Piwik is an alternative to Google Analytics for tracking website statistics like total hits, time on site, traffic sources, clicks and more. While Google Analytics is the most widely used web analytics tool by webmasters, agencies and ad networks, there are benefits to having a secondary option.
Piwik provides many of the same metrics while avoiding reliance on just one platform for vital data insights. As web analytics grows increasingly essential for online business success, having the flexibility of an additional, full-featured tracking solution like Piwik ensures continuity even if changes occur with one’s primary tool. So for those relying solely on Google Analytics currently, considering adding Piwik into the mix may prove prudent.
Most webmasters will agree to the fact that different web statistics tool do give different stats numbers .The oldest in the web analytics Awstats and its open source alternative JAW stats do give pretty good detail reports. Google analytics do misses some hits delivered on your website and the best reliable hits counter can be found on your server logs or from your AW stats which is built in most Cpanels under logs section but for a better user interface and well categorized web stats there is another very reliable Google analytics alternative Piwik which is open source and just requires you to few files In your web server for online tracking.
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How to install Piwik web analytics?
- Download from http://piwik.org/download-guide/ website.
- Log on to your web server using a Ftp client software like Filezilla,coreFTP etc and login with the your webhosting parameters like FTP login,FTP server id, Port no .
- Now Unzip the files you downloaded from Piwik site and upload the Piwik folder via FTP client to the root of the site.
- After uploading the files go to www.yourwebsite.com/piwik and follow the online instruction to continue installation .
That’s it you are done Check out a demo of piwik and comparing with Google analytics it doesn’t miss each and every visitor on your website. Overall a very good and free alternative to Google analytics.
