A few weeks ago I talked about the issues I had with giving away all of my traffic data to Google, by using their free traffic stat software Analytics.  Since then I have tried about 3 different stat tracking software and sites.  So far I've tried using Piwik, W3Coutner, and now HiStats.  I think I may have found the best Google Analytics alternative in HiStats, if only for a few negatives, but let me explain why the others didn't work out first.

Piwik

Piwik was great, provided minimal stats, but the ones necessary to properly develop and form a website.  I got keywords, graphs, time on site, and visitor data.  Of the information provided with Piwik, my complaint lied with no IP tracking, clumsy reports, and no direct links from keywords to the search engine results page.

The absolute nail in the coffin reason why Piwik is not a good alternative to Google Analytics is that you have to host the tracking software yourself.  This means that if you have high traffic websites that you are tracking then it has the potential to bog down your system.  There is no question in my mind that Piwik was hurting the response time and up time of my dedicated server.

W3Counter

I tried out the free version of W3Counter and really thought I had found the stat program I would stick with.  The free version only allows the tracking of one site, but provides ample time to test out before upgrading to paid version which allows tracking for up to 10 sites.  The tracking was spot on and it allows for real time reporting, so you don't have to wait 24 hours for information like you do with Google Analytics.

Unlike Piwik, W3Counter is hosted on it's own servers, so it's not taxing on your system.  Unfortunately the servers W3Counter is hosted on is not sufficient to handle the load.  Regularly I was faced with timing out errors or worse, sealing the deal with W3Counter being marked off my list of potential Analytic tracking alternatives.  Hopefully in the future the creator of W3Counter will create more efficient code or break down and buy top notch servers.

HiStats

I think I have decided to start using HiStats.com as my Google Analytics alternative.  It provides all the information I need, complete with keyword, day reports, real time stats, and even exporting for record keeping.  Furthermore, HiStats.com is a free service, but laced with a ton of annoying ads.  I'm not against someone earning a buck for their hard work, so I can look past the ads.

Also, the free version allows for unlimited site tracking, as far as I can tell.  It seems that HiStats is also accurate with it's visitor tracking, keyword lists, and can even provide future traffic potential.  I've been using it for a few days and have never ran into downtime like I did with W3Counter and unlike Piwik the code is hosted on their servers.

I'd recommend anyone looking to have an alternative to Google Analytics to try out Histats.com.  If you are worried about putting ugly counters on your site, don't, they offer plenty of tasteful buttons and promise no hidden link code.  For now, that's where I'll be tracking, until a less Ad laden paid service shows up.

The number one problem with CPC advertising of Affiliate Programs is that it can be very difficult to do tests(specifically split tests) on conversions.  I've began to see a growing trend amongst digital goods providers that allows an affiliate to add their tracking code to the vendors 'Thank You' page.  Let's look at why this is necessary and how this one simple action could seal the deal on choosing a product to affiliate for.

Out of the box digital product conversions on cost per click advertising cannot be tracked.  You can of course setup an affiliate landing page and track your own CTR's and even how many outgoing clicks your links generate.  However, often times visitors do not complete a purchase, click the link multiple times, etc.  To properly track a conversion a tracking code needs to be attached to a linking page and on a transaction completion page.  Since the affiliate doesn't own the product the tracking code can not be placed on the final transaction page.

Some companies are working closer with affiliates by allowing an affiliates tracking code to be placed upon their final thank you transaction page.  One digital product of note is the wildly popular MoviesCapital on Clickbank.  They openly accept tracking codes to be placed on their pages, which can help you fine tune your Adwords campaigns.

Tracking and testing to an affiliate is priceless.  Helping with tracking, to me, is the #1 thing an affiliate program manager can do to help their affiliates.  Although on certain scales this is not possible, coming up with a method to allow this interaction could pay off in spades to the right affiliate network.