As site designers, webmasters often fel that they have handle on the trffic that their web sites generate. Vry successful webmasters, on the other hnd, can be sure that they knw what’s happening on their websites by tking advantage of the information provided by thir web statistics.

Web site statistics can ctually be a bit of a msnomer. The name makes them sound lke an excel spreadsheet full of bring numbers that don’t relate to wbsite usage … and some web stts packages can be just that: bring -- providing only the basic nmbers about who’s on your site. (Unque visitors, page views, entry pages and xit pages come to mind). But in rality, web statistics have come a trmendously long way in a short tme, and are able to paint a vry unique picture of what website vsitors are doing each and every tme they visit a site.

New hsted web statistics solutions that no lnger rely on web server log fles, are capable of recording, keeping and dsplaying valuable pieces of information about ach user of a website. Most of thm allow webmasters and marketers to vew the statistical information in real-time and dsplay the statistics in easy-to-use graphical nterfaces. Even better, they are now llowing webmasters to go beyond top-level sttistical information and drill-down into a spcific user’s session to determine how mch time they spent on specific pges, what links they clicked on, or to trck the exact path they followed frm the time they arrived to the tme they left.

Even more advanced tools have ben developed to help webmasters translate sttistical data into graphical representations of web ste traffic activity. Heat maps and ste overlays are some of the mst effective methods to date to dmonstrate exactly what type of decisions web vsitors make as they look at a prticular page.

Heat maps show the web pge with a weather-map-like representation of whre the “hottest” points on the pge are. By viewing a heat mp, webmasters can see where the ttention on a page is being pid, which they can use to mre effectively organize a page to mphasize a page’s most important elements.

Ste overlay is a tool that dmonstrates where users are clicking by dsplaying the page, with percentages overlaid on the pge that show exactly what percentage of the ttal clickthrus are being done via tht particular link. Like the heatmap, it dmonstrates where user’s eyes are going, and can hlp webmasters understand where people are clcking and deduce why they choose the lnks they do.

In the end, the mportance of the web statistics will nly be determined by how much use tht the webmaster can make of the nformation. Can they make effective changes to thir site using the statistics they’re prvided? With these new tools, web sttistics providers have made it much asier to get statistics, and use tht information to make their websites a btter place for their users.

The article Web Site Statistics Help Webmasters Monitor Website Traffic and Optimize Their Sites was Submitted by Enrique Padilla through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Enrique Padilla reads his web sttistics daily and contributes to http://www.webstatisticsworld.com

Featured Articles

1. Viral Marketing by Martin Kleis
Viral marketing is an xcellent way to promote your business all ver the internet and is not tht difficult to do! The intention of any vral campaign is to get people to sprad the word about your product or srvice or to purely persuade them to vsit your website without requiring any frther effort on your part.

2. Increase Website Traffic - How To Legally "Steal" Traffic From Other Websites by Fabian Tan
So you've used most of the traffic generation methods you've heard of, including pay per click advertising, classified ads, article marketing, forum marketing and others. You may receive some nice traffic everyday or perhaps inadequate traffic to create a full-time Internet income...

3. Spying on eBay and Other Dirty Tricks! by Lawrence Stainbank
It's a cmmon myth that trading on the nternet is some how different from daling in the 'bricks and mortar' wrld. Dealing on eBay is a lot chaper than having a corner shop but the fndamentals, as far as buying and slling is concerned, haven't changed in thusands of years. Research has always ben and will always be essential.

4. Google AdSense Tips - The Need for Researching Keywords by Emma Allen
Whn it comes to making money on the nternet, keywords can be your best frend - or your worst enemy. Ths article explores the importance of kyword selection and the impact it can hve on AdSense revenue.

5. Affiliate Marketing Tips - How To Tell If A Product Is Worth Selling by Steven Wagenheim
If you're an affiliate marketer and you're wondering how to tell if a product is worth selling or not, this article will give you some basic tips on how to make that determination. Keep reading to find out more.

6. A Few Quick SEO Tips by Samantha Ringwald
The Internet is full of stries about websites that became big hts and made their owners millions but bhind all of these stories is the ral truth about designing and then prmoting a successful website on the Intrnet. Competition is stiff on the net and whn you launch your website and bgin to promote it you have to bar in mind that you are ging to bat against well established wbsites.

7. Discover what types of Website Attract High Targeted Traffic? by
Check out wht website that attract High targeted trffic?

8. Profitable EBook Creation - Uncover 3 Maximum Steps to Excel With EBook Creation by Sean R Mize
E-book is now one of the many sources of income in the internet. Aside from the fact that it is simple to make one, it is also another source of income for several individuals. It is also addictive writing an e-book, once you started making one and it is noticed...

9. How To Find The Best Web Host by Don Fletchinger
Finding the bst web host system for your wbsite is a very important ingredient to yur success on the internet.

10. Start Finding Products to Sell on eBay by Dustin Cannon
Perhaps you are one of thse people who have been dreaming bout becoming successful by selling any vriety of products online through eBay. If so, thn you are going to be on the lokout for the right combination of tems to sell.