Avril Lavigne’s iconic song ‘Complicated’ focuses on the frustration
we frequently have with anything that is more challenging than necessary. For
example, the system to check my gym schedule and payments is so anger inducing
I’m often reduced to bouts of obscenities directed at the site.
(I suppose I could also apply the line ‘chill out, what you yellin’
for?’ given my short temper)
Regardless of the frustration, we want things to be as simple as
possible. Not that we can’t appreciate the complex; more that we want to invest
our time wisely and not be overwhelmed resulting in more time wasting when
trying to perform basic tasks, like checking our web metrics.
After using Google Analytics for a few weeks and watching a few
tutorials, I still find it rather confusing. I stare at the screen, and know
what I’m looking with, yet I have no idea how to find the source of
information. To make matters worse (*probably better if you know what you’re
doing), each metric breaks down into inception style more specific metrics.
Metrics within metrics.
Luckily, I realized I’m not alone.
When researching alternatives to GA, I found multiple sites that
listed several drawbacks of GA, including its complicated nature. Sure, there
are a crazy amount of features, but it’s not something you can jump into and
learn in a day (ImImpact, 2014). Other reasons to stray is for different
measurements that may assist your business better given what another tool can
measure (Hines, 2014).
A resounding agreement across the Internet seems to be if you want to
track web traffic, if nothing else use GA (ImImpact, 2014).
Google Analytics isn’t perfect but if you’re unhappy in your relationship,
there are other programs in the sea.
This post is going to discuss a popular alternative called Piwik. Mostly
because it came up in a few search results and I like the name.
Found in more than 150 countries, Piwik leads open source analytics
with more than 1,000,000 million sites using the tool (Piwik History, 2014). At
the time of this post, it’s been downloaded 2,109,716 times (Piwik, 2014).
Launched in 2007, Piwik began receiving recognition within two years in the
form of an award for the best open source enterprise software.
In 2010, the first app was launched, a feature not found with GA. The
four years since have seen international expansion, the Prop section of the
company and 50 different translations (Piwik History, 2014).
According to Piwik, the tool is ‘liberating web analytics.’ As an open
source platform, it is leading in its field and providing insights that are
valuable to the success of online efforts (2014). It specializes in allowing
users to own their data and puts privacy as a top concern.
Piwik’s website also describes how it is different from the Google
Analytics:
“One of the principle advantages of Piwik
is that you are in control. Unlike remote-hosted services (such as Google
Analytics), you host Piwik on your own server and the data is tracked inside
your Mysql database. Because Piwik is installed on your server, you enjoy full
control over your data. You can access the data easily via the Piwik APIs. Advanced users can use Custom Variables, Segmentation, or even run manual queries on the database in order to build
advanced reports.
Piwik also protects your visitor privacy
with advanced
Privacy features. When using Piwik
for Web Analytics, you ensure that your visitors behavior on your website(s) is
not shared with advertising companies” (New to Piwik).
Let’s dissect this a little.
Open source analytics differ from Google Analytics because they give
the user control over the data. From all the open source options, Piwik rivals
GA the most in terms of available functions (Nesbitt, 2014). A potential
downside to Piwik is the fact that users need a host, which can be
intimidating. If you have a website, everything is almost in place anyway
making this barrier minimal and the rest of the installation process simple
(Speyer, 2012).
A major selling point of the platform centers around its privacy
features. Right now, Google is surrounded by Internet users with privacy
concerns and discomfort about what is done with the information it tracks. With
Piwik, these concerns are eliminated because all the data belongs to the person
doing it and is used for whatever that person wants. Only with permission is
the data shared with third parties (White, 2014).
Piwik is also incredibly customizable, trying to make your life a
little less complicated. The tool works with more than 65 different platforms,
including Wordpress, Joomla! and Magneto through plug ins to keep all you need
in one place (Nesbitt, 2014).
Customization is the driving force behind Piwik. Users can rearrange
the interface (via widgets) that allow them to see only what they want and
include the most relevant stats in the most convenient place. The entire theme
can be designed to fit individual needs with the ability to design specific
plugins (White, 2014).
In fact, you can edit the open source tool right down to its core
(White, 2014).
Like other services, Piwik offers the standard real time analytics,
goals, referrals, JavaScript API, campaign tracking and visitor maps (White,
2014). Unique features to the site including tracking outbound links, file
downloads, cart abandonment, a mobile app and Professional Services team to
customize your plan (Speyer, 2012).
As a free tool, Piwik offers many useful tracking tools, although in
some areas (like visit lengths and bounce tracking), it is lacking (ImImpact,
2014). A premium plan is also available starting at $65 per month and offers
additional support, training and functionality for those who choose to upgrade
(Hines, 2014).
At first glance of the demo for Piwik, I’m intrigued and delighted.
Everything is right there when you visit the Dashboard and the drag and drop
customization feature makes it ideal for anyone trying to organize it by the
most relevant data. I think the tabs at the top directing users to visitors,
actions, goals, etc., is better than the menu on the side in GA.
Based on everything I read, Piwik is a decent alternative to GA,
especially if you get caught up in all the data available to you. The layout is
what sells me for future reference if I ever need to track a site. It appears
easier to manage and less intimidating. The idea of needing a host would create
a small amount of annoyance at the beginning, but I think it would be worth
figuring it out.
Google Analytics, you made things too complicated and I’m now I’m
trying to hang out with your more aesthetically pleasing friend.
References
Hines, K. (2014). 15 Google Analytics alternatives. iAcquire.
Retrieved from http://www.iacquire.com/blog/15-google-analytics-alternatives
ImImpact. (2014). Web stats: Alternatives to Google Analytics.
Retrieved from http://imimpact.com/web-stats-alternatives-to-google-analytics/
Nesbitt, S. (2014). Top 3 open source alternatives to Google
Analytics. Opensource.com. Retrieved from http://opensource.com/business/14/10/top-3-open-source-alternatives-google-analytics
New to Piwik. (n.d.). How is Piwik different to Google Analytics and
other web analytics tools. Piwik. Retrieved from http://piwik.org/faq/new-to-piwik/faq_15/
Piwik. (2014). Learn more. Retrieved from http://piwik.org
Piwik History. (2014). Piwik open analytics platform. Retrieved from http://piwik.org/history/
Speyer, A. (2012). Some reasons to choose Piwik analytics over Google
Analytics. Stat Story. Retrieved from http://www.statstory.com/some-reasons-to-choose-piwik-analytics-over-google-analytics/
White, L. (2014). A closer look at Piwik: A Google Analytics
alternative. Site Point. Retrieved from http://www.sitepoint.com/closer-look-piwik-google-analytics-alternative/
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