Web analytics services: 9 of the best tools for analysing traffic and competitors

Every expert loves talking about data-driven marketing. We believe marketing is based on data by definition. Where do you get accurate, complete figures to make decisions on? This is where the many analytics services come in — the ones that belong in the arsenal of any modern marketer or business manager.  

We will go through the best services for web analytics and competitor analysis. 

Which of them to choose? The decision is yours. We recommend taking every factor into account: 

• ease of use;
• the completeness and accuracy of the information;
• prices;
• the feature set;
• whether there is a trial period;
• how easily it integrates with the site and the CRM. 

In this review we will pay the closest attention to all of those criteria. 

Google Analytics 

Google Analytics is one of the main tools of a modern marketer

A web analytics service without which the work of a modern internet marketer is hard to imagine. Google Analytics shows an enormous number of parameters and metrics: 

• the sources of visits;
• visit statistics by day, week and month;
• the number of visits to every page on the site;
• the average time a user spends on the site;
• the bounce rate;
• the path users take and what they do on the site, and so on.

For many people Google Analytics remains the only source of data about a site. That is quite normal, but the tool has to be configured properly for the goals and the nature of the particular resource, taking the promotion channels used into account. A great many articles have been written about configuring Google Analytics, and there are even online courses. With Google's tools you will be able to track the technical condition and the traffic of your site. 

The main features and advantages of Google Analytics: 

• access to reports in real time;
• choosing a segment of the data to analyse;
• analysis and statistics of the events you define on the site;
• analysis and optimisation of advertising campaigns, and so on. 

Google's analytics tools are completely free. They can be connected to a site through special plugins or by adding code to the site. 

Clicky.com 

Web analytics services help you make the right decisions in business

The main features of the service: 

• analytics in real time;
• detailed statistics;
• statistics on the search phrases that bring the site traffic;
• detailed analytics of visits;
• the ability to watch a user on the site in real time;
• access from an Android or Apple device.

The free plan covers analytics for one site with up to 3,000 visitors a day. For 10 USD you can administer 10 sites with up to 30,000 visitors a day; that plan includes an extended feature set. The top plan covers 1,000 sites with up to 10 million visitors a day. We recommend this service for small sites that do not need very detailed analytics. 

Matomo (ex Piwik) 

The service Matomo has a fairly convenient feature set, enough for a small site without a complex structure. Its main features include: 

• tracking visit statistics;
• calculating the conversion rate;
• monitoring activity in real time.

It is available on a free plan and at 65 dollars a month with an extended feature set, training and support. Its only drawback is that Matomo has to be downloaded and installed on your own server. 

Woopra

The service collects and organises as much information as possible about each user. All of it can be sorted, filtered and segmented. You can also tag particular users to track their returns to the site and what they do next. 

The features are standard for a service of this kind. Besides that, Woopra integrates easily with other systems and with CRMs. Through the service you can also talk to visitors in real time. 

Users get a free 30-day demo period. 

KISSMetrics

The service makes it possible to: 

• analyse what every visitor to the site does;
• run an unlimited number of reports and A/B tests;
• record information about every user;
• analyse retention;
• analyse conversion and the sales funnel;
• carry out cohort analysis;
• use a mobile app.

The service costs from 200 USD a month. A 14-day demo version is available. KISSMetrics is best suited to large internet projects; the tool has many unique functions its equivalents cannot offer. 

Openwebanalytics 

The product is aimed first of all at online shops. Its standard set of functions includes analysis of buyers' actions. 

You will also be able to analyse conversions and sales funnels, track the sources of visits and so on. There are many additional functions for sites on WordPress. 

GoSquared 

Another analytics service for an online shop. It lets you track: 

• how sales change over a period; 
• traffic to particular product categories;
• traffic sources;
• referring sites.

Other functions: 

• the ability to talk and interact with users on the site;
• analytics in real time;
• analysis of user engagement.

The service's plans run from 18 USD to 350 USD. The demo version lasts 14 days. The interface is fairly simple and intuitive. 

Goingup — analytics and metrics for SEO optimisation 

The feature set of Goingup includes: 

• detailed analytics of the site;
• tracking of visits and user behaviour on the site;
• counting conversions;
• statistics on Alexa Rank and Google Page Rank;
• the tools needed to analyse organic traffic from search engines;
• instruments for optimisation. 

The service is completely free, but its feature set does not suit large projects that need a great deal of detail in the data.

Mixpanel

The service offers the following features: 

• analysis of retention and engagement;
• statistics in real time;
• grouping users by similar behaviour;
• the ability to send messages to visitors who have left the site;
• a mobile app for constant access to the analytics;
• analytics of conversions and the sales funnel.

Up to 25 thousand events can be tracked free. Paid plans run from 150 to 2,000 USD a month. The service has an advanced feature set and opens up possibilities for segmenting data. It is best suited to large projects with a large budget. 

Conclusions 

A web analytics service has to be chosen on a combination of factors. The main ones are: 

• price;
• how convenient the interface is;
• whether it has the functions you need (grouping users by particular characteristics, assigning labels and so on);
• how simple it is to install.

Use the service that suits you on every criterion, or on most of them. In some cases several analytics tools can be used at once. 

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