Top 5 Reasons to Use Piwik Open Source Web Analytics


I’ve been using Piwik Web Analytics for a several weeks and wanted to share this great software with you.  There are a lot of reasons to use this software, here’s my top 5.

1) Real-Time Data: How cool is that, you can get your data live as it’s happening.  That’s one of the things I look for most in my ad tracking packages, real-time data.  No more waiting around to get your website data.

2) API and Plug-in System: What is this?  Well, you can build custom plug-in’s and widgets and parse your data in ways you might not even thought of yet.  I can think of all sorts of cool ways to look at my data that’s not available from other systems on the market.  You can even combine some other open source tools.  How about combining heat maps with your web analytics and having a widget built to view it right from your dashboard.

The API makes getting your data a lot easier too.  For instance you can share your stats if desired by embedding your them into your website.  You can use Google Spreadsheets or EditGrid to make excel like spreadsheets with real-time data.  I’m sure you can think of other ways to use your data as well.

There’s even a plug-in for setting goals.  You can track downloads, visit a given link, and click on a link to an external site.

3) Desktop Application: You can pull your data straight to your desktop, no login required, I really like this feature.  Using Adobe Air and a little plug-in made by Benoit Pouzet.  He’s a French user and has integrated most of the reports into this cool little User Interface (UI).  There’s a simpler UI available also.  You can even pull live visits from this plug-in.  It’s great for looking over your data, and if your tracking downloads and clicked links this is a great little tool.  Check your stats from the day before right from your desktop in a heartbeat.  Now this little tool is still in beta, but so far it’s working pretty good.

4) It’s FREE: Now this is the really cool part.  The creators of Piwik have billed it as an Open Source alternative to Google Analytics.  It’s great that you can have your cake and eat it too.  The fact that there is more than one FREE Web Analytics software available means you have a choice.  If you want to do more with your data, this is a great resource to use.

5) You Own Your Data: With Piwik Open Source Web Analytics you load the software on your server using your database.  You have full access to your data via the API and Plug-in’s as well as the ability to create your own widgets to see your data the anyway you wish.  Your data is a business asset and you should own it lock, stock and barrel.

If you’re looking for a good way to gather website statistics, track your downloads and clicked links then you’ll appreciate the ease of use with this software.  There are some other great stats you get too.  For instance you might want to know the average screen size of your web visitors and which browsers are used the most by your visitors to make sure you cater to the majority of your customers and test those settings on your website.

For more information and to check out the live demo so you can see it in action go to http://piwik.org/…

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