Web analytics: technology or lifestyle?

Recently, a lot of material has been written about web analytics in Runet. Despite this, many Internet users are still very wary of this area of ​​activity, not fully aware of the powerful potential of web analytics. At the same time, it is now possible to say that in RuNet a tendency towards an increase in the number of users who are followers of the web analytics philosophy has gradually emerged.

As practice shows, web analytics as an applied field of activity is rapidly evolving in the domestic segment of the Internet. Moreover, today the question of how many stages in its development has passed and web analytics in RuNet will be debatable. In particular, some domestic bloggers believe that the web analytics market is now fully formed, since many people are actively using Google Analytics. But, this is of course a fallacy. For example, Dmitry Melikhov holds a diametrically opposite opinion. In his opinion, Google Analytics is only an intermediate stage in the development of the web analytics market in RuNet. Already, fundamentally new approaches to site analysis have emerged than those offered by site traffic statistics services. And this is not the limit.

Methods and principles of web analytics are constantly evolving. Today we are not talking about technology. Technologies are just tools for collecting certain data: about website traffic, the actions and behavior of visitors on the website. Considering web analytics only through the prism of technological innovations, which allow to collect more complete data on the site’s activities and visitors' actions on it, means not to understand what role the web analyst can play in the development of Runet. I agree with the statement that web analysis can be just a few hours and not always successful meditation on beautiful, but useless, indicators about site traffic. Or it can be an effective job of getting the website to the first positions of popularity in the hypercompetitive environment of Runet. If a “correct” understanding of the goals and importance of web analytics develops in Runet, this will be another and very powerful evolutionary impetus for the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet.

Not so long ago, Internet guru Andrei Kuzin said that the market leaders are companies that offer the user not technology, but a new way of life. This statement is absolutely suitable for web analytics. Very soon, web analytics will become a necessary tool for the survival of a site in the face of global competition on the Internet. For example, in the West, the culture of web analytics was formed several years ago. There is the norm for webmasters, owners of online projects and firms that have corporate websites. There are dozens of services offering various methods for analyzing visitors' actions on the site, and all are working quite successfully. The norm of life is not a momentary interest for the sake of curiosity, it is not an opportunistic need. Although in order for Runet to transform web analysis into a steady need and acquire its own corporate identity, it must go through its development and momentary interest for the sake of curiosity, and there may even be an opportunistic need from Internet users. In principle, this trend is already evident. Many users begin to use web analytics out of curiosity, then they approach this process more consciously and, in the end, their interest is transformed into a necessity. It is difficult to say when the web analytics market will become mature (by analogy with Western countries) - it depends on many factors. But since almost all innovations in RuNet have always been perceived with enthusiasm, it can be said that web analytics has quite distinct prospects in this regard.