I launched this blog in August 2011 with a commitment to write a post every business day. Generally, I write about writing and the importance of precision in communication. I also comment on brands, marketing, advertising, social media and similar subjects. I have enjoyed the process and along the way rediscovered my love of writing as well as a knack for crafting clever headlines.
Today I’m going to deviate from the norm and discuss this blog’s metrics. I’ll return to the usual topics on Monday.
Two months ago I decided to begin tracking metrics via Google Adwords because it offers more data points than Blogger’s stats. In both analytics tools, my numbers are trending in a positive direction, but I’m puzzled by the disparity in the data where the two tools overlap.
The data
For example, Google measured pageviews 23% lower than Blogger last Monday. On Tuesday, it was 17% lower. Wednesday, it flopped with Google scoring 33% more pageviews. Yesterday, Blogger notched 33% more pageviews.
For the month of December, Blogger claimed 47% more pageviews than Google.
Blogger reports an international readership that includes friends from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Sweden, India, Russia, Azerbaijan and Mexico. Where are my friends from the Great White North?
Google recorded international readers from United Kingdom, Italy, India, Russia, Australia, Mexico and Canada (yes!).**
The dilemma
So what gives? Why doesn’t the data align more closely? Which report is more accurate? What am I missing? Which tool should I trust?
The decision
As previously stated, Google AdWords captures so much more data than Blogger, so I am compelled to give it the nod over the native tool. Still, I’ll wonder if Google is missing some of the traffic, therefore, potentially giving me an incomplete view of my audience.
I don’t like to give my readers short shrift and I feel I deserve the same treatment from my analytics tool.
**SIDEBAR: Readers, if your country isn’t represented, blame it on the analytics tools. Go to Comments, introduce yourself and give your country credit.
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