Web statistics are one of the surest ways of tracking down a poor webmaster – because under no circumstances will that webmaster let you see them.

He or she will offer you “digests” (Heavily edited needless to say), will regret that your server does not have statistics installed (highly improbable), or will just say “I’m sorry?” and change the subject.

The excuses for sitting on this crucial source of data are many and various because Webstats alias web server statistics are the only cast-iron method of showing how well – or how badly – your website is actually doing.
Used in a positive fashion with a cooperative webmaster, web stats are the ideal fine-tuning tool for improving your websites performance and discovering who your customers are, what they are doing on your site and how you can help them to do it better.

This is going to be a simple journey through the basic terminology, so that when you are confronted by the data in question there will be no mysteries for you.

Generally there are two flavours of statistics programs, although others do exist. Either “Awstats” or “Webstats” should be preinstalled on your server and will only require accessing with the password for your hosting. The task they perform and the terminology they use is virtually the same, I just find the Awstats interface a little clearer.

How it works.

The server where your website lives is cleverer than you might think. It is aware of a number of factors about the people viewing your site. It notes where they are from, what pages they request or download, how long they stay on site and even where they are from.

Every web server does this.
For the paranoid, the server does not know your name and address – but it does know that someone from IP address 195.258-458-102 connected at 22.45 (server time) and requested the page “index.htm” which was successfully downloaded. Each request, its source and the result of the request goes into the log files on the server.

Awstats and the like read this information and present it all as easy to read graphs and tables using the following standard terminology.

What it Means.
Phrases like “monthly totals” you can probably puzzle out without may help! The slightly more complex stuff is as follows:

Hits.
Hits are for impressing the uninitiated. One page with four images on it makes five hits. This measurement is of very limited value and can be safely ignored.
Visiting our five-file page and hitting “refresh” three times will get you fifteen hits.
Fun – but of very limited value.

Files.
A “hit” that actually returned something from the server. (Not all hits return data – files may be cached on individual computers and so not need downloading or files may be missing and so not downloadable. Missing pages – for example – are “hits” but not “files”.)

Pages or Page Views.
Now it begins to get interesting. How many pages are actually being looked at (requested). 100 visitors viewing 200 pages means – on average – two pages per visit.

Unique Visitors.
The biggie. This figure counts the number of unique internet addresses that have been to your site.
Visit our five file page and hit refresh ten times – fifty hits, ten files (the images will not need to download twice), one unique visitor.
Exactly what we need to know, how many people have seen our site.

Visit Duration.
How long each “visit” stayed on site. The implications are obvious if no-one stays more that 30 seconds.

Referrers or Referring Sites.
Who is sending you traffic – this will include other pages within your own site, so no surprises if you appear to be sending traffic to yourself!

Search Terms and Search Strings.
What people who search for you are using to find you.

Browsers, User Agents, and Operating Systems.
This tells you what browser people are using to view your site. If you get a lot of Firefox users, for example, make sure your site is Firefox compatible.

Entry and Exit Pages
Where viewers arrive on-site, and where they leave. If everyone walks away from a specific page, ask yourself why.

What Comes Next.

So – get access to the control panel of your hosting right now.
If for some reason your webmaster cannot give you the password, no problem. Offer to view the stats with him (or her) at their office – their input should be useful anyway – but insist that you want to see them live on the server. (Make sure that its your server you are viewing too!)

It’s a simple exercise of logic to decode what is going on with your site behind the scenes, and it will help turn a website with the most lacklustre performance into the killer marketing tool your company deserves.

And that you already paid for!

Englesos is a Web and Graphic Designer working out of the Famagusta area of Cyprus. See more of his work on http://www.englesos.net or else at http://www.lookerscy.com

1. What is a domain name?

A domain name is the name that identifies a web site. Your domain name in the online world is the equivalent of our retail name and address in the real world. It is your address because it shows customers and computers online where to find your site, store, products etc. It is your name because you can move your domain name from one web host to another at any time.

2. Who owns the domain name?
When you buy a domain name, you are actually leasing the name. It is a lease because there is no way to own a domain name forever. You pay a fee on an annual or bi-annual basis to your registrar to continue using the name. If you stop paying your annual fees, it becomes a lapsed domain name and goes back out on the market where anyone, perhaps even your competition can purchase the domain for their use.

Note: Online traffic will follows the domain name. If you fail to renew a name, it is basically sending free traffic to another site owner.

3. Who is in charge of the domain name system?
ICANN or Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the non profit organization in charge of the domain name system. ICANN performs some of the following duties to keep the domain name system running smoothly:

Approves Top Level Domain Names – .com/.biz/.edu etc
ICANN is in charge of approving domain name extensions such as .biz and setting up standards such as which domain names such as .us or co.uk belong to a particular country.

Regulates the domain name registration process and services
ICANN approves registrars who are who are responsible for keeping track of registered names, billing customers, sending out renewal notices and selling top level domain names to anyone who wants one.

There are many reputable resellers on the web that are not approved by ICANN but are simply organizations and individuals associated with a registrar that are allowed to sell domain names on their own. Whether you purchase your domain name through a registrar or a reseller, always find a reputable source for your domain name.

If a registrar or reseller does not maintain an active database, you might find yourself on rare occasions paying for a name that is already registered. If you ever receive such as note from your registrar, or reseller, contact them immediately using an online form or via the phone. Make sure the notice is legitimate otherwise, you might be the victim of a domain name scam. If it is true, your registrar should immediately make a correction, preferably at their expense.

This integrity of a registrar or reseller’s database of available names should be maintained at all times.

Sets up conflict resolution policies to prevent domain name theft and copyright (brand name) infringements.
ICANN has setup and is always revising its dispute resolution policy so that web users can have fair access to any domain name while protecting the sanctity of commercial trademarks. You can get any name you want as long as it is not trademarked by another person or organization.

It is always in your best interest to get familiar with the ICANN website as well as its rules and policies. To build a successful online presence is a long term proposition. If you fail to do your due diligence upfront, it can have serious repercussions later on due to lost time, web traffic, money and possible loss of a domain name.

About the Author
This article may be freely distributed as long as there is an active link back to http://web-hosting.typepad.com

You should have come across this word ‘ osCommerce’. What is it ?

osCommerce (available as free download from http://www.oscommerce.com) is the most comprehensive and popular open source Shopping Cart system in existence. It has a huge list of features and is probably the most versatile shopping cart solution and offers vast range of customization choices for the on-line storefront owners depending on their need at a very affordable price.

If you are looking for setting up an e-shop, you should definitely consider osCommerce
osCommerce is an online shop e-commerce solution that offers a wide range of out-of-the-box features that allows online stores to be setup fairly quickly with ease, and is available for free as an Open Source based solution released under the GNU General Public License.
osCommerce is a complete online store solution that contains both a catalog frontend and an administration tool backend, which can be easily configured over web.
What are the Requirements :
With no special requirements, osCommerce is able to run on any PHP 4.1+ enabled web server running on Linux, Solaris, BSD, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows environments.

What are the Advantages :

– It is a very good, full-featured, cart. Uses Php and MySQL.
– Supports a wide range of credit-card processors and shipping services.
– It uses an indexed database and can handle a large number of products (10’s of thousands).
– Most Hosting companies include installation as Readymade Scripts. One of the main benefits of osCommerce is that If your hosting company doesn’t install osCommerce you may still be able to install it yourself or have someone install it for you
– osCommerce would be hard to compete with even if it cost as much as the most expensive commercial shopping carts.
– There are a large number of available add-on modules and many more in development

A Quick look at the Bad points :

– Technical support is limited to the osCommerce forums, which are not that much helpful to newbies.
– customizing this store can take a bit more technical knowledge.
– osCommerce is one of the most full featured and configurable shopping carts available, but if you aren’t comfortable with modifying files you may want to hire someone to set this up for you.
– Installing of multiple additional modules takes your manhours.
– It may be a while before an update is available to a payment module. These are done by unpaid enthusiasts.

Note before you choose your Hosting for osCommerce :

Any web host that includes MySql should also satisfy the requirments for osCommerce installation.
So, you can easily get started with osCommerce. You will definitely get stuck with few things in the beginning. But if you browse thro’ the forums or the knowledgebase, you have the solution. You can Write to me : shop@oscommerceindia.com

Happy Shopping !

About the Author :

Teeyes Siva is a Consultant at osCommerceindia (http://www.oscommerceindia.com), a Company offering osCommerce Related Services. He can be reached @ siva@aalphanet.com or 00 91 93441 05858.

The above article can be re-printed as long as the bio lines stay in place.

In this age of speed dialing, T1 lines and other forms of high-tech instant gratification, many webmasters find themselves tempted to engage in pay-per-click advertising. After all, if you’ve just designed a state-of-the-art website, there’s nothing quite as gratifying as a steady stream of traffic right from the start. Webmasters with open wallets have found that pay-per-click can provide traffic within hours or even minutes of a website’s launch.

Pay-per-click Pros

Before considering the perils and pitfalls of pay-per-click, it’s worthwhile to remember that in some instances, pay-per-click is a good market strategy. A number of reputable SEO firms combine pay-per-click management with search engine optimization as a method of getting their clients the clicks they need. Pay-per-click can be an especially effective strategy for:

– companies trying to beat a competitor to market with a new product who want to garner substantial traffic while waiting for their SEO efforts to kick in

– webmasters with deep pockets who are more concerned about establishing a quick presence than long-term return on investment

– webmasters who are reaping a return on investment high enough to justify expenditures on pay-per-click
Significant Drawbacks

Although there are valid reasons to engage in pay-per-click advertising campaigns, there are also enough drawbacks to give any webmaster pause.

Companies considering pay-per-click need to determine the primary purpose of their marketing campaign—whether it be immediate sales, building website value, or a combination of the two. If immediate sales is the goal and a worthwhile return on investment is being achieved, pay-per-click may be the strategy of choice—at least until good search engine positioning can be obtained.

Webmasters seeking to build a valuable web-based business should remember that whenever the money “spigot” for pay-per-click stops, so do the clicks. In contrast, clicks resulting from an investment in search engine optimization will continue for months and possibly years to come.

Monitoring ROI

Return on investment (ROI) is another key factor to monitor during the implementation of any pay-per-click marketing strategy. ROI can drop dramatically as market forces change. An increase in competition, when combined with rising costs-per-click and plummeting product prices, can quickly spell doom for a previously profitable ad campaign.

Computing ROI for pay-per-click can be a bit tricky. Since most sites receive “free” traffic resulting from SEO efforts, it’s important to try and ferret out what percentage of sales are resulting from pay-per-click and what percentage are resulting from your other SEO efforts.

Choosing which sites and search terms to allocate advertising dollars to can also be somewhat daunting. Rapid changes in per-click charges can also be challenging to manage well. If your bid is #1 and our competitors lower their bids, you may be left paying a higher price than necessary to maintain top positioning. This is the webmaster’s equivalent of throwing money down the drain. Unless you plan to sit by your computer watching per-click charges on an hourly basis, some type of pay-per-click management is, in my opinion, an absolute necessity.

In running a successful pay-per-click campaign, there are also questions to be answered about whether to try for top positioning or settle for some lesser spot, and which pay-per-click ads pull the best.

While I have learned “never to say never”, I am not presently using pay-per-click for any of my websites. Though I have used it in the past and may resort to it again, my website is doing better than ever without it. Pay-per-click is just one more thing to manage, and, if not managed well, can become a financial drain in a hurry. I’m a pretty busy person, and probably a tightwad as well. As a result, pay-per-click isn’t part of my current marketing arsenal.

That doesn’t mean, however, that it might not be right for your site. Do some testing, study it out, and consider the “cons” described in this article. In the words of an old adage, “if something is worth doing at all, it is worth doing well.” This is especially true for things that cost money. My advice is to keep that thought firmly in mind whenever you open your webmaster wallet.

Copyright 2005 Log Cabin Rustics

About The Author

Cari Haus has been successfully selling rustic log furniture and beds on the Internet since the late 1990’s. Copyright 2005 by Cari Haus, website http://www.logcabinrustics.com/. Permission is granted to reprint this article, either online or in written publications, as long as the copyright information, this paragraph, and a link address or a link to the Log Cabin Rustics website is attached at the end of the article.

Most web site hosting services like the one you’re probably using right now, provide you with space on which you can host your web site. These mediocre web site hosting companies will even help you set up your own email addresses and provide you with the ability to run your own scripts and programs.

Some of the better ones out here will even let you use a nice Eye Candy control panel to help you manage your site. If your lucky they’ll even throw in a website statistics app as well. For most web site hosting companies that’s about it! Most web site hosting services won’t bother giving you more service for you money.

To be honest most people (me included) always thought this was okay until we woke up and realized that there’s a lot more to running a internet business than simply hosting our site.
I quickly realized there are some new companies out there that offer way, way more than other companies. Some of these web site hosting services are really raising the bar several notches for all web site hosting services on the internet.

In this short summary you’ll find some of the features you need to be looking out for if you’re looking for a new web site hosting service or planning to transfer your web site.

You need to be on the look out fore:

1) A web site hosting service that helps you add new domains for a small fee without having to pay any additional monthly fee. So you can host many domains and still pay one monthly fee, thus saving you money.

2) A web site hosting service that will help you publish and manage your own newsletter so that you can regularly follow-up with your prospects and customers and thereby increase your sales. Look if they give you the option to publish a newsletter in both HTML and text format.

3) A web site hosting service that can set up an unlimited number of follow-up auto responders. So you can automatically follow-up with your prospects and send them a series of emails one after the other on any day you prefer.

4) A web site hosting service that helps you personalize all your newsletters and follow-up emails. So you can let all your newsletters and emails begin with something like “Hi Paul” or “Hi Peter”. Most people know that personalizing emails has proven to increase response rates by as much as 40% – 50% in some cases. Prospects love it when they receive mails like this!

5) A web site hosting service that helps you set up your own affiliate program so that other website owners can promote your site or products and earn commissions on the sales or leads they produce for you.

6) A web site hosting service that gives you the possibility to track the results of all your advertising campaigns like banner ads, eZine ads, ads in pay per click engines like Google Adwords or Overture. By using such a feature you will know exactly how many visitors you are receiving from each source, but also how many sales you are receiving from each source. This information will help you make better decisions what to optimize and what to dump.

7) A web site hosting service that gives you the possibility to sell multiple items from your web site using a shopping cart that calculate things like taxes and shipping costs in real time!

8) A web site hosting service that helps you protect your download page if you want to sell digital products like e-books or software from your site. Or protect your members only site or signup page so that only legitimate customers can download your products or sign up for your membership site.

9) A web site hosting service that helps you set up junk mail filters so that any junk mail that you receive is filtered out before they reach your account.

10) A web site hosting service that contains a built-in anti-virus software so that any virus containing emails you receive will be automatically deleted.

11) A web site hosting service that has great costumer support. Fast response is important is this field. A good web site hosting service respond to you within 24 hours.

About the Author

Author Paul Kelly

Article source http://web-site-traffic-building.blogspot.com/2005/06/big-secret-of-fabulous-and-mediocre.html

Home page http://web-site-traffic-building.blogspot.com/