Receptional - 3:05 pm on Dec 3, 2003 (gmt 0)

It seems to me that there are far too many questions repeated in this forum, as people come in, usually finding their ISP's log analysis is one of the following:

1) non-existant 2)wildly innaccurate or 3) incomprehensible.

The first question they then ask is "what package should I use" and without naming names, this thread should tell you what to look for and why.

Logs Vs. Server Side (java tagging).
Let us be clear. Log files were originally intended to measure how much a machine was being used by other computers. The idea of measuring human behaviour is a relatively new one and not an activity ideally suited to log files. By comparison, client side tracking (usually denoted by java code on your web page which runs when a user loads the page) is disastrous at tracking robots, or working out if your webserver is getting too busy to cope.

Why do all tracking systems give different results?
Here are 5 reasons why logfile tracking systems scew up measuring users (I could think of many more, but these will be enough to confuse most bosses):

1) They identify "unique users" (generally) by the IP number that the user is arriving on. However, many people can come to the website in tyhe same day on the same IP if they go thruogh a dial up provider. This error will be more prominent on busy sites.
2) Some ISPs (infact, most) use proxy servers to cache pages. This means user A requests your home page. Ten minutes later, person B requests your home page, but it is delivered by the proxy server, not your website, so there is no record of this event on your logfile.
3) Even conversion data is ruined by point 2. This is because person B may then click on a link and lo... he appears to have started on an inner page on your site, when he didn't.
4) Point 2 also wrecks search engine tracking, since the user links to an inner page and lo... the referring domain appears to be an internal referral.
5) When a person returns to a website the next day, they will usually arrive on a separate IP number and thus be identified differently. Log file analysis cannot tell you how many times a person comes before they buy. Nor can it track returning visitors back to their original referrer.

So ... java tagging is better right? well... not necessarily...

Here are 8 reasons why java tagging systems scew up measuring users:

1) Java tags must go into HTML code, which means it requires ingenuity to track pictures, sound files, pdf files, or any other types of ownloads
2) The tag tracks browsers, not users. So if a person looks at your site from work, then from home, they are counted twice.
3) If a person looks at your site in Netscape, then in Internet Explorer (because you wrecked their user experience in Netscape) then they will be counted twice.
4) Java tags do not record spiders, such as googlebot.
5) If the java tag uses a third party cookie on a server without a valid privacy policy, then even Internet Explorer 6 default settings stop the cookie being laid.
6) The user may block all cookies if they choose.
7) If the server called up by the java tag is slow to respond, then the user may never be tracked, since they move from the page before the page load is complete.
8) As I sit writing this from a fancy web phone I have to add that some people do not see your site using java enabled browsers... they will not be tracked.

This said, Java tagging is MUCH better for most people to use, probably correctly analysing 90-95% of human users, whilst (IMHO) even the best log tracking can miss 35% of users on busy sites (though much more accurate on quieter sites).

My advice, therefore, has to be the latter approach from marketing perspective. So... even BEFORE saying how to select a third party product or not, I better explain what you must first do to make it legal to even use such a system... (yep... it will be illegal if you don't do the following)

On December 11th (2003) a new EU law comes into force that says you MUST tell users when you are using cookies to identify them, and you MUST tell them how they can opt out. My advice (and I am no lawyer, get legal advice yada yada) is to have a link on all pages saying "how we track" then have a page explaining that you track using cookies and that they can disable this in IE settings (explaining how). Actually, we track other things in the event that we cannot lay a cookie, so I intend to suggest that if they want to opt out, they better go through a site that disguises their real identity.

Choosing a java tracking system:
I cannot recommend any here, but consider these factors:
1) The BEST is a system that sits on your own server, thus eliminating any problems with third party cookies. For busy sites, this may also be the most cost effective, but is certainly the hardest to integrate and requires you to have (probably) a dedicated server.
2) The best THIRD PARTY systems will also be the most expnsive. Important is not whether it tracks visitors, but whether it can show TRENDS over time and CONVERSIONS by search engine, or keywrd or campaign.
3) Even the best third party software is dependent on its own server load and server downtime. So, the most popular may also be the least accurate. (Not saying it is... but saying it could be a victim of its own success). Also consider whether the stats server is 7,000 miles from your own users, as this could be a factor.
3) Very low priced systems probably do not have a compact privacy policy, so all IE6 users are not tracked.

Hope this helps a number of people in this forum.

Dixon.

(Edit add: When I say "Java" I mean Javascript - one of my staff just pointed that out.)

[edited by: Receptional at 3:34 pm (utc) on Dec. 3, 2003]