Google Analytics (Who's behind the screen?)

According to Wikipedia, web analytics is the study of website behavior. Any data that is collected is including in a web report, which shows clicks, views, number of unique visitors and how many times a person visits. Advertisers and web marketers use the material they receive to help determine behavior characteristics and to help generate click-throughs and benefit their advertising.

There are many advantages and disadvantages of web analytics and page tracking. Some advantages include that information is easily accessible, the data is raw and can be determined, it helps determine what people visit the site and can be used to help determine better advertising. Some disadvantages include, we don't know how long a person is on there, or even if they successfully view the page. The results do not explain the why (psychographics) to why someone views. Demographic data can be analyzed and may not explain the why. Also, there is a personal privacy issue, certain people may click on something in a fraudulent way. We are not sure who is clicking.

It is strange to me to look at my blog and see how many people have clicked, even though there aren't that many. They may not know they are being trafficked. However, I don't know who is looking at my site. It's strange when I am on Facebook and they have reports to show who viewed your site and for how long. The Interent is such a controversial topic because people can use the Internet and have anonymity, which in itself can be a hot topic. People can look up anything on the Internet from any source, but when something is measured in numbers and "hits", it gets a little shaky.

The "Click Fraud" article shows the disadvantages and complications of online advertising and click throughs. We learned in class that one of the best ways to have a successful advertising campaign is to get people to click, otherwise the ad is dead.
This may not be the case all the time. The article explains how fraudulent behavior can wreck a campaign and cost a lot of money. The article shows how people can corrupt the business by clicking and seeming to generate high interest, but when really they are causing a threat to the advertising industry.

The advertising industry is having a threat right now due to these fraudulent "clickers". Many advertisers are forced to put out many different advertisements, which may cause those who would click, not to, because they feel overwhelmed by the campaign itself. Many feel bombarded by advertisements.

Advertisers can use the information in the reports, however. They can determine which ads are successful by the number of page hits, frequency, reach, unique number of visitors and understanding demographics (which may not be accurate also, because we can't see behind the computer screen). Advertisers must understand this also, and not solely determine their advertisements on numbers alone.

People may click on something a lot and many different people may click. However, we must also remember that an advertising technique must be creative, appeal to the audience and generate attention, interest, desire and action. Using this information from the report is beneficial, but advertisers need to understand that it may be detrimental to their advertising campaign if it is solely based on web trafficking alone.