ClickTracks and HitsLink cull Web site stats without the stress

Although there’s nothing inherently bad with hundreds of reports, most users need only a subset. I didn’t have trouble eliminating clutter by bookmarking reports of interest that displayed when I logged in to the service. Nor did I have trouble combining several reports into a custom dashboard.

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Because most people can’t spend all their time monitoring site performance, HitsLink helps make sure you don’t miss important events. I easily set up alerts when certain traffic levels were hit. Additionally, I scheduled reports for e-mail delivery to various people. (Reports can also be exported in PDF, Excel, Word, and other common formats.)

Marketers should get very good utility from this solution. For example, I used HitsLink’s search engine reports to see referrals by various engines. Additionally, integration with WordTracker -- a database of terms people search for -- showed how often people searched for references on my site. This information helped identify keywords that I hadn’t previously considered that related to my organization. As result, I was able to adjust page content and optimize search engine traffic.

The Enterprise version I tested extends basic search engine optimization into some decent campaign monitoring. As with the basic system setup, there’s nothing complicated about creating campaigns. For example, I merely added a simple query string to a URL that indicated it was reached from a Google Adword. Similarly, you can track e-mail marketing campaigns, Overture keyword campaigns, or custom referral sources.

HitsLink doesn’t have sophisticated ROI or funnel analysis. But the calculations provided are ample for many enterprises involved in online commerce -- and certainly beyond what you’d normally get in a midrange application.

In the area of click fraud, HitsLink provides essential information, but you must manually perform the bulk of analysis to determine if there is real deception involved. That said, I liked the way data was summarized on a color-coded world map. This helped me initially see clicks by country. Afterwards, I effortlessly looked at statistics -- repeat visitors from the same IP address, page depth, time on my site, and clicks at unusual hours.

Although it lacks ClickTracks’ statistical calculations, HitsLink’s click-fraud approach is certainly workable. For instance, I had a Google AdWord campaign for RFID, and I noted a cluster of hits from Detroit. But, by simply rolling over the map, I immediately saw that the searches came from a major automotive parts manufacturing company, which would have a legitimate need to research information on this topic. This gave me enough backup to surmise this was not fraud.

HitsLink gives you extensive traffic reporting, search engine marketing information, conversion tracking, and data to evaluate potential click fraud. Setup couldn’t be any easier, and analysis happens in a flash. Although missing some high-end functions such as graphical funnel analysis, all things considered, HitsLink provides a fine experience and value.

Analytics solutions are as varied as the Web itself. For high-profile e-commerce sites, I’d still lean toward the specialized solutions from Coremetrics or Omniture. And basic corporate properties are well served by the free Google Analytics. In the middle ground -- where you need more sophisticated campaign tracking and visitor segmentation without a lot of cost or effort -- either HitsLink or ClickTracks fits well. ClickTracks has the advantage with click-fraud analysis, both hosted and in-house options, and more thorough campaign analysis.