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Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

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Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#71

Post by tyingq »

mrweasel wrote: post #43
jwr wrote: post #28

I turned off Google Analytics, because I realized that it doesn't actually report any useful or actionable data, just vanity metrics, and many of them of dubious quality. I run a SaaS and what matters for me is paid subscriptions. "Visits" (even if by humans, which is hard to tell) really do not matter much. Yes, I do want to increase conversion rates, and run bandit experiments, but I'm better off doing that myself.…

> I realized that it doesn't actually report any useful or actionable data The actionable part never occurred to me, but makes so much sense. What action could anyone really take, based on the data presented by Google Analytics? On top of my head I can actually think of anything you could easily get from server logs.

Well, you don't specifically need GA for it, but tracking referers to sales, for example...is often actionable. Similar for a funnel view to see where visitors drop off. Especially combined with some A/B testing.

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#72

Post by 72deluxe »

TomGullen wrote: post #51
mrweasel wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I realized that it doesn't actually report any useful or actionable data The actionable part never occurred to me, but makes so much sense. What action could anyone really take, based on the data presented by Google Analytics? On top of my head I can actually think of anything you could easily get from server logs.

I find time spent on page is a great way to measure performance of redesigns on page. There are numerous actionable points.

Hook into onbeforeunload and call your own javascript to post back to your own site to let you know when they've left.

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#73

Post by elondaits »

TomGullen wrote: post #44

I still can't see any solid reasons why a site owner would not use GA. Other products: - Objectively lack features - Potentially incur extra costs in money/time - May be a small barrier in m&a - May carry additional risks/attack vectors if self hosted Trying to ween off big tech is commendable, but likely detrimental to a business. Relatively high risk, low reward. I'm happy to have my mind changed. I can see a case…

GDPR compliance.

GDPR is the European privacy law. It protects European citizens so it applies not only to European companies but any company that does business in Europe (having offices or advertising/selling there).

Google does not give much assurance regarding their GDPR compliance... their text on that subject is mostly CYA and then they make it your responsibility to decide how to use it in compliance (if at all possible).

The GDPR gives you a small window to count visitors through cookies as long as all private information (even IP) is anonymized... OR you can go do a more traditional tracking with their explicit agreement. This last use case is completely useless in terms of visitor statistics, but analytics companies sometimes dare suggest it (as in "this is the way to do things right... so our product is compliant and it's not our responsibility if you break the law").

That aside, I run international non-profit sites and GA is a bad look... and with good reason: Using social network sharing buttons, GA, CDNs, etc. gives too much power to track people to a few companies.

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#74

Post by halflings »

mrweasel wrote: post #43
jwr wrote: post #28

I turned off Google Analytics, because I realized that it doesn't actually report any useful or actionable data, just vanity metrics, and many of them of dubious quality. I run a SaaS and what matters for me is paid subscriptions. "Visits" (even if by humans, which is hard to tell) really do not matter much. Yes, I do want to increase conversion rates, and run bandit experiments, but I'm better off doing that myself.…

> I realized that it doesn't actually report any useful or actionable data The actionable part never occurred to me, but makes so much sense. What action could anyone really take, based on the data presented by Google Analytics? On top of my head I can actually think of anything you could easily get from server logs.

Examples I saw in a website I launched last year: * High bounce rate showed that people did not find the content engaging / not what they were looking for, confirming a hypothesis I had; this was particularly true for certain sections of the website. * Time spent on pages was another metric that was helpful to find problems in some sections. * Easy slicing of traffic sources by referrer and country, showed me that most of my "good" traffic was coming from facebook, so I invested more time there.

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#75

Post by TomGullen »

72deluxe wrote: post #72
TomGullen wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find time spent on page is a great way to measure performance of redesigns on page. There are numerous actionable points.

Hook into onbeforeunload and call your own javascript to post back to your own site to let you know when they've left.

I know how I'd do this, but have no reason to do it.

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#76

Post by JackWritesCode »

nuccy wrote: post #11

I'm honestly curious, are all the analytics tools, which rely on making third party queries, still efficient with extensive use of adblocking these days? If not, then logs of webservers are the only 100% reliable place (if available of course), so old-style tools like awstats, Webalizer, etc [1] should have a rise in popularity again. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_web_analytics_software

Server side Analytics are far from reliable. Go and try Netlify, then you’ll see how unreliable they really are.

For us nerds, we can always block things using DNS level blocking but Fathom’s custom domain feature has done really well for the majority: https://usefathom.com/blog/custom-domains-embed-code

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#77

Post by sc11 »

icebraining wrote: post #60
sc11 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither does the GPL or any other licence under European laws.

That's surprising, considering the virality is part of the license text, not the law; does the law prohibit that clause?

Here's a good explanation: https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/collection/eupl/news/why-viral-l...

The short answer is that there are certain protections that ensure interoperability, and that linking to software does not make it a derivative work.

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#78

Post by timothy-quinn »

jwr wrote: post #28

I turned off Google Analytics, because I realized that it doesn't actually report any useful or actionable data, just vanity metrics, and many of them of dubious quality. I run a SaaS and what matters for me is paid subscriptions. "Visits" (even if by humans, which is hard to tell) really do not matter much. Yes, I do want to increase conversion rates, and run bandit experiments, but I'm better off doing that myself.…

So far GA is answering two important questions for me - which marketing strategies are actually working (because it's hard to tell when you've got multiple going at once), and also making sure my marketing is actually hitting the geo-regions I need it to.

That said though once I know which marketing tools are effective, there's nothing more that GA does that CloudFlare couldn't just tell me anyway (i.e. am I getting more or less traffic) and I'll probably drop it as it's one less dashboard to look at - like you said that conversion to subscriber _is_ the ultimate metric for success.

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#79

Post by JackWritesCode »

h4kor wrote: post #32

If you only need page views, for example for a personal blog, try goaccess ( https://goaccess.io/ ). It uses your server logs for simple analytics.

Just be sure to check with your legal team regarding using web logs for analytics purposes

Re: Lightweight Alternatives to Google Analytics

#80

Post by Arnt »

jwr wrote: post #53
TomGullen wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find time spent on page is a great way to measure performance of redesigns on page. There are numerous actionable points.

It might be, assuming two things: 1) That you actually care about this metric. I don't, I do not get paid by the number of minutes spent on pages, I get paid by the number of signed-up subscribers who use my software to make their workflow easier. I can (and prefer to) use bandit testing to measure the performance of redesigns. 2) that it can be reliably measured, which I don't think it can.

Tom Gilb once said that "everything can be measured so accurately that the result is better than having no measurement at all" or words to that effect. I'm sure he phrased it better. In this case, some users aren't measured, which drags down the accuracy of the measurement.

Even if the numbers are off by quite a few per cent, I can easily see how some site operators might benefit from knowing e.g. that visitors close one tutorial much quicker than the others.

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