We suggest two methods of recording website traffic: Matrixstats and Google Analytics. We have been using and comparing both these methods for some period and we are currently recommending the use of Google Analytics for small to medium size businesses. We have been using Analytics for a few of our own websites for a while and are totally happy with it.

Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free system provided by Google. It is well trusted amongst search engine specialists for providing the key data that can help webmasters improve site ranking rather than simply boast of high traffic figures. The statistics and charts are very comprehensive while easy to read and understand.  We have concluded that the software offers a true reflection of human activity on the site, will allow you to view accurate and expansive figures and follow visitor activity very closely. Additionally, the Google brand is not considered to be threatened which should allow continuity of figures for many years.

While the system is free to users, it does take some setting up at admin level and on your website. For setting up this service we charge a one-off set-up fee of £25 (exc. VAT) with no annual fee. This compares well with the annual fee of £25 for Matrixstats.

In order to gain access you will need a Google Account with Analytics. If you don't already have one, you can sign up here:

(NB: You may wish to uncheck the option 'Enable Web History' on the first sign up page below your password choices)

Let us know the email address you use for your login and we will create the account when your site goes live. Then the next time you login to Google Analytics (after the site is live) you should see your profile for your website. We will email you when access is ready, while data will take 24 hours or more to start appearing.

You will be granted User Status (as opposed Admin Status), but that will allow you access to all sections, to view all reports and schedule email reports and also export data (to PDF for example). We will also be able to access and monitor your site's performance much more closely than with Matrixstats and offer advice for improving your site. A full Search Engine Management (SEM) service is available on request, and Google Analytics provides a perfect tool for measuring the success of SEO.

Maxtrixstats
The Matrixstats system is very good at giving a snapshot of all the activity on your site in real time, but we feel that because it uses the log files for its source and includes all activity, such as search engine robots and other technical data, it doesn't give customers the most accurate information about the day to day traffic that is most relevant to them.

Because all activity is included, Matrixstats does tend to inflate traffic figures and give a less than accurate picture of the true quality of traffic. This is good for relaying traffic stats to potential advertisers, but not necessarily for judging the performance of your site, on search engines for example.  Therefore, we are now recommending that Google Analytic offers more benefits to smaller businesses.

Some of our customers use both Matrixstats and Google Analytics to provide a broader range of data. This is especially useful for customers with large volumes of traffic.

Matrixstats is £25 (exc. VAT) per year.

Raw Statistics
If required, we can provide access to the raw statistics but you will need to download these on a regular basis and process them using specialist software. This is best suited to the larger companies with an IT department.

SEO Tools
Wordserver has a simple tool that allows you to add a page Title, along with Description and Keywords Meta Tags.

Max characters available: 255
Recommended max characters:
Title: 60
Description: 160
Keywords: 255

Restrictions:
Use letters, numbers, commas and dashes. Sorry, you may not use apostrophes or ampersands or other special characters due to technical issues.

You'll also find some great SEO tools available on your Google Account.