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Visitor Statistics

Using visitor statistics

To get started, log in and select "Visitor Statistics" from the "tools" menu. Then you'll need to enter your password - this may seem like an extra layer of security but it is necessary to fully protect the privacy of your information.

Your initial report is usually the overview. You can select a date range by selecting the calendar option on the left or by setting the dates at the top and clicking "apply filter". For detailed definitions of terms like "unique visitors" click on the question mark next to the name you're interested in.

You can select a variety of reports from the menu at the left side - for example "days" which shows your website activity by day. Now you can change this report in three main ways. First, below every table are links to "more rows", "all rows" etc. These allow you to see more information than just the top 20, giving the reports much more depth. Second, go to the pull-down box called "sort" below the table at the right side. This lets you show the statistics ordered by page views, chronologically, and more. Finally, the pull-down box called "options" allows you to add and remove columns in the tables, to add and remove graphs, and more. For example you can remove the column for "hits" if you wish.

Sometimes the reports will take several seconds to load, this is because the calculations can be quite complex for large files when you have an active website. Doing the calculations this way, however, gives you much more interactive and detailed information.

Other noteworthy features

Export tables. By selecting "export table" or "export all" you can save a text file suitable to import into your spreadsheet showing the statistics information on the page. This should make creating reports from your statistics much easier.

Use the deeper views to get the information you need. By using a combination of the "order by" and the show more rows features you should be able to find any piece of information you need. All data is available, not just the top 20. This is particularly useful for key reports like "search phrases" and "referrers".

Filters can narrow down your view even more. You can select a date range or other filters and then your results only show for that range. For example you can select the week of your sales promotion and then analyse page views and user paths for that week only. You can click on "edit" or "remove" to alter the current filter, or just go to the top left option "start again" to remove all filters. Please note that some reports are not available for all filters.

Paths. This is an extremely powerful analysis tool. Click on "Paths (clickstreams)" and you will see a list of the most visited pages. Click on the plus sign and you will see what pages visitors went on to view next. You can "drill down" deep into the paths to get a better understanding of how visitors interacted with your website. For example if you advertise a particular page - what did people who went to that page do - did they go to your best pages? did they go to your shop? did they leave? etc.

Improved geographical reporting. Sawmill uses a sophisticated location database to show you more accurate and detailed information about where your visitors have come from. Of course not all visitors can be located but this system will give you far better information than you have had previously. Click on "countries/regions/cities" and it will show visitors by country. Click on that country (eg Australia) and it will break the results down further into states. For some countries the data can be narrowed even further.