Keeping track of your analytics is a huge part of running a website. It isn’t enough to just set up a website and be done with it. There’s a lot more to it. Your website should constantly be updated so that the visitors always have a reason to come back. That’s where analytics comes in.
Keeping track of your analytics means keeping track of the data from your visitors. By that, I mean, what are your visitors doing on your website, how long they stay, where are your visitors from, how did they get to your website, etc.
So, What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is one of the many tools from Google for running your website and keeping track of its traffic. It collects data from your visitors, processes it intelligently, and gives you the reports. Using Google’s insights and machine learning technologies while perfectly working together with other Google technologies can give you a unique overview of your traffic and what you’d want to improve.
Why would you want a Google Analytics alternative?
Google Analytics is probably the most used tool for tracking your website data. It’s rich in features, and almost all of them are free. It does, however, come with a learning curve. While it’s not rocket science, it can get pretty tricky. A beginner may want to use a simpler to use tool if he doesn’t want to invest the time for learning Google Analytics.
Another reason may be that you just want something made especially for your type of website. Something that will give you access to only the data you really need and want.
Whatever reason you may have, here are 10 alternatives for Google Analytics
Woopra
Woopra is a real-time analytics solution. It gives you similar data as Google Analytics does, but it works with real-time tracking, and you can even chat with your current visitors. You get your updates much faster. The biggest limitation is the storage and how long your data is kept. But, besides that, it is a solid alternative to Google Analytics.
It offers a free version, and you can check out all of the prices here.
Heap
Heap is an analytics software built for understanding user behavior. It tracks all of their actions and offers tools that you need to completely understand your visitors’ actions and use them to your advantage. Since it’s an advanced tool, you need some technical knowledge to use it to its full potential.
A free version is available, and you can check all of their prices here.
GoSquared
GoSquared is another potential Google Analytics alternative designed so that beginners can easily understand their analytics. It works in real-time and offers different tools so you can easily understand your visitors’ behavior. You are also able to chat with them in real-time. It’s designed so that users don’t have to invest too much time into understanding their analytics tool and that they can focus their time somewhere else.
They offer a free 7-day trial, and you can check their prices here.
Matomo
Matomo is an open-source web analytics software where you are in control of your data. Usually, your data is stored on the providers’ servers, but with Matomo, all the data is stored on your own server. The biggest downside to using Google services is that they sell your data to advertising companies. With Matomo, that won’t be the case; you own all of the data. It is a great alternative for keeping the privacy of your visitors, but also yours, private.
Using Matomo with your own server is free, but you may need to pay for some other features. Check out all of the pricing plans here.
Kissmetrics
Kissmetrics offers powerful tools to help you better understand the behavior of your visitors. The focus with this software is on user behavior, unlike Google Analytics, which is session-based. The data is tied to users, and you can keep track of their whole journey through your website. You can use the tools available even to automate your customer engagement and grow your customers even more. It was designed as a more modern Google Analytics alternative, and it was designed well.
They do not have a free version; you can check all of the prices here.
Clicky
Clicky is an easy-to-use web analytics tool designed mostly for bloggers and smaller websites. Its main selling point is its ease of use. It gives its users live information about the website and its visitors. You can really go into detail with the available data to develop a more personal understanding of your visitors.
They offer a free version, but you can also check out all of their plans here.
Mixpanel
Mixpanel offers more than just the fundamental metrics, for which you’d have to set special goals on Google Analytics. It gives its users easy access to data about their visitors and also informs them about how their traffic is changing. It also assures that all of the data you get is actually useful to you, removing duplicates. Besides the analytics tools, it also offers tools that can be used for marketing.
It’s mostly free, but there are also paid versions with more features. You can check them out here.
Plausible
Plausible analytics is simple and lightweight. It was designed so that users can understand what’s going on without any prior training. You remain in control of your data and can even self-host your servers, so they’re even more secure. It presents you with all of the data you need, so you can focus more on building your business.
You get access to a free trial without using credit card info. For all of the pricings check here.
Adobe Analytics
Adobe Analytics is software that helps you get deep insight into all of your analytics. It offers way more data than Google Analytics, but it’s also harder to use. This software is mostly focused on big enterprises that have full teams focused on analytics only. If you’re willing to invest time into learning, this might pay off.
Check out all of their deals here.
StatCounter
Our last entry is StatCounter. It’s easy-to-use and focused on companies that don’t have a digital marketing expert on their team. It uses simple terminology, a simple user interface, and features that are easy to use even for beginners. You can get information about your visitors without that learning curve needed with Google Analytics.
It’s free, but it also offers a premium version. Check it out here.
Conclusion
Google Analytics is a great tool, there is no doubt about that, but it’s not for everyone. Everyone has their own needs and preferences. Be it for the learning curve and the time you have to invest, for privacy, or any other reason.
Many alternatives focus on different users, so you can always find something that fits your needs. I hope that this article helps you find what can help you.