RE: [epub] help a novice with site statistics terminology?

["Dr.MANI Sivasubramanian, M.D." <sivaraj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: "Dr.MANI Sivasubramanian, M.D." <sivaraj@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in>

Dear Reid Wilson:

Hi.

You asked:
> For example, it's great to say "hits are useless", but what
> exactly is a "hit", and why is it useless? (Please remember I
> called myself a novice.)

In Web parlance, a *hit* is the event when a web browser
requests a particular file (text, image or other) from a web
server (the computer on which the web pages are hosted).

Now, if your webpage has one text file, and five images,
then to load that one page, a browser would make SIX
*hits* on your server - one for the text, five for the images.
But only ONE person has seen your page.

If you have 25 images, some text files and more, then
each page view would equal almost 30 *hits*.  Which is
why *hits* are a very poor way to judge site popularity.

Instead, more helpful parameters are:

1. Page views - which gives the number of webpages viewed
in entirety
2. Visitor count - which gives the number of individuals visiting
your pages
3. Unique users - which further refines the stats by filtering out
repeat visitors and only logging new users.
4. Time spent on your site - which indicates how popular or
useful your site is to visitors.
5. Stickiness - I'm not sure if this is measurable, but is an index
of how popular and attractive your site is, and how well it can
attract repeat visits.

Hope this helps.



****************************************************

Dr. MANI Sivasubramanian, M.D.

Heart Disease Guide - About.com
<http://heartdisease.about.com>

Heart Disease Online
<http://www.drmani.com>

****************************************************

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