There are so many blog metrics packages available at present and each of them tend to produce different results. I am curious to know which packages are popular.
Sitemeter seems to be popular with most blogs although it went through a tough period last year with claims of a third party tracking cookie. Sitemeter allows either hidden data collection or the use of a site meter to display your traffic. Sitemeter is reasonably good particularly if you want a quick look at your traffic numbers on a regular basis. As a blog metrics package, it provides little in the way of deep data.
Google Analytics is a popular package although if you were to run it and say Sitemeter side by side you would find some big discrepancies. There seems to be a lot of traffic that Google Analytics doesn’t pick up. As a blog metrics package, it provides data on just about every conceivable angle of your traffic. It is a pity that it misses so much traffic.
AW Stats and Stat Counter provide reasonable arrays of data; however they too seem to suffer from data loss. It seems when it comes to collecting data, there is no one package that can pick up every visitor and provide you with the information you require. Blog metrics is a difficult task to manage. Often the simplest metric, the number of comments and links in are better guides to your success.
