and downward in order to gauge the success or failure of your website changes and social media activities. Heck, if you look at the ebb and flow of a higher set of numbers rather than a lower set, you’ll still see the trends and changes, so our view is – if the simplified software makes it easier to frequently review data, and you feel a little more positive while reviewing your web traffic reports because you’re looking at higher numbers rather than lower, so much the better for your ongoing motivation and performance, right? That’s how we see it.
What do you think? Do you use a simplified software in addition to GA, and do you find the same consistent difference in numbers? Do you agree that GA is too filter-y and rejection-oriented to give you the real data you need for your small business website?
Here’s a good article on the technical background of the question of Google Analytics versus other web traffic-counting software.
