Google Analytics is the tool many small businesses rely on to analyze web traffic. It really is excellent at what it does, but there are several more options in the proverbial toolbox. So what makes a “great” alternative? Well, since Google Analytics is free, we’re going to define great as something that is free (or at least very inexpensive), delivers many of the same basic functions, and offers a few perks Google’s software lacks. Here are a few capable options that fit the bill.
1. Open Web Analytics
As the name suggests, Open Web Analytics is an open source tool that allows you to track and analyze website traffic. Because it is licensed under General Public License (GPL) rules, it can be tweaked at the source code to incorporate specific functionality. At the basic level, this means you can use REST, Javascript, or PHP-based APIs to integrate the software into your website. The program comes with built-in support for a number of popular web publishing platforms, including WordPress and MediaWiki.
Open Web Analytics is completely free to download and use. With features such as the ability to track activity across e-commerce sites and mobile apps, it’s no wonder that many call it the open source version of Google Analytics.
2. Clicky
Clicky specializes in real-time web analytics that give you an easy way to monitor, analyze, and respond to performance data. This particular tool earned its claim to fame with an intuitive dashboard that shows you the activity across your website as it happens. One of its most interesting features is Twitter compatibility, which not only comes in handy for monitoring social trends, but tweeting directly from the interface. Also included is an API that lets you incorporate your own data and integrate with platforms such as WordPress.
Clicky is available free with basic, yet useful features. It also has a variety of paid plans that allow you to track multiple websites and unlock other exclusive features.
3. Woopra
Another real-time platform, Woopra claims to deliver the most comprehensive look into visitor behavior. What makes this tool unique is the emphasis it puts on the customer. The software creates rich profiles that track the activities of each customer throughout the sales cycle. It also has a search feature that makes it easy to find information about specific prospects, and built-in segmenting capabilities that are useful for creating targeted groups based on your own criteria. Finally, the software integrates with your CRM platform — music to the ears of the sales team.
Woopra has several interesting pricing options. The startup package is available for under $100 a month, but you can try it free for 30 days.
4. Yahoo Web Analytics
As you probably know, Yahoo is a longtime rival of Google; challenging its position in search, online advertising, and even analytics. Yahoo Web Analytics serves up details on the demographics of visitors, in addition to behavioral data you can use to make better predictions. You can also create custom reports organized with key metrics in easy reach, and access tools that aid in the measuring of email, PPC, and social media marketing campaigns.
Born from the company’s acquisition of IndexTools, Yahoo Web Analytics is quietly one of the best Google Analytics alternatives out there. It stays competitive all the way to the price — free.
5. Piwik
Last on our list is Piwik. This is another open source application that gives you the power to customize and visualize your data to your liking. Piwik bundles over 500 features in one powerful package, including a user-friendly dashboard, conversion goal tracking tools, and a set of unique metrics for e-commerce applications. There are also some impressive administrative perks. You can track unlimited websites, assign unlimited users, and even brand the interface as your own under the white label option.
To top it all off, Piwik is totally free. The developers say the software has been downloaded well over a million times. That figure pretty much speaks for itself.
Whether you need a different perspective, deeper insights, or just have a vendetta against Google, rest assured that there is much more to explore in the world of analytics. From simple utilities that analyze data at the log level to robust hosted solutions that track the consumer from unique visitor to paid customer, you are not alone. You may find these alternatives suitable for replacing Google Analytics, or partnering up for added effectiveness.
