Once you've got a web site up and running it is all too easy to sit back
and relax. But how do you know you did a good job? How can you improve
the site you have based on real user behaviour? Without getting feedback
from your users, how will you find out how it's being used? Web traffic
analysis allows you to gain some insight into your site users: where
they come from, what pages they like, and how often they come back.
However, as statistics are prone to being misinterpreted, your insight
often has to be taken with a pinch of salt. This book takes you through
the process of analyzing your traffic, without taking for granted the
statistics that you generate. Assuming you have a web site, reading this
book will help you learn: - The techniques for gathering data on your
users - Standards and Guidelines you should adhere to when interpreting
your data - What other sites are doing to ensure they respect the
privacy of their users - Insight into how real sites use web traffic
analysis - Major case case studies from BBC News Online, eBay, and
ASPToday - Additional material from The Onion, SmartGirl, and The New
York Times From the Publisher This book is for any web professional who
wants to understand their site traffic. It's also for anyone with an
interest in finding out where their site is most used, and how to make
comparisons with other sites. To get the most from this book, you'll
need access to log files for your web site as they contain the
information we'll show you how to analyze. The book discusses the
privacy practices of The Onion, SmartGirl, and The New York Times, as
well as examining in detail the traffic analysis techniques used by BBC
News Online, eBay, and ASPToday.
