Customer Reviews

Web Analytics For Dummies

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Excellent book for those who know little or nothing about web analytics.
It explains the what and the why of web analytics. It then does a good job of discussing software. The pros and cons of each without any bias.
I am already using Awstats, a server side analytics tool, and still learned a few things. It also covers Google analytics, which is free and a very valuable tool for any website.

The book is well organized but a little too basic when it comes to analytics. The authors write as if their readers are not analytical. For example, they write:

"Unless you are highly analytical, though, you might not be able to make sense of its contents."

This is a web analytics book. Why would I be reading it if I did not have the aptitude to analyze?

The authors are not analysts. In fact, they mistakenly believe that analysts are like journalists. Analytics is not journalism. Journalists report. Analysts analyze.

The book covers basic concepts and light addresses how data and statistics can be collected, digested and then used to create strategic plans to increase sales, web page hits and keep visitors longer.

I bought this book for an online course and covered a lot of ground, great for folks just needing to be familiar with web analytics or someone starting in the field.

This book actually covers quite a bit with a specific web analytics tool but there are other free ones out there including Google Analytics and Stat Counter.