Many web owners freak out when faced with the decision to install and use web analytics software. Either they are not technologically proficient or they cannot make sense of all the data points provided by this kind of software. If you have had these reservations yourself, it’s time to get over them. In a nutshell, you shouldn’t run a website or a blog without incorporating web analytics.

There is simply too much valuable information that WA provides to ignore. It could mean the difference in having a successful website. There is something to be said for WA software providing too much information. After all, Google has courses on how to install and interpret the data for their analytics program. After completing all the courses, you can get certified that you have mastered the software. The very fact that these courses exist speaks to the complexity of the provided data.

The key to success with WA is knowing what you want to measure and at what levels are important to you. In essence, you need to draw your line in the sand as to where you want your numbers to be. That does require an understanding of these numbers and also may require trying to find out what numbers others web owners have experienced.

Once you determine what you want to measure and track, the next step is to continue to analyze the gathered data. Many website owners install WA software and then forget about it after a while. WA can give you insights into items such as what pages are being visited and how long people are staying on those pages. You can also tell which pages people are leaving from, although the software can’t give you the reason why people are leaving. These are all important data points which can help you to fine tune your website. When you know which pages people are responding to, you can create similar types of content to get them to further engage in your website.

There are many more data points that WA software captures. This is why you have to focus on the data points that you believe are important to track. Network with other bloggers or web owners to find out what they are doing. Incorporate what makes sense for your website.
There is a time commitment associated with WA, in both learning it and monitoring it. This is what often turns people away from using it. But the benefits that you gain from using the software will override the time outlay by a wide margin.