In today's digital marketplace, there is no shortage of web
analytics tools to choose from. Many tools offer the same reporting features as
the next, which makes it increasingly difficult in deciding which tool to
utilize. Lucky for digital marketers, there always seems to be a new analytics
tool on the horizon, along with a constant stream of reviews and comparisons to
promptly follow. While digital marketers take their time mulling over their
options, price is also a consideration that plays a big impact on which tool
they end up deciding to use. So…what is a digital marketer to do?
I am going to attempt to answer that question by taking a
look at two of the most prominent web analytics tools on the market: Google
Analytics and Clicky. Both feature very
similar reporting capabilities, but Clicky has more to offer and that comes
with a price tag. The good news is that
the price is something very manageable and is why from an economic standpoint, Clicky
would be worth the risk as the price isn’t going to break the bank. Either tool
is going to benefit your website if you are not running any analytics. Let’s
take a brief look at these two web analytics competitors.
About Google
Analytics
The place for any digital marketer to begin their analytics
journey is with Google Analytics. They have been the benchmark for web
analytics for the past decade. Not only does
GA cost nothing, it also set the bar for some of the most detailed and robust
analytics reporting systems in the market today. Google Analytics is invaluable software that companies can
implement into their existing website or mobile application in order to track
and gather information about visitors to their site in order to turn that data
into actionable marketing strategies. After a simple installation, Google
Analytics starts collecting information about all of the visitors to a given
page, from geographic information about where they are from and where they have
been to demographic information, like age, race, gender, or more. (Datanyze,
2015)
Knowing more about visitors and
potential customers makes it easy for marketers to leverage the information
gathered through Google Analytics into real, effective marketing strategies.
The data can be filtered in any number of ways in order for users to find
exactly who they are looking for. Analytics can also be used for mobile
applications, letting developers find out who is using their software and the
best way to sell to them or anyone else. Through Google Analytics, marketers
and website administrators have a whole new box of tools from which to choose
an effective marketing strategy. With all of the valuable information that
Analytics provides, it is easier than ever for companies to market themselves
well, retain customers, draw in new ones, and create their own success in the
online marketplace. (Datanyze, 2015)
About Clicky
Offering top of the line, real time analytics, Clicky is a
leading software company providing its customers with the ability to monitor
their website’s performance and get up-to-the-minute information about any and
all visitors to a page. By implementing Clicky’s software, a company gets large
amounts of information about the visitors to a website, from their demographic
information to what they did on a given web page. Clicky also allows users to
create databases about each user in order to get real time updates on their
activity. That information can be used as actionable marketing strategies to
reach individuals, or even make adjustments to a website in order to increase
conversions. (Datazyne, 2015)
Clicky also provides heat maps, letting administrators know
which parts of their site are successful and which parts could use a bit of
optimization in order to increase revenue. Clicky can also provide users with
live information about who is on the site at a given time and what they are
doing, more valuable data that be used to make sales. With Clicky, companies can
learn more about their potential customers and how they use a website, data
that can be leveraged into more viable marketing strategies that can lead to a
more successful business. (Datazyne, 2015)
Why choose Clicky over Google Analytics?
As robust as Google Analytics is, some small business users
may find that it doesn't meet their needs. For one, Google Analytics is
relatively limited in scope, and lacks the flexibility and advanced reporting
many businesses need for their specific goals and type of website. It also
doesn't provide the instantaneous, actionable data that help them make the most
out of their website and marketing campaigns. (Angeles, 2014)
Unlike Google Analytics, Clicky lets you view detailed
information on each individual user, such as IP addresses, Internet service
provider (ISP), location, operating system, Web browser, referrer, visit
length, sessions and actions during a specific visit, and more. Users can also
associate individual visitors with usernames and email addresses, view complete
individual visitor histories and track when a website was down and for which
visitor. (Angeles, 2014)
If you’re intimidated by the sheer amount of data to hand in Google
Analytics, Clicky will be seriously refreshing. The interface is clean and
uncluttered and contains only the information you are most likely to want to
see at a glance. (Ewer, 2015) The positive side of this
simplicity is that it takes you about 10 minutes to become familiar with all of
its features, in comparison to the hours you can spend on GA after which you
still get the feeling you’re missing half of it. (Blankenspoor, 2015)
3 Features that give Clicky
the advantage
One of Clicky's standout features is its heat-mapping capabilities, which give users a holistic view of what visitors are doing and whether the website is meeting its traffic goals. The heat-map feature shows information like where visitors are clicking on pages, and can be segmented by goal or visitor sessions. Users can also go to any Web page and view heat maps in real time, right on the page being viewed. (Angeles, 2014)
Alerts
Another notable feature is Clicky's alert system. This feature notifies users of specific events, based on triggers, so you never miss out on important information. Triggers include new visitors, goals, campaigns, searches, referrers, IP tags and custom data. Alerts arrive via a desktop pop-up, email message, the ClickyTouch mobile app or Twitter. (Angeles, 2014)
Mobile-friendly
Clicky is one of the most mobile-friendly website analytics services. From an analytics standpoint, Clicky offers mobile hardware reporting that shows which mobile platforms are being used by visitors on their tablets and mobile phones. Another advantage of Clicky is that it does not use Adobe Flash, so it's accessible even on iOS and other mobile devices that don't support Flash. To make viewing stats even easier, dedicated versions are also available for the iPhone and other platforms. (Angeles, 2014)
Cost
The
graphic below represents the costs associated with Clicky. As I mentioned before, the cost is definitely
manageable. There are plenty of other web analytics tools out there, but not
many are going to provide this much reporting for a better price.
References:
Angeles, S. (2014). 3 Google Analytics Alternatives (and Why
You Should Use Them). BusinessNewsDaily.com. Retrieved, November 22, 2015 from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6090-google-analytics-alternatives.html
Blankenspoor, J. (2015).
5 Great Google Analytics Alternatives.
Sitepoint.com. Retrieved, November 22, 2015 from http://www.sitepoint.com/5-great-google-analytics-alternatives/
Datanyze (2015). Clicky vs. Google Analytics. Datanyze.com.
Retrieved, November 22, 2015 from https://www.datanyze.com/market-share/analytics/clicky-vs-google-analytics/
Ewer, T. (2013). Why I use Clicky Analytics instead of
Google. LeavingWorkBehind.com. Retrieved, November 22, 2015 from http://leavingworkbehind.com/clicky-web-analytics/
Oberoi, A. (2015). The Top 31 Best Web Analytics Tools |
Google Analytics Alternative. Adpushup.com Retrieved, November 22, 2015 from http://www.adpushup.com/blog/web-analytics-tools-google-analytics-alternatives/
Reed College of Media, Lesson 5: Google Analytics.
ECAMPUS.WVU.EDU. Retrieved, November 22, 2015 from: https://www.ecampus.wvu.edu
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