Question: Beryl, I created a Google Analytics account as you suggested to track my website numbers. I check them weekly but, I have no idea what they mean. Help! Lynn

Answer: Lynn here’s my definitions of the items you’ll want to track

Hits tell you the number of items i.e..(files, graphics, audio, video) that’s viewed on a page. Because some pages require more or less items for them to viewed this number can be high. But, the truth is that this number doesn’t tell you anything so there’s no need to track it.

Pageviews tell you the number of times a page has been viewed by a website visitor. Tracking pageviews tells you how many pages are being viewed over a time period. You should also be able to determine the popular pages and the least popular pages on your website.

Entry & Exit pages tell you the first and last page a visitor view when they got to your website. Popular entry pages tell you if your marketing campaigns that send visitors to a particular webpage is working or not.

Visitors tell you how many people viewed your website and visits tell you the number of times visitors your site had.A visitor can view one page or many pages during a visit and can visit your website multiple times. A visit can consist of multiple pageviews so the number of pageviews can exceed the number of visits. Your goal is to increase this number because the more people who you see your site the more sales you should have.

Unique visit counts the first time a visitor visits your website and average pageviews per visit tell you the ratio of pageviews to visitors.

Referring sites tell you where a visitor was before they came to your site.

The key is to use your website numbers to recognize trends and to measure the results of your marketing campaigns.

Get proven and innovative business and marketing advice to build your business. Join the Smart Tactics Inner Circle