The understanding and analysing of web site stats can often be the subject of many lengthy debates. It is fundamental for all parties involved to have a clear and consistent understanding, as the answers to whether your organisation is getting a return on its investment and how can further development improve that return are hidden within these figures.

Below is a description of typical terms found within a web report and a brief overview of how it can be used.

Hits

A hit is accumulated for every page and individual page element that a visitor requests. Therefore a web page with text and two graphics and three images will accumulate six hits.

This figure is largely irrelevant as a web site with a large amount of images and graphics will result in a large hits figure that although indicative of the number of visitors, is not directly related.

Visits

This figure typically shows the number of visitors your site received. Some software will count the same person who visits on separate occasions as two visitors other software will only count unique visitors. This figure, in particular the unique visitor figure, is one of the most important. This will allow you to set your objectives and measure the success of campaigns around the number of increased monthly visitors.

Requested pages

These figures show the most and least popular web pages of your web site. Analysing which web pages were requested the most might indicate that you have a particular product or service that is more popular than you originally thought. Less popular areas may indicate accessibility, usability or navigational issues with your site.

Entry and exit pages

These show the first and last web pages viewed. A number of top entry pages will indicate good search engine placement. Visitors leaving half way through a process, i.e. completing a form, could indicate usability issues.

Referring sites

The ‘referrer’ data shows where your visitors are coming from.’No referrer’ indicates users that came directly to your site, by either typing in your web site address or choosing your site from their bookmarks. This information is very important and will able you to evaluate the performance of your promotional campaigns.

Search keywords and phrases

These are the keywords and phrases users have keyed into search engines in order to find your web site. This will show whether your search engine campaigns are effective.