Who's Asking?
Data security and privacy concerns generally aren't an issue for these services. Exceptions are e-mail and gated sites, where visitor identity can be correlated to specific behaviors. This tends to be an advanced function, promising to allow for cross- and reference-selling. However, even in this case, data is used only to determine general user behavior. For example, if a customer bought a red scoop-neck sweater last time she was at your site and a yellow scoop-neck sweater is on sale, she's a good candidate to get a yellow-sweater pop-up. But that's not because of who she is; rather, it's because of what she previously bought. Obviously, it's a fine distinction that could be argued. The bottom line: Those worried about who has insight into their habits and motivations shouldn't browse the Internet or should visit only gated sites with privacy polices they agree with.
This sort of analytics slice-and-dice tends to be for large organizations. It makes sense that big companies are more likely to have the chops to digest analytics and make the data meaningful. Our tests found some affordable services, and the collected data could help a smart small business get a leg up on larger competitors without having to build an in-house infrastructure. Of course, being able to understand and act on analytics data is up to you.
Bruce Boardman, executive editor of Network Computing, tests and writes about network management and systems. He has 12 years' experience managing networks and distributed computing for a financial service provider. Write to him at [email protected].
If you build it, will they come? In this case, "it" is your Web site, and it doesn't matter if you're selling bobblehead dolls, recruiting players for a role-playing game, explaining how to set the clocks on your company's VCRs or complementing a family of print publications. If you don't give the people what they want, within a few clicks, they will go elsewhere. That's where Web site analytics come in. Available as services or as products you can run in-house, these systems track the actions of site visitors to predict behavior and help you improve the efficiency of your designs.
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