I logged into my favorite web analytics site, Clicky, today to a disappointing notice: “Your free trial of Premium service ends on Mon Jul 7 2008.” Since I was introduced to Clicky by friend and mentor Wayne Smallman, I’ve found no better method of keeping track of visitor numbers, trends, and habits than with the Clicky service, touted as “simply the best way to monitor, analyze, and react to your blog or website’s traffic in real time.” The thought of giving up the pro features that I’ve come to rely on over the past few months is disheartening indeed.
As I prepare to upgrade to a Pro-level account, I felt I’d share a brief review of Clicky and why you might want to implement it on your own site today.
Real time
One of the main draws to Clicky is that it offers access to visitor actions in real time. One of the neatest features, called “Spy,” allows you to monitor what individuals are reading, clicking on, and downloading on your site as it happens. Here’s a screenshot of Spy view:
As you can see, I’m able to utilize this information to see that the same visitor has clicked through to one of my articles on Brightkite, returned to my index page, and revisited that Brightkite article. Interesting behavior– this might suggest that he or she has gotten tangled up in the navigation (or really enjoyed that article)!
It’s both great fun and informative to see visitors rolling in in this fashion.
Feature rich
Of course, a few neat features are no substitute for a rich suite of analytical tools which serve as a bread and butter for any dedicated site owner. As Clicky’s Help page illustrates, this service offers a host of capabilities not found with services like Google Analytics, SiteMeter, or Mint. Some particularly great tools include:
- visitor hostname display for added info
- custom data tracking in case you’re looking for something in particular
- tag cloud views for more intuitive analysis
- widgets and RSS feeds for portable utility
Particularly eye-catching is the Maps view, which shows locations for the last 100, 500, or 1000 visitors using the standardized Google Maps output. Here’s a sample of the last 100 visitors to andydesoto.com:
(Aloha, visitor from Hawaii!)
Accessible
Last but not least, Clicky serves up statistics in a way that make sense. Everything’s clean, easy to read, and a cinch to digest. In no time at all I can scan the data to the left to notice that one article of mine is having a bit of success with my social media channels (thanks, StumbleUpon)!
Clicky calls itself “Web Analytics 2.0,” and I’ve got to agree with it there– it’s clear the design team realizes all the features in the world won’t make a service great if its look and feel are unintelligible. I personally find myself returning time after time to Clicky rather than Google Analytics, just because it’s that much more enjoyable to explore traffic through this super-intuitive interface.
Try it today!
I definitely recommend trying out Clicky at your nearest convenience. The best part: it offers four different plans, Free, Blogger, Professional, and Mega Professional, one of which is bound to meet your needs.
If you think Clicky is up your alley, click right here to try it out today!
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