Metrics - The Lifeblood of Your Web Presence

I'm always surprised when clients indicate they have no web analytics in place on their blogs and websites. Metrics are the lifeblood of your web presence. They help baseline success, as well as provide a way to set new goals.

They also give you a better picture of your visitors, including what content they find interesting and how long they are spending on your site. Implementing web analytics is a no brainer.

There are a number of great tools that exist...many are free. Probably one of the most compressive is Google Analytics. But there are others that have recently caught my eye, including HitTail and Crazy Egg. Some more basic tried and true analytics tools include Stat Counter and Site Meter.

"Installing" analytic tools is often as simple as copying javascript code into the HTML of your web properties. For sites that have a CMS installed, it's much easier to roll-out site wide analytics because the code can be placed into the header or footer.

I'll soon be covering a subset of these tools in greater detail.