Most/Least Requested Pages This information is helpful in determining "hot" and "cold" areas of your website. If you notice that a page that you think is important is not getting any attention, perhaps link to this page should be made more prominent or enticing. On other hand, if there are areas of site that you deem less important that are attracting a great deal of your traffic, you can shift some of your sales/marketing focus to those pages. Whatever you find in these stats, you can bet that it will give you valuable insight into interests and motivations of your visitors.

Top Exit Pages There are probably certain pages of your site where you don't mind visitors leaving (after all, they can't stay forever). A confirmation page after they fill out a request for more information might be one example of a reasonable exit point. A contact page that tells visitors how to get in touch with your company might also be acceptable. Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to assume that each of your visitors is going to find exactly what they are looking for on your company site, so it is normal to see a wide range of exit pages. However, if a high percentage of visitors are leaving on any particular page, it bears some close scrutiny. Sometimes minor modifications in content can have a positive impact on visitor retention.

Top Search Phrases This data can be very useful in understanding what type of traffic is coming to your site. If you see relevant phrases that bring you consistent traffic, you can assume that you are getting some targeted traffic. On other hand, if there are predominant phrases people are using to find your site that are unrelated to your business, you know that at least some of your traffic is of a lesser quality. In addition, if you notice that people find your site by typing in name of your company, you should be pleased to know that you have achieved some level of brand awareness. By examining search phrases that your visitors are using, you gain a better understanding of your visitor.

Conclusion Some people are intimidated by these reports (mostly because of sheer volume of data available), but they shouldn't be. While there are many highly specialized statistics that can be used for more in-depth analysis of site traffic, above areas alone can provide invaluable information on site visitors and website performance. Remember- this data is available for a reason. It's up to your company to use it!

But such models are so crude they often mislead when applied to your site. A CR of 2% may be nifty (or a disaster, if more was expected). However good it is, it is still only an average. It gives a useful picture only over long term. It says nothing about today. Or right now. Or about what your next visitor will do.

Turn this other end to. Given a CR of 2%, how many sales can you count on in your next 100 visitors? 2? No. I said, "count on," and answer is none.

Say you make 20 sales on your first 100 visitors today. But not a one off next 900. Still, 20 sales in 1000 hits is a CR of 2%.

There is no way you can say your next visitor will buy. Or will not. Come up with a way to do so, and you'll be a millionaire right quick.

You simply do not know what your next visitor will do. But you probably hope he or she ...

Buys - Terrific

Returns to buy - Great news

Returns to buy again - The key to success

Tells a friend who visits - Very nice

Your list will differ. And there are other actions you may want your visitors to take. For example, sign up for free information of interest, delivered by an autoresponder over time. This often brings people back to buy. And if you can get them to set a bookmark, this may do same.

The Secret To Improving Your Business

You can not afford to risk losing even a single visitor. Period. The big boys counting sales in millions and hits in billions can safely ignore a bunch. You can not.

Accept potential value of every single hit as unlimited. Then act in every way to draw them. And never ever turn even one aside.

Obvious, don't you think? But look about on Web and you'll often see visitors not encouraged or even turned away. Then, of course, look to your own site and be certain you are not making such blunders.

Bob McElwain, author of "Your Path To Success" and "Secrets To A Really Successful Website." For info, see