Do you know how many hits your Web site gets? Is this question something you even think about?

There are a lot of moving parts to a Web site, from technology to content to usability to whether or not the Web site is even up and running. Even if you are working with a trusted partner such as Dunkirk Systems, LLC, for the business owner or stakeholder it can be overwhelming the amount you need to be cognizant of with regards to your Web site.

One aspect of a Web site commonly placed lower on the priority list is Web analytics, or the review and analysis of traffic to your Web site. Analytics involves the number of hits on Web pages, the cluster of those hits called a visit, whether the visit is new or returning, when and how long the visitor was at your Web site, how they navigated the Web site, how did they come about your Web site and with what computer and browser.

If the preceding paragraph did not overwhelm you, congratulations! The above is a lot to digest, but you realized its importance. If you previously had not thought much about analytics, you may be wondering where to start.

My recommendation on Web analytics is to start on a basic level. First, reacquaint yourself with your system for viewing and analyzing this information. It may be available from a number of sources. Most all Web hosting companies offer some form of analytics, from raw Web log files (where hits to your Web site are recorded) to a Web-based interface to review the information captured in these files. Even if you Web host offers this, you may have available to you services for analysis, such as Google Analytics, which are third-party services that collect Web hit information based on a small piece of code added to each Web page that is not viewable to the Web user.

Now that you have your Web analytics software in front of you, take a look at the basic or “dashboard” information. This is typically what you see when you first log into the analytics Web site. Now peruse through this information. Take a look at the various reports, whether in tables or graphs, and familiarize yourself with what is presented. At first it may not mean much. However over time and repeated review of this information, you will get a feel for how people use your Web site.

The accompanying graphic with this post is an example of part of a dashboard report for a real Web site I manage and whose name I am purposely not stating at this time. Note there is a huge spike in traffic in the reporting period. I show this example as you may have similar occurrences with your own Web site, and with a better understanding of your analytics, you’ll be able to better understand why this happened, as I did with this Web site.

Continued review of your Web analytics will help you recognize the utilization of your Web site, understand the effectiveness of content and information presented on it and guide you in decision making in how you update and change your Web site. This task also has some complexity to it, but it is helped by understanding the numbers. And to do so, you need to start somewhere.

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Are you in complete control of your destiny? Or in control of it as much as you possibly can be? By asking these I am not trying to cause panic or confusion! Rather I am engaging a conversation about choices we make on a day-to-day basis.

The catalyst for this thought topic was issues I have recently encountered with various vendors, both in my business and personal life. In some cases they failed to deliver products or services they were obligated to. Other times it was their mere responses or actions that caused me concern they may fail or flounder in delivery. As a result, not only did I get an uneasy feeling, but I then needed to devote time to thinking through the scenario and defining a strategy to react to it.

On the positive side, we sometimes make decisions knowing they are in the best interest in the short term, and eventually may make moves that are best in the long term. One example is outsourcing. If we do not have the capital or human bandwidth to take on something ourselves, we may outsource all or part of the task to a person or company. This can allow us to take on, say, a new client and offer the services now that we eventually will take on ourselves and continue in the offering.

Good or bad, we need to have an understanding of these situations, which can be considered our destiny. Rather than dropping everything I have planned to do so I am tackling this issue methodically. In evaluating contracts and relationships, I am looking at what I have, what alternatives there are, and how I would be able to make a switch. Taking it a level further, I am looking at the cost of making the switch, and at what point it makes sense to do so. Some of these changes are straightforward and others are rather complex, however it is a necessity to plan for these in advance. Going forward, I will keep this in mind as I make business and personal decisions.

Like any choice we make, sometimes we make it despite potential risks involved, especially if our choice is to do something or not do it at all. As I think about these or face such decisions, look for my reactions here at The Hot Iron.

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June 14 is Flag Day in the US. It celebrates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, and later became a nationally recognized day. More information about the day’s history can be found in this Wikipedia article on Flag Day.

Today I will be joining members of the Chicago chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution, or DAR, in handing out flags to people along Michigan Avenue. The DAR is a historic organization of women who can trace their ancestry to the Mayflower or the American Revolution. My lovely wife is a member, and thus that makes me a Husband of a Daughter of the American Revolution, or HODAR. With a title like that, how could I not participate?

Happy Flag Day, a day in honor of not only a great national symbol, but also one of the best known brands in the world.

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For several months now, selected blog posts from this blog, The Hot Iron, have been republished on the Business blog of Ashworth University. It features posts from its students, faculty and people around the globe in various disciplines. I was honored to be asked to be included as a guest writer. Reading the blog on a regular basis, I am among a company of excellent thinkers and writers.

One of my recent posts on choices made at Toscanini’s Ice Cream in Cambridge, MA was posted on the blog this week. They made a slight change to the title, and it reads, “Master Entrepreneur Mike Maddaloni Asks: Should Entrepreneurs Reach Out To Their Customers For Help?” My initial reaction – wow!

Thanks to the people at Ashworth for this great compliment. I have often said everyday I learn something new about running a business – some things are better than others. As this is a on-going venture, it truly is a journey, and I consider these kind words a great signpost along this journey.

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I just got word from Tim Courtney the next Silicon Prairie Social will be held on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at Mullen’s Bar and Grill in Lisle, IL.

This is the next in what has turned out to be a successful series of quality tech networking event for the western suburbs of Chicago. The event is free, though you must register, and registration is now open. Check out the Web site for full details.

For those in the tech community in the burbs, it is a must attend, and as well for those of us in the city - as we are all part of the greater Chicagoland tech community.

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