When it comes to free web analytics, there are several choices. Four favorites are Onestatfree.com, Google Analytics, Piwik, and GoStats, each of which you can see in the accompanying screen shots. In each case, using the analytics software is a matter of registering, copying a snippet of code, and pasting it into the source code for the page you want to track. You can track something as simple as how many visitors per day you get to complex information like conversions and percentage of goals reached.
Google Analytics is the most elaborate and feature-laden of the bunch, and it’s all free, whereas for some of the other programs, you have to pay to upgrade to get premium features. But Onestatfree, Google Analytics, Piwik, and GoStats are all easy to use and set up. For most people, convenience and ease of use will be the factors that influence how much use you get out of any web analytics software. There will also be a certain amount of discipline you’ll have to get used to in order to make the most of your analytics. But once you learn to use the numbers to your advantage, you’ll be more motivated than ever to get your site in order and optimize it so you can reach all your goals for your website.