Best Web Analytics Tools in Comparison

What are Web Analytics Tools?

Web Analytics Tools shed light on the unknown: they provide website and online store operators with an overview of what is happening on their internet presence and user behavior on their own website. By using personal data and custom analyses, Web Analytics Tools provide a detailed data analysis of user behavior. Relevant observations, for example, show who visits the own website, where these people come from and which contents are particularly well received. For example, conversion rates can be improved by adjusting the user experience and setting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to effectively achieve business goals. Based on the data collected by Web Analytics programs, important conclusions can be drawn about optimization potentials. The use of analysis tools for web analytics is nothing less than decisive for competition or success for operators of professional websites and online stores.

In our Web Analytics comparison, you will find the best Web Analytics providers!

Here are some Web Analytics Tools:

• Google Analytics

• Google Marketing Platform

• Amplitude

• mixpanel

• Matomo

• Adobe Analytics

• etracker Analytics

• SimilarWeb Pro

• Adtriba

• Contentsquare

These core functions basically constitute a Web Analytics Tool:

• Web traffic measurements, including visitor numbers, user behavior, sessions, single visitor tracking of personal data, determination of users' entry and exit pages, and behavior analyses

• Tracking of tagged events such as specific Conversions

• Collection of traffic data over longer periods of time and in real time

• Segmentation of traffic based on demographics, geography, groups of people and device

• Visualization possibilities for traffic and using different metrics to understand how users interact with the website.

Who are Web Analytics Tools interesting for?

If you operate a private website that has no monetary background, you can easily do without the use of a Web Analytics Tool. However, the situation is quite different for professional websites and online stores. If you want to operate profitably, it is always important to know your own strengths and weaknesses in order to be able to work on improvements specifically and thus ensure the necessary sales. As optimal online presence is success-determining for any company today - more than 90 percent of all purchasing decisions are made online - the activities there should also be measured and developed accordingly. Only in this way is it possible to remain competitive in the long term. Consequently, Web Analytics programs have top priority. They help to make important decisions not out of a gut feeling, but on the basis of solid data.

Why are Web Analytics Tools important – what are their key benefits?

The use of a Web Analytics Tool is indispensable for efficiently oriented online activities towards success today, that is for sure. The main goal pursued with the help of such programs is to better understand your own online visitors. Only those who know their (potential) customers can respond appropriately to their needs or challenges. The tools provided by Web Analytics providers help to clarify why one campaign is less well received by prospects than the other. The central goals or the benefits of Web Analytics programs lie in the following possibilities:

• With the help of Web Analytics Tools you get to know and understand your visitors: Corresponding programs show, from which country the majority of the traffic comes, which search terms in Google and Co. the own pages are mainly found, which landing pages are particularly successful, how long visitors stay on certain pages on average, how the acceptance on mobile devices is and much more. All this is obviously very useful in order to offer your online target group exactly what they need/expect.

• Web Analytics programs allow you to recognize typical user paths: Analytics allow you to determine the order in which visitors click through a web presence, which pages have an increased bounce rate, how the number of visitors who put a product in the shopping cart compares to those who complete an order, and more. It can thus be determined how prospects move in the conversion funnel, which is to be optimized in a targeted way. The desirable (simplified) conversion funnel in an online shop runs from calling up a page to filling the shopping cart to sending the order.

• Web Analytics providers allow their programs to draw conclusions about which content is well received and which is less so: The tools note which internal links are often clicked, whether texts, videos or podcasts are well received or how far visitors actually scroll in the content. All of this is extremely important to find out how to align content optimally. Many Web Analytics Tools offer trial versions to verify changes to the website before publication. This allows companies to optimize the user experience and achieve their goals through continuous testing and adjustments. This has a very high relevance because content is now one of the main convincing factors on the net. Companies that deliver targeted content with real added value are particularly frequently chosen.

• The analysis of log files is an important aspect of web analysis and data analysis. Web Analytics Tools ensure the data protection compliant storage and processing of this information by adhering to data protection regulations and ensuring that the personal data of users are protected.

Analytics tools thus help to align web presences very precisely or efficiently to the needs of the own target group. If customers feel sufficiently understood, they reward this with more frequent conversions, which ultimately means higher sales for the own company.

What are particularly important aspects to consider with Web Analytics Tools?

Choosing a Web Analytics provider is not an easy task. The market is huge and the available functions resemble each other strongly. Our Web Analytics comparison naturally provides an ideal information basis for research. The following factors should always be considered when looking for a suitable Web Analytics program.

For what kind of company is the tool intended?

This might sound trivial, but it is very important. Before choosing a Web Analytics Tool, it should be defined what characterizes the own company, what services are provided and what distinguishes these services. Depending on the industry and company orientation, different priorities may have to be set in web analysis and thus in the Web Analytics Tool. For example, an online shop has completely different conversion requirements than an affiliate site. Web Analytics Tools are generally suitable for a wide range of companies, from small start-ups to enterprise companies. The extensive analysis functions on which these tools are based enable companies to gain integrated insights into user behavior and website performance. Many providers offer a trial version of their products, so companies have the opportunity to explore the features before deciding on a paid version. This is particularly interesting for companies that are still small and do not have much budget for software. In addition, Web Analytics Tools are designed to work in compliance with data protection laws, which is particularly important for companies operating in regulated industries or placing high value on the protection of customer data.

What needs to be improved?

Ideally, if a web presence already exists, it should be roughly recorded before choosing the Web Analytics Tool what might be better to do. Where the online journey should go must be clarified anyway and specific goals must also be present. Only those who have goals can also find the way there. The Web Analytics program of choice should support the achievement of these precisely.

Which variant is preferred/needed?

Basically, you need to choose between implementing on-site and a cloud-based solution with Web Analytics Tools. The former variant is hosted on your own servers, which has the advantage that no data is initially outsourced to external providers. The data sovereignty over the collected information lies with the operator. A cloud solution, on the other hand, is easier, as there is no implementation and administration effort. In return, however, companies only get access to the data as long as the contract with the service provider runs.

Good Usability

Basically, all Web Analytics providers make sure that their solutions are easy to use. However, some tools require more experience than others. To find out if the usability fits, only a test helps. It is certain: The best analysis tools are useless if there are problems in terms of user-friendliness. Ideally, everything should fit from the implementation requirements of the respective solution to its visual design to the operating concept.

The following features of Web Analytics Tools are particularly important in many corporate contexts.

Page view tracking

The Web Analytics Tool should definitely have a tracker for determining page views. Such a feature is one of the absolute basics – it is therefore actually integrated in every tool. Many Web Analytics providers offer even more differentiated analysis options beyond the standard. It is important to weigh up the benefit of these for your own needs. Session tracking, single visitor tracking as well as tracking of entry and exit pages are often also possible and sensible.

Visitor assignment

A visitor allocation should also be standard. This way it is possible to see from which regions people access a web presence. This works using the IP address, so-called personal data. Furthermore, it is important to be able to recognize how users have found the internet presence (see also the previous paragraph). Is this through a search engine or perhaps by direct entry of the URL? These and other important questions in the field of visitor assignment can be clarified with the Web Analytics Tool.

Path tracking

The Web Analytics Tool should have a feature that allows website and online store operators to recognize typical paths of visitors. Among other things, the scroll and click behavior are analyzed (see also "heatmap" below).

Heatmap

With a Heatmap function it is possible to follow the movements of the mouse pointer of visitors. As a result, it is possible to make very precise statements about the quality of the structuring of an internet presence. In some Web Analytics Tools, heat maps are also used to visually better represent the origin of the visitors. The Scroll Heatmap is a variant of the heatmap that specifically analyzes the scrolling behavior. This allows to capture how far visitors actually scroll down on a page.