Wordpress Plugins Analytics & Traffic - GoFuckYourself.com

jim101 · 08-15-2024, 11:34 AM

I'm experimenting with traffic sources, directing to various Wordpress landing pages.

What plugins do you find useful for understanding traffic patterns and in particular whether the traffic is valid or bogus/junk?

jim101 · 08-15-2024, 08:53 PM

Any of these?

https://blog.hubspot.com/website/wordpress-traffic

emmasexytime · 08-15-2024, 09:49 PM

Just test a few and see what you like best. It depends what information you are wanting?

Keep an eye on bounce rate and time on page to see if bot activity.

Keep an eye on what you can rank in search cause that is the best converting traffic usually

Okaro · 08-16-2024, 12:49 AM

Right now I'm using WP Statistics.

Anyone but Jetpack. Now are asking money for everything...

jim101 · 08-16-2024, 08:48 AM

Thanks for the feedback, I will try 2 or 3 perhaps. There are various claims about "real time" information which will be interesting to check out.

I have a KVS site which I experiment with. The access log on the server displays real time activity, mostly robots google/bing/ahrefs/petal etc. Perhaps that just isn't possible on wordpress sites?

CherryGirl69 · 08-17-2024, 02:43 AM

Most stats plugins will slow down WP performance by some margin, unfortunately.

jimbob123 · 08-19-2024, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CherryGirl69

Most stats plugins will slow down WP performance by some margin, unfortunately.

This is very true and with google placing a lot of weight on site speed I would suggest simply going with Google analytics.

cerulean · 08-23-2024, 05:15 PM

I tend to avoid complicating WordPress installs with additional plugins. I think you would probably be better off with a combination of Google Analytics 4, and Matomo, which can be self-hosted or purchased for a fee.

I have Matomo running on a variety of client sites, including WordPress, and it's pretty nifty. It supports both JavaScript integration and fallback image-based tracking.

If you're deadset on a plugin, I think Jetpack offers statistics (probably for a fee,) but they offload all of the computation to their own servers.

jim101 · 08-28-2024, 07:25 PM

Matomo looks interesting. For the Wordpress site which is a series of landing pages it looks like the plugin could be used?

Okaro · 08-29-2024, 03:20 AM

I have a few plugins, and I don't see any issues in perfomance or speed...

I think it's all about optimization...

My Pagesopeeed Insights:

96 Perfomance
96 Accessibility
100 Best Practices
100 SEO

Mindi · 09-01-2024, 10:18 PM

Are there any free trackers anymore like the old sextracker?

cerulean · 09-04-2024, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim101

Matomo looks interesting. For the Wordpress site which is a series of landing pages it looks like the plugin could be used?

I haven't used the Matomo plugin directly in WordPress, but I hear good things. I like the external install, because you don't need to fit a whole application inside WordPress, and you can add multiple sites to it, including other WordPress installs. I use a tiny little header & footer plugin (that is relatively inert and has been around for ages) to add the tracking script and the fallback tracking image. I have had zero issues with Matomo across multiple WP sites.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okaro

I have a few plugins, and I don't see any issues in perfomance or speed...

I think it's all about optimization...

My Pagesopeeed Insights:

96 Perfomance
96 Accessibility
100 Best Practices
100 SEO

To clarify, I'm not saying that always adding plugins will cause you performance issues. I myself have maybe 4-5 plugins that I always install in WordPress because they greatly augment the experience and they are very performant.

My experience, however, is that adding plugins to solve problems generally complicates things and can lead to performance issues if it's relied on too much. You have to be very particular about what you add to your install. It all comes down to the developers backing those plugins.

If you can simply add a script to the header and utilize an existing platform, that is generally better (in my opinion) than adding a plugin that might slow your site down and require additional attention. That is not always the case, but it has been my experience.

jim101 · 09-08-2024, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cerulean

I haven't used the Matomo plugin directly in WordPress, but I hear good things. I like the external install, because you don't need to fit a whole application inside WordPress, and you can add multiple sites to it, including other WordPress installs. I use a tiny little header & footer plugin (that is relatively inert and has been around for ages) to add the tracking script and the fallback tracking image. I have had zero issues with Matomo across multiple WP sites.

To clarify, I'm not saying that always adding plugins will cause you performance issues. I myself have maybe 4-5 plugins that I always install in WordPress because they greatly augment the experience and they are very performant.

My experience, however, is that adding plugins to solve problems generally complicates things and can lead to performance issues if it's relied on too much. You have to be very particular about what you add to your install. It all comes down to the developers backing those plugins.

If you can simply add a script to the header and utilize an existing platform, that is generally better (in my opinion) than adding a plugin that might slow your site down and require additional attention. That is not always the case, but it has been my experience.

Using the small plugin to add the tracking script looks like a good idea.

jim101 · 09-11-2024, 02:56 PM

Something like this?

https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/h...-in-wordpress/

08-15-2024, 11:34 AM	#1
jim101 Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2023 Posts: 69	Wordpress Plugins Analytics & Traffic I'm experimenting with traffic sources, directing to various Wordpress landing pages. What plugins do you find useful for understanding traffic patterns and in particular whether the traffic is valid or bogus/junk?

08-15-2024, 09:49 PM	#3
emmasexytime Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 4,031	Just test a few and see what you like best. It depends what information you are wanting? Keep an eye on bounce rate and time on page to see if bot activity. Keep an eye on what you can rank in search cause that is the best converting traffic usually __________________ Join the BEST cam affiliate program on the internet! I've referred over $1.7mil in spending this past year, you should join in. live camss > How to make a live cam site hardlinks > hardlinks.org

08-17-2024, 02:43 AM	#6
CherryGirl69 Registered User Industry Role: Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 11	Most stats plugins will slow down WP performance by some margin, unfortunately. __________________ Don't be shy or you die. Filipina Models from The Philippines

08-15-2024, 08:53 PM	#2
jim101 Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2023 Posts: 69	Any of these? https://blog.hubspot.com/website/wordpress-traffic

08-16-2024, 12:49 AM	#4
Okaro Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Spain Posts: 22	Right now I'm using WP Statistics. Anyone but Jetpack. Now are asking money for everything...

08-16-2024, 08:48 AM	#5
jim101 Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2023 Posts: 69	Thanks for the feedback, I will try 2 or 3 perhaps. There are various claims about "real time" information which will be interesting to check out. I have a KVS site which I experiment with. The access log on the server displays real time activity, mostly robots google/bing/ahrefs/petal etc. Perhaps that just isn't possible on wordpress sites?

08-23-2024, 05:15 PM	#8
cerulean Web & App Development Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2023 Location: United States Posts: 45	I tend to avoid complicating WordPress installs with additional plugins. I think you would probably be better off with a combination of Google Analytics 4, and Matomo, which can be self-hosted or purchased for a fee. I have Matomo running on a variety of client sites, including WordPress, and it's pretty nifty. It supports both JavaScript integration and fallback image-based tracking. If you're deadset on a plugin, I think Jetpack offers statistics (probably for a fee,) but they offload all of the computation to their own servers.

08-28-2024, 07:25 PM	#9
jim101 Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2023 Posts: 69	Matomo looks interesting. For the Wordpress site which is a series of landing pages it looks like the plugin could be used?

08-29-2024, 03:20 AM	#10
Okaro Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Spain Posts: 22	I have a few plugins, and I don't see any issues in perfomance or speed... I think it's all about optimization... My Pagesopeeed Insights: 96 Perfomance 96 Accessibility 100 Best Practices 100 SEO

09-01-2024, 10:18 PM	#11
Mindi Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Aug 2024 Location: near Dallas Posts: 32	Are there any free trackers anymore like the old sextracker?

09-11-2024, 02:56 PM	#14
jim101 Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2023 Posts: 69	Something like this? https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/h...-in-wordpress/