Top Ten Website Analytics Tools for Optimizing Websites

Website analytics play a major role in website optimization. The logic is simple, in order to optimize your website correctly you need to figure the areas of the website that are turning users away, this is where website analytic tools come in handy. However, it is important to understand that different analytic tools have different functionalities. It is not about buying the most expensive analytics tool for your optimization needs but about buying the right ones.

Some tools are ideal for blog specific websites while others may be ideal for Ecommerce websites. You need to figure out which website analytics tools will fit perfectly for your website optimization needs.

 

  1. Google Analytics

google analytics

Google Analytics is probably the most heard of as well as the most commonly used application when it comes to gauging the viewer’s response. It can be easily integrated with a website and has a very user-friendly front end.

Google Analytics is without a doubt the most used web analytics tool among its competition. The reason is simple; Google makes it. It provides accurate readings of user behavior and how they interact with your website.

In the past, there were some concerns regarding the accuracy of the geographical location of users that visit your website as users have the option to reject the analytics cookie and as such don’t appear on the Google Analytics tracker.

Apart from that, Google Analytics has had pretty clean record in terms of its results.  It allows you to segment your viewers and gauge their response; you can even calculate the effective results of your email campaign and channelize better ways for tracking conversions.

It is however not a recommended option for newbies and the information given by Google analytics does not give easy insight into actions that you need to take to improve the quality of your website, as well as the user experience.

Features   
Free version Yes
Paid Version $150,000 per year
Ease of Use 4/5
Drawback Traditional data reports
Popularity 9/10

 

 

 

  1. Kissmetrics

kissmetrics

Kissmetrics is a web-based analytics application that was co-founded by analytics expert Neil Patel. Neil Patel considers Kissmetrics as Crazy Egg 2.0. Kissmetrics is specifically designed for small and medium businesses to help them understand in complete detail how customers visit their website and what keeps them from converting.

With Kissmetrics, it is not just about the page views. You get to see how individual users behave on your website. Kissmetrics tracks the bounce rates as well as the conversion rates. By this, we mean that Kissmetrics gives you a deep insight into how your most passionate customers behave when visiting your website and which facets of your website get them most excited.

This helps you in visualizing your target audience and specifically target customers who are more likely to get converted on your website.

Kissmetrics also keeps tabs on your regular customers and how their behavior has changed with time. With the data made available by Kissmetrics you get to see the loopholes in your website, so that you can correct them and come up with a better marketing strategy that will eventually increase your conversion rate.

Features
Free Version No, but a free trial is offered
Pricing $179 to $599 per month
How to use it http://support.kissmetrics.com/
Popularity 7/10
Ease of use 4/5

 

 

  1. Crazy Egg

crazyegg

When it comes to ease of use, there is no better website optimization tool than Crazy Egg. Their explainer video beautifully explains the software’s awesomeness. Crazy Egg is especially useful for optimizing landing pages.

The scroll map view shows you exactly at which point on your page viewers stop scrolling; this helps you to place your call to action in a place where it will be most noticeable.

The heat map and the confetti view show the positions in your website where users click the most; this can help you to optimize your pages in a way that they are more accessible than ever before.

Crazy Egg is a powerful tool if you know how to use it. It shows exactly how users have been interacting on your page and where they come from. This also includes their geographical location as well as which site has referred them to you; this even tells which referrals and affiliates are making you money and which aren’t, so that you can optimize your website rankings in a better way.

 

Features
Free version 30 day free trial
Pricing https://www.crazyegg.com/pricing#.
Ease of use 5/5
Best used for Landing page optimization

 

  1. ClickTale

clicktale

Just like Crazy Egg, ClickTale is another pretty awesome web analytics tool that tells that exact places where you need to optimize your website, without confusing you with the mumbo-jumbo of graphs, figures, weekly statistics and other such things.

CickTale’s entire analytics system is expressed beautifully in its name. Website optimization according to ClickTale is all about the tale of clicks. You can allocate various funnels and see at which point in these funnels customers begin to exit your website. This helps you to find out which points need work and so forth.

Their Form Analytics tool is an excellent tool that helps you gauge which sections are being left blank. You can even track sections are discouraging users from filling out your form. As a result, you can tweak them and create highly optimized forms that promise better conversions.

You can even see the play by play of exactly how your users engage with your website and the facets of your website that are continuously getting ignored so that you can modify them or better yet discard them for something better.

Features
Free version  Demo version available
Pricing plans Request a demo with them, and they will assign a quote for your needs
Ease of use 5/5
Best for Optimizing forms and other aspects of websites
Visit http://www.clicktale.com/products/tour

 

  1. Spring Metrics

SM-logo-color

Spring Metrics is not just about finding loopholes in websites. It is an all-in-one problem and solution based application. The focus of Spring Metrics is on collecting visitor information. Where they come from, how they interact with the website, who are your regular customers, which users fail to convert.

Spring Metrics is an ideal solution for small to medium size businesses e-commerce businesses. Spring Metrics even allows you to send coupons to specific customers. For example, you can send discount coupons to customers who are visiting your product pages but fail to make a purchase. Or you can even send discounts to customers who have bought more than five products within a month.

Such options are perfects solutions to get customers hooked to your website. They even have interesting options that will help you to optimize your email messages so that they result in more follow ups.

Features
Payment Structure Request a demo and negotiate a pricing with them
Ease of use 4/5
Features http://www.springmetrics.com/features/
Best Feature Optimize email marketing
Free trial Two weeks no obligations free trial
Active support team presence Yes

 

  1. Mouseflow

mouseflow

Mouseflow is the point where Crazy Egg and Google Analytics meet. It’s a treat for both analytics’ newbies as well as experts who love to decode traditional statistical charts and come up with customized solutions specific for websites.

Mouseflow came at a time when traditional statistics ruled the website analytics world. Instead of giving complicated answers to website owners Mouseflow, showed exactly how users interacted with their website and what could be improved or abandoned on their sites for the better.

Website owners finally got the answers they were looking for ages. With real-time viewing, they could pinpoint the error zones find ways to fix them rather than get lost in a sea of databases with no answers in sight.

Their fantastic and top of the line customer service has put them in the top category of web based analytics solutions for websites.

Features
Pricing plans http://mouseflow.com/pricing/
Best Feature  Has a specific feature for Ecommerce websites
Money back 30 days money back guarantee
Complete feature list http://mouseflow.com/tour/mouse-tracking/

 

  1. User Testing

usertesting

Every smart and capable entrepreneur knows that the customer is always right.  With User Testing you don’t need to worry about decoding statistics; you get honest customers’ reviews and reactions right as they are viewing your website.

User Testing removes all the middlemen and selects people who fit your favored user demographics. The users then test your websites and give their honest opinions about which sections were hard for them to comprehend and which sections were downright unappealing.

With user testing, you get straight to the nitty-gritty of website experience. User Testing is different than other analytics applications. It is very simple and with direct user input, you get the best optimization advice for your websites.

With User Testing, there will be no doubt left in your mind about the problem areas of your website. User Testing has the means to find your target audience and capture them using your application or website.

Features
Free Trial only for enterprise level businesses
Distinguishing feature get to view the direct experience of target audience
Minimum pricing $98 for three users and so on

 

  1. Decibel Insight

decibel insight

Decibel insight is the perfect heat mapping tool for all your data analytics needs. From customer heat maps to time heat maps they provide heat maps for everything.

The reason business owners have started turning to heat maps is simple. Heat maps are very easy to understand and give you just the right amount of information without wasting any energy in trying to decode traditional analytics.

In one glance, you can easily read a heat map and pinpoint the exact area of the website that need fixing.

Decibel insight specializes specifically in heat maps. If you have found using heat maps as an effective solution for your optimization needs, then Decibel Insight has the widest range of heat maps in store for you.

Features
Pricing plans https://www.decibelinsight.com/Packages/
Free plan 5000 page views per month
Distinguishing features Highly detailed heat maps
Ease of use 5/5

 

 

  1. Mint

mint

Mint may be a traditional data analytics tool application but in terms of understanding huge amounts of data Mint is a very capable application.

The best part about Mint is that every different type of data is broken down into different categories so that it is easy for you to read the data and come up with conclusions for changes that will benefit you in the long run.

Mint is very easy to upload and even easier to manage. One downside however is the fact that they offer their application with a license for just one application. In order to use Mint for another application you will have to buy another license.

However, the fact that Mint has a onetime payment policy is also a factor that has made it an affordable option for many.

With Mint, you get daily updates unlike Google Analytics that takes a lot of time to upload the most recent data.

Features
Pricing $30 per site
Distinguishing features Traditional analytics optimized for user ease
Complete feature list http://haveamint.com/about/feature_highlights
Ease of use 4/5

 

10. Chartbeat

chartbeat

Whenever I hear the word Chartbeat, three words spring in my mind, which are “real time info.” If you feel that real time info is all that you need to figure out how your website is faring in the current scenario, then Chartbeat might just be the thing for you.

It is a very visually appealing application and the fact that all its data reflects on the real-time performance of the website is very awesome. However, if you are looking at a website that captures data for a longer duration, then Chartbeat is not the solution for you.

Chartbeat’s data is very visually appealing. It even records the current loading time of all your website pages. However, it is important to note that Chartbeat is not a good solution for Ecommerce websites.

Features
Pricing plans https://chartbeat.com/publishing/plans/
Complete feature list https://chartbeat.com/publishing/for-editorial/heads-up-display/
Distinguishing features Gives real-time info for your latest optimization needs