I have been using Google analytics for my websites for over two years and I have to say that it has been an extremely useful tool.  It is enormously powerful in that you are able to view just about any statistic you can think of, regarding your site.

You may ask why you need to make use of a service like Google Analytics. Well, the simple answer is you don’t have to use it, but I would highly recommend using it if you are serious about being successful in your business venture.  You can always achieve better results, in any business activity when you are able to receive feedback.  Now, in a bricks and mortar environment, if you wanted feedback from clients you would need to send them a survey or give them a call, but for us in the online world this process can be vastly simplified through tracking your website.  

If you are able to see how many people are viewing your website and for how long, as well as from what countries, you can serve your customers better. You can identify problems or weak spots on your website and then fix them.  Imagine that you sell apples on your site and that you are tracking your visitors. You notice that many people reach the checkout page and then do not complete the sale.  Obviously this is a problem because something is stopping them from completing the sale, you then need to look at improving or streaming your checkout page to make it easier for customers to buy your apples. Now, if you weren’t tracking your visitors and analyzing the data, you would never have know that there was a problem with the checkout page and you would have continued losing valuable business!

That small example above is the essence of the argument for using website tracking software.  I recommend Google Analytics because it is extremely comprehensive and it is free, plus it can be integrated with a Google Adwords campaign. If you would like to recommend a different website or give a give your opinion, please feel free to leave a comment.

(Images from Google Analytics)

Well, this is the very first post for my brand new blog (John Joubert.com ). I have been an avid blog reader for quite some time and have finally decided to add my views to the blogosphere. I would just like to welcome all those who are reading this post and thank you for taking the time to do so.

I plan on using this blog for sharing my thoughts and views regarding the opportunities that exist on the internet, as well as growing my network of contacts and maybe making some new friends while I’m at it.

Collaboration is an extremely powerful tool and can be used to achieve some pretty amazing results when used correctly, I would like to use this blog to collaborate with people who I normally would not be able to, and thereby create a source of value for myself as well as those who are working with me. 

I have quite a bit of experience with online business models as I have owned and operated an online store for over two years, and would like to share some of my experience with my readers. I have learnt a lot in the last two years and at times I have learnt the hard way.

I believe that if someone could have helped me with some fundamentals in setting up my new business it could have been a much smoother ride, I would therefore love to be able to help you in your own online business adventure. I’m always available for questions, you can simply post a comment or use my contact form to get hold of me.   

That’s it for now, please feel free to post any of your comments, I would love to hear from you!