Small Business

Get Live Site Tracking and Analytics with Woopra

By Rick Broida

Updated on: August 4, 2008 / 10:15 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

For many site operators, Google Analytics has long been the go-to service for getting traffic stats and other information. Now there's a compelling alternative: the unfortunately named Woopra, which offers a jazzier interface than Google Analytics and some nifty features. Among them:

Live Tracking and Web Statistics â€" Woopra displays over 40 different statistical events and analytics.
Deep Search Capabilities - Users can employ Woopra's search functionality along any data point in the system (specific user names, IP addresses, geographic locations, etc.) to find specific information about their site's visitors.
Click-to-Chat - Provides Web sites with both "proactive" and "reactive" chat functionality, ultimately breaking the virtual wall between visitor and Webmaster.
Real Time Notifications - Offers "on-demand" custom notifications with visual and auditory cues when pre-defined actions take place. Specific client visits, special events (sales or ad clicks), and other important actions become instantly actionable.

Sounds pretty good, no? Now for the best part: Woopra is free. It does require a software installation, but it's available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Woopra also offers plug-ins for WordPress and vBulletin. How does it compare with Google Analytics? The latter doesn't have features like live tracking and click-to-chat, but it does have features Woopra lacks. Of course, seeing as they're both free, you've got nothing to lose by trying each one!