My rendezvous with Statcounter.com started off with a Google(uh!) search for 'website visitors'.Well, this was the first non-Sponsored search result that showed up :).And so it began.A visit to the homepage which looked little different from what it is now.
The description on the first page is no-nonsense and lucid.
What is STATCOUNTER?
A free yet reliable invisible web tracker, highly configurable hit counter and real-time detailed web stats. Insert a simple piece of our code on your web page and you will be able to analyse and monitor all the visitors to your website in real-time!
Free, Fast, Responsive, Quick loading and Reliable Service.
Invisible Tracking - no ads on your website.
Accurate real-time website statistics with detailed visitor tracking and analysis.
The neat interface did appeal to me and I immediately registered.More interesting was that this did not have that too irritating cross-links all over the place.
Registering was all too easy.The free account had only one disadvantage that really matters now.Your visitor detail log is limited to 100 visitors.Once your visitor count crossed 100, the records get pushed out at the bottom of the stack, so to say.
Then came addition of a 'project'.Thats the term used at Statcounter.
A nice page showing up the available options which are quite new!There are two features 'In Development' and the one that is being used by me at present is the 'Standard Statcounter Project'.
Fast Forward some pages and there appears the code as you please.The best part is that you can choose a code which is designed to your constraints.For example, Blogger allows only strict XHTML compliant code to be inserted in the template.
Then the regular Web-master's work:
Copy,paste and save.
Back to Statcounter, and goto My Projects and a page appears displaying the Project Name,icon links to various pages realting to each project,the type of the project,no. of recent visitors,total no. of visitors.
A couple of days and your stats begin building up,assuming ,ofcourse, that your website is doing well.And well ,a beautiful(assuming you love such things) bar-chart appears on the Real-Time stats page.
Now, the extras and the power within...
1.Came From
Shows all the links from which your blog was reached.So thank the links and leave your traces ;)
2.Visitor Paths
This is one amazing page.But too large to put up an image :)
3.Visit Lengths
Are your Visitors really interested in your blog.Are they reading what has been written?Here are your answers.
4.Visitor Geographic Locations
This must be classified under one of the coolest features provided.
Check it out!
5.Recent Pageload Activity
Keep an eye on who is visiting your blog.
6.Recent Visitor Activity
Yo,here is the most checked out page after The Barchart. :)
Wanna have more fun???The detective in you wants more details about that odd guy who visited your page?Just click on the little 'magnifying glass' beside the visitor.Here's a sample.
Apart from this,Statcounter offers features like Keyword Analysis,System Stats,and the browser from which your visitors browse your site,most popular pages in your site,the entry pages,exit pages.No explanations on these, it has been a long post already and I'm not into(as of now) writing pages of reviews about a site.
Well,lemme conclude sayin that this review of Statcounter covers up most of the features provided by the site to Free Account holders and I intend this post dedicated to the people behind it.
I also use Google Analytics ,however that has been a recent thing or habit,so to say,and the simplicity of Statcounter can't be beaten even by The Goliath.
PS:This is a small riddle:Can someone take the trouble and find out what Statcounter records Windows Vista as?The answer is in the post :P
PS2:Did you think this post was too lengthy or did it contain too many pics or even was simply plain boring? Gimme feedback!!!
