What is the best way to track internet-site traffic? I have been using Alexa.com but it seems to be inaccurate
I am an investor with a focus on internet and tech companies and one of my research strategies for internet companies is to follow web site traffic to see if a company is growing or not. I have found that alexa.com seems to be not only inconsistent with the information analysts use but also with companies’ own internal metrics given at the end of each quarter. Is there a better free tool that moniters web traffic, and if not, what are the for-pay ones?
Unfortunately Alexa is as close as you can get. The main problem with the Alexa results is that their data comes only from those who have the Alexa toolbar installed and their reach is not representative of the total internet community. The ‘rankings’ that are sometimes reported in the media come from either self reported numbers (usually) or studies of users surfing (rarely, and again without enough reach). Short of seeing the companies logs you really don’t know how much traffic they are getting. You can get search engine page rank (Webposition 4.0) but this is not directly representative of traffic.
October 30th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Unfortunately Alexa is as close as you can get. The main problem with the Alexa results is that their data comes only from those who have the Alexa toolbar installed and their reach is not representative of the total internet community. The ‘rankings’ that are sometimes reported in the media come from either self reported numbers (usually) or studies of users surfing (rarely, and again without enough reach). Short of seeing the companies logs you really don’t know how much traffic they are getting. You can get search engine page rank (Webposition 4.0) but this is not directly representative of traffic.
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