Statistics for the Adult Internet

(Originally published on YNOT) We all know adult Webmasters use statistics services. But are they using

them correctly? Ask yourself if you are really using them for the statistics or if you just want to get some fresh visitors to your site?

You might be looking at adult counters in the totally wrong way. Running four statistics services on the net, two of which are in the adult arena, we have learned that there is a lot of interest in the site list part of these counters rather than on the statistics part. What I will try to do here is give you a bit more inside on what you can really learn from the statistics you get, if you understand them.

Is there really one way to correctly track visitors? I strongly believe that this is not the case. All that can be said is that you should understand your statistics. If you understand the statistics that are delivered to you, then you will be in a good position to get a great deal of information from them. I will try to give you a general overview of what you should look for. I might go into some subjects a little deeper in a later article, if the feedback to this one is favorable. We want to get this bit-by-bit to avoid information overload, right?

Let’s start with the site list, as it is the part that attracts a lot of potential members. You normally have to display a small button on your site that links to the counter you are using. But where does it link? With most counters out there it links to a page full of banners and a small “Enter” link. If a surfer clicks that link he will go to the first page of the counter. Does that give you any hits? No, it takes away visitors. I highly doubt that more than a few percentages of the people clicking the button ever go beyond the banner screen. That makes the counter some money, but does not help you one bit.

What we have done with Sex Trail, our adult counter, is link the button right to your real site list category, helping webmasters exchange traffic among each other. We also put the possibility in there so that big companies with lots of sites can get their own category in a partnership deal if they want to. This system will help you get fresh visitors and it will not deter potential customers from your site. But is that the only thing that counters should bring you? Hell no! It’s the statistics you should care about.

What I can give you are some examples of how the statistics can be of very important use for you. Do you know if your site is designed correctly for your visitors? Do they use a screen resolution of 800x600 or 1024x780? Are they using 16bit or just 256 colors? Maybe you have a lot of people coming to your site with their Palm?

If you do not know that, then a lot of people might close your site right away because it just looks plain ugly on their device. This gets even more important as Internet appliances, which normally do not go above 800x600, enter the market. On top of that you could find out what plug-ins your visitors use and what browser. You might have designed your site for the totally wrong system.

We have a new technology in place at Sex Trail that will parse the browser

string live, telling you the exact version and type of every single browser that comes to your site, without giving them an IE or Netscape stamp. It is fun to see some people coming with QNX Voyager or AvantGo for example.

Do you know where your visitors are coming from? It might just be that there is some site you did not even know about that is sending you an amazing amount of visitors. Maybe you just got listed on some search engine on result page 4 and did not know about it. Maybe you have some site that is sending your 500 people per day but always the same people. Referral statistics will give you just that information and will give you a more informed view of your web site.

Do you know which language your visitors prefer to speak online? Maybe you

have a lot of German visitors? You could open a German part of the site. Do you know at which time you get most visitors? This might help you update your site at the right time. Do you know if enough people that come to your site have JavaScript, which you are using, all over your site to lure in visitors? Do you know from which time zone your visitors are coming? Maybe you have a lot of visitors from Europe or Asia. All this can help you learn a lot more about your visitors and develop your site in the right direction to make it a money making machine.

But wait, one thing is missing. Where do your visitors go? This can be something you can learn from placing exit statistics on some of your links, helping you to put the right links in the right place. Moving a banner just a bit down or up within your site can produce a lot more clicks.

With all this information in mind, carefully examine the stats. Become one

of your surfers and place yourself in their shoes.