Site Analysis

Not all websites are created equally, and that is where site analysis comes in. Many professional companies offer site analysis as a service to critique how a website is set up, how it attracts traffic, and how it converts this traffic into desired goals. Web statistics are the central tool and language for analyzing the success of individual pieces of a website or the website overall.

Site analysis blends in with web statistics at a root level, and ultimately the task is to see how the design of a website can lead to profitable statistics. As with all areas of web statistics, there remains the question of how one collects such data and exactly what the website is looking for. Most commonly with site analysis, the task is to direct the user to complete some specific goal for the site owners, usually a sale. The practice of following such statistics is known as conversion tracking and increasing conversion success is a critical aspect of web design.

Landing Pages

A central part of site analysis for commercial websites is what is the "landing page," which is the page a user is directed to immediately after clicking on a banner ad or other referral. An underwhelming or confusing landing page will doom a commercial site, as the speed of internet connection makes it much easier for a surfer to turn elsewhere. Site analysis thus often concentrates on designing attractive and appropriate landing pages that maximize the chances of directing the surfer successfully.

A powerful method of site analysis is known as A/B testing. This involves designing two, or more, alternate landing pages and then ascertaining with web analytics which is more profitable. Alternately, landing pages can be tailored to track where the user is coming from or the identity of the user, as with self-designed home pages on My Yahoo!, for example. Note the intriguing connection here to scientific experiment and general market analysis.