Web analytics are an increasingly important part of how you run your Internet marketing efforts. Long gone are the days of flying a tempermental biplane with a scarf and goggles—you need radar, infrared, and afterburners.

Elite Web Analytics

Many Internet marketers work for large clients and need the best analytics that money can buy. Omniture’s client list proves that its Site Catalyst is definitely in this category.

Budget Web Analytics

Some of us need as much horse power as we can afford. Our financial position or the smaller size of our clients dictates that we choose something less than top-of-the-line. Clicktracks Analyzer runs $495 a user license (as of Jan. 06). The advantage of Clicktracks is that it’s a one-time purchase of software that you can use forever after.

Free Web Analytics

You don’t have to publicly admit it, but your web analytics plane may look more like a paper airplane—you may not have any budget for analytics at all. There are a few solutions that are reputable, like Google Analytics and StatCounter. Google has had to stop accepting new subscriptions because of the volume of demand, and so StatCounter seems to be the next best choice.

Flight Lessons

Whatever solution you choose, make sure that your web analytics solution can generate reports in real time. Waiting to see the effects of a change can be detrimental to your business, or very boring. You don’t want your plane to stall.

Learn what the statistics mean. I will be including some of them later, but for now you can just use a search engine to find them.

Aces

Any of you statistics aces out there who have “shot down” multiple web analytics packages or who have found a favorite way to fly, feel free to comment—help the novices get off the ground. What’s your favorite analytics package and why?