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Why don't my clicks match my website stats?
Got this note over the weekend:
I have a blog post today that, on Lefty Blogs, says it's had 65 clicks. Now, I use Sitemeter to measure hits etc. I'm not incredibly sophisticated with this stuff, but my visits on Sitemeter definitely don't reflect 65 clicks from Lefty Blogs.
So, how does this happen?
First, understand the different kinds of stats on your website. The most basic are "hits" - which is a count of the number of times a file is downloaded on your site.
Another stat is "pageviews" - which is a count of the number of times an HTML document is downloaded. (Hits, you see, includes all the graphics and other stuff. One pageview could be 10-20 hits.)
And the final major stat that people talk about is "visits" or "unique visits". This one is an attempt to understand how many actual people are visiting your site. Usually a single visit is series of pageviews from a single IP address in a short period of time (30, 60, 90 minutes...)
But here's where it gets crazy. For starters, a single IP address might represent multiple computers in a corporate suite, dorm hallway, or even a neighborhood. Or, one computer on a dialup connection might appear to be multiple IP addresses -- even in the space of 30 minutes.
So, while some people use "visits" as the closest approximation to the number of people that visit a site -- well, it's just not a very good stat.
And it gets worse: Many browsers - and some internet providers - "cache" web pages. In other words, once it's viewed once, it's stored locally on the computer (or at an ISP, on a local router) so that it can be served from there -- without ever bothering the originating web server.... which means, that the pageview never registers.
The "clicks" meter on LeftyBlogs.com is merely a click-thru counter. When someone clicks a link, it counts 'em - and then passes them off to your blog. If their browser or ISP is serving up a cached version, we'll count the click - but you won't see the pageview.
And finally: All of the above is true if you have direct access to the stats or logfiles on your webserver. If you're using a third-party stat-counter (like SiteMeter), the possible permutations multiply.
Trying to simplify things, consider this: While you may not be able to compare one set of stats to another (apples, oranges, etc.) it's relatively valid to evaluate one metric over time... if your SiteMeter shows your traffic moving up, it's probably moving up.
Posted by Kari Chisholm on November 25, 2006 04:07 PM
Comments
Still no links to my new posts!
Posted by Mimi Schaeffer on December 9, 2006 10:39 PM
I am beging, please tell me what I need to to so I can get my links on Lefty!
This has been going on for TWO WEEKS!
Posted by Mimi Schaeffer on December 10, 2006 11:11 AM
Looking for a contact link myself. Finding none, I hope I'll see some help here. I live in a tri-state area, and I hope to comment on issues affecting the three jurisdictions. I am only able to submit to a single feed. Is it possible to submit to more than one state?
Posted by AndreaC on January 15, 2007 07:32 PM
I found a contact link, Mimi. Go to this link. http://www.mandatemedia.com/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=contactus
Posted by AndreaC on January 15, 2007 08:06 PM
I wasn't sure how to write to y'all, but the address for my page has changed. I was at http://blogspot.rumromanismrebellion.com, but now I'm at http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net.
Is there something special I have to do to move over?
Ted.
Posted by tedski on January 28, 2007 08:27 AM
[10,985 word off-topic comment deleted. wow. -editor.]
Posted by If you die out you will need a clone host body and this will limit your time. on January 31, 2007 08:28 PM
I disagree with the above post by "IIf you die out you will need a clone host body and this will limit your time" and will post an excruciatingly detailed rebuttal shortly.
:)
Posted by tn on February 8, 2007 08:52 AM
I seem to have the opposite "problem" -- I know I get hits from leftyblogs, but never see any clicks registered on the leftyblogs.com listing when I look (newsrack v2.0, MD).
That's not a big problem, but I know people would be a little more curious about a post if it looked like other people were, too. So I'm writing to find out whether there's something I should do to my blog template so click-throughs from leftyblogs are counted correctly.
Posted by Thomas Nephew on February 9, 2007 07:05 AM
Dump your site meter and Get Google Analytics for a truly accurate record of hits and unique user information. No, I don't work for Google, I just find this service incredibly helpful.
Posted by Jerome Alicki on February 15, 2007 12:52 PM
Same here - no links to my posts for a couple days now. WAHHHH
Posted by Barbara on May 25, 2007 11:15 PM
