Tips From The Beare - What is "Visits Duration"?

Visits Duration is the amount of time that a web visitor spends on your website. This statistic can really clarify browsing behaviour of visitors.

1.     BeareWare Launches New Website - Click Here
2.     HIT or MISS - Do you know your Website Statistics? - Click Here
3.     The Domain Game - Location Location Location - Click Here
4.     BeareWare e-Mail Accounts - What are the Capabilities? - Click Here

BeareWare Launches New Website

When your company designs and develops websites, it is easy to be so client-focused that you really don't spend much time focusing on your own website. Using some of the litmus tests we use with prospects, we recently asked ourselves a few questions: Is our website reflecting our business and marketing models? Does it show our work and expertise in web development, and do we have defined conversion outcomes we specifically want the website to produce? The answers to most of these questions were "no" - and thus it was time for BeareWare to develop a new website.

Using the same techniques we use with our clients, we started off the project by researching other web design and development company websites - looking for sites we really liked. We looked for sites that provided that "wow" factor visually by design and then we looked for sites with great functionality and content. Once we identifed the sites we liked - we noted what parts of each site we liked and why. Then came the design of our new site. Vicki, who has designed more than 75 websites for clients, took the lead in coming up with our overall design. We were particularly interested in the site really establishing our brand look (the Bear) - and we also wanted to make sure our work and expertise were showcased immediately to prospective clients visiting our website for the first time. Vicki created 5 sample designs and then after review and modifications, we came to our final design. It had the look, the brand, profiles to show our work, and the information we wanted web visitors to get to quickly.

Next we had to incorporate the technology and functionality into the site as we commenced developing it. Our priorities were to display our design profiles immediately - but randomize the client profile so a different profile would be shown each time a visitor came to the site. Secondly, we wanted to be able to show our expertise in web technology, and to be a resource for clients. We decided the best way to do this was in the form of a blog ("Interview with a Webmaster"), links to our e-NEWS editions, FAQ's, and rotating industry terminology tips ("Web Tips from the Beare"). Expanding on that, we then used our lines of business and products to complete the design with our menu options, which provide more in-depth information about our company.

As BeareWare provides web services focused on website design and development, in addition to providing various support services including hosting, management, e-NEWS services, online shops, and more - we wanted to make sure that our menu's headings reflected these topics. Then we added our history ("About Us"), design portfolio, and contact information. Most importantly, we made sure that our desired "conversions" (visitor outcomes) were easily obtainable with our new website. We specifically want our visitors to either send us a web inquiry, give us a phone call, or subscribe to e-NEWS - therefore, we wanted to make sure that all of these outcomes are easily accomplished on the new site. Then, we proceded to load the website with our content and began writing our weekly blogs and periodical e-NEWS.

Suffice it to say, we've been as excited about launching our new site as any client we have worked with! One of the things we like most about the site is its ability to present new info to visitors with each visit - whether it be through the frequently updated blog or the random Web Tips. The shining star of our website is, of course, our Client Profiles. We are so proud of the work we have done with clients over the last two years in particular. We have watched many new concepts and businesses spring to life with state-of-the-art websites, and we've also helped existing businesses continue to flourish with a new website or site "facelift". It is extremely rewarding seing the hard work of our client and our hard work resulting in a sucessful website. With our new website in place and new client sites on the way, we look forward to seeing great results from our own website - just like our clients do with theirs.

Don't forget to check out our weekly blog - Interview with a Webmaster!

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HIT or MISS - Do you know your Website Statistics?

If you were asked today, "How is your website doing?", could you give an informed, statistical answer (or even just a broad, general one)? Most websites come with lots of statistics, and you could easily spend hours (daily) analyzing these stats. But what are the important statistics and what should you focus on?

One of the largest misnomers that exists today with webmasters, owners, and advertisers is the classic "hits" statistic, which is used to very misleadingly describe website visitation. 

A "hit" is a retrieval of any item, such as a page or a graphic, from a web server. For example, when a visitor looks at one web page containing six graphics (photos, logos, graphical buttons, even a tiny arrow or other icon - these are all examples of graphics), that's seven hits, one for the page itself and six for the graphics. For this reason, hits are never a clear indication of web traffic. In other words - hits are based on the number of times a graphic is viewed (or another file, such as audio, video, or a document, is accessed). For instance, a website owner may have noticed, or been told, that the new photo gallery added to his/her site had increased the site's "hits" tenfold. "Wow," he or she thinks, "that must mean I'm getting 10 times more web traffic now!" Unfortunately, this is NOT SO. It simply means that the pages viewed are more graphic (or photo) heavy, thereby driving up that misleading "hits" statistic.

In a nutshell, a hit has no meaningful correlation with your website's results.

A great analogy was given to me by my hairdresser ("Bubba") when discussing this exact topic. He stated that hits would be equivalent to how many hairs he cut in a day (not how many heads). If he wanted to impress an associate he could claim to have cut 10,000 hairs on a given day - but in reality it would be the number of heads (people) that paid for a hair cut that would produce his bottom line results. I have to say to this very day I cringe when someone tells me how great their website is doing and uses hits as their statistic! Sadly, I know immediately they don't actually understand their website.

So enough with HITS - let's get some real statistics on the table...

Here are some key statistics that can help you better analyze your website:

• Website Session 
• Unique Visitors
• Number of Visits
• Number of Viewed Pages
• Website Conversions
• Visits Duration
• Frequently Viewed Pages
• Referring Search Engines
• Referring Web Sites
• Key Phrases & Words

Here is a brief summary of these statistics:

Website Session:

A website session is the period of time between a visitor coming to your website and then leaving your website. The website session parameters are set by your website statistics package - so you can find variance in different packages - but generally, a session is a person coming to your website, browsing around, and then leaving your website.

Unique Visitor:

A "Unique Visitor" is the primary measuring unit you will want to focus on. Website owners care about visitors, because having lots of visitors is the target of nearly all websites. A visitor can buy a product, review a service, become a prospect, follow up with a call to your organization, or even simply view an advertisement. Most stats packages give you hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly unique visitors stats. This is your bottom line - no matter what outcomes you want from your website. 

Number of Visits:

The number of visits is the actual recording of each time ANY visitor comes to the site for a session - he or she may be a new visitor or a repeat visitor. You should pay attention to the difference between the number of visits and unique visits. If you are getting lots of new, unique visitors but only slightly higher numbers in overall visits, that means your visitors aren't finding much on your site to bring them back. The overall number of visits is a great indication of levels of interest or progressions to an outcome on your site.

Number of Pages Viewed: 

Another very valuable stat is pages viewed. A page - any page that is browsed to on your website -records a page view (for that particular page). When people go to websites, they view pages, and this is always one of the most meaningful statistics on your website. Pages viewed always reminds me to make sure that a site's content is kept up to date and accurate across the entire website.

Website Conversions:

The term "conversion" does not mean a recorded statistics as such, but it is the bottom line outcome you desire fom your website. When you develop your website these desired outcomes should be clearly identified. If you have a retail shop - your conversion is the actual sale of a product. If you are a realtor, your conversion may be an inquiry form being filled out, a house tracking account being opened up, or an e-mail inquiry being sent. For BeareWare, our conversions result in either a new web design inquiry or e-news subscriber. If the website has led a visitor to take some action according to the actual purpose of the site, then a conversion has been created.

Visits Duration:

Visit duration tells you how long a visitor actually stayed on your website. Time measurements are 0-30 seconds, 2-5 minutes, 5-15 minutes, 15-30 minutes, 30 minutes-1 hour, and then 1 hour plus. This statistic is an absolute eye-opener about the general behavior of visitors to your site. If your website's current information (its "content") is not up-to-date, or it is difficult for a visitor to find that information on your site, chances are the visits will be in the 0-30 second range. Good sites with rich information should experience 2-5 minutes or above. Either way, understanding visitation duration can really help you make adjustments and enhancements to your site.

Frequently Viewed Pages:

This statistic tells you what specific pages are being viewed by visitors to your website. It also tells you the amount of times a particular page is visited, so you can establish what your key pages are on your  site, as well as what pages you have that people are not visiting (and appropriately analyze why.). Obviously, you want your conversion pages (ones that lead to conversion-specific actions) to be way up there on visitation. Viewed pages also includes entry page statistics (the first page a visitor goes to - which is quite often not your home page if they are taken there via a search engine), and also the page on which they exited your Web site (which can sometimes hint at a page that is out of date or lacks any key information).

Referring Search Engines:

Search engines are a great opportunity for getting new visitors to your website. There are many things that can be done to ensure that you have a prominent listing on a search engine - but knowing which search engines are producing the most referrals can help with your search engine strategy. Of course, there are lots of other methods to get visitors to your site (word of mouth, general advertising, links,) but this stat really is about people not knowing you and finding you by key words on a search engine. Search engines have robots that search the Internet continuously and establish key phrases and words that describe your site. This is how the search engine establishes an index on your website. You can also submit these phrases and words directly to the search engine to improve your chances of appearing on a search (this is one aspect of what is known as SEO - Search Engine Optimization). Google Word ads and search engine advertising will also help increase search engine traffic, but at a price. 

Referring Website:

Referring websites are what I consider "word of mouth" online.  This is the stat that shows you which specific website the visitor found out about you on (and actually took the link on that site to get to you). Online advertising is the primary method that sends visitors to other websites, but key links are also a good way to get additional traffic. Usually there will have to be a key relationship or benefit to have your organization linked on another site, but there is no doubt that getting your website's link on other sites can help grow your business and also increase your positioning on search engines. This is a great statistic to use to monitor how well your outside advertising or link exchanges are working, for instance, and may help in your future marketing decisions.  

Key Phrases & Words:

Being listed on a search engine is not enough to ensure that people will find you through key phrases and word searches. Your website will also need "meta tags" which are tags that the web robots will look for that describe your site for search engine indexing. Adding these phrases and key words to the search engine directly, and also in your title line on each page, will also help in searching. This statistic tells you which are the primary key phrases and words visitors used to search for your website. They are the words people type into a search engine to find you when they don't know your company's name. If your website is missing obvious key words or phrases, then you should make sure your webmaster adds them to your meta tags and search engines submissions to optimize your results.

As can be seen by statistics explanations I have listed here, developing your statistical understanding of your website will take some dedicated time and effort. If you have a good web company that works with you on hosting, support and management - they should be your key contact in terms of reviewing these statistics periodically. Besides your hosting statistics package there are also statistical packages known as "web analytics" which are offered by leading search engines. Statistics reinforce your investment in your website, identify results, and give you a clear path to adjustments for future results. They also are extremely valuable when developing a new website - by knowing what the results are from your existing site, you will be much more in tune with the changes and improvements you will need in a new site.

Take the time to understand your website statistics. It will be time well-invested! 

** BeareWare works with each Hosting & Management Client to review their website statistics periodically. All Client Statistics are available for 2007. To link to your statistics please contact BeareWare at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or (615) 443-9050 **

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The Domain Game - Location - Location - Location 

We have all heard the statement in Real Estate - Location, Location, Location. Well I have a new statement for you - Domain Name, Domain Name, Domain Name. The cyber real estate of the 21st century is domain names, and it is quite clear that the value of a domain name is at an all-time high, with expectations that it will continue to grow. A domain name today is either a direct brand (your company name) or it can be synonymous with search words - and the closer that name is to a key search word (an obvious word that someone would type into a search engine) - the more traffic that website will receive, and thus the more value that website has.

Today a domain name is quite often the actual brand or the most visited and viewed location of that brand. It is interesting to think that walmart.com has more visitors to its website than any one walmart store could have (in actual fact many Walmart stores combined.) I think this is a good analogy because it really emphasizes that association between a store - a physical place you go visit and shop at - and a website - a virtual place you go visit and shop at.  In ten years time - unless the physical store is rebuilt it will still have the same  stocking capabilities that it has now - it might sell more product pending demographics and demand - pricing may increase - but the overall store is bound by its physical structure and size. On the other hand walmart.com may have 10 million more visitors to its website 10 years from now - and it may sell millions of products directly from that website. The website has no physical boundaries and will most likely continue to grow annually simply by the growth of the Internet. I think this example helps to clarify the long term value of a domain name. 

Of course, many small business may say to themselves - we are not Walmart. No you are not, but you probably have the same aims as major companies do. You want to attract more customers, you want to sell more products and services, and you want to grow your business annually. Your domain name and your website should be a key part of your business plan. The basics of choosing the right domain name is to match your actual business name if you can - e.g. BeareWare - beareware.com - but this is not always possible. Then you have to become creative and come up with a domain name that fits into your marketing concept and is easily identified as yours. This could include slogans or identifiable phrases. If Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee owned the domain name www.beer.com - it could well be that their primary marketing would always include www.beer.com. This is a good example of an identifiable phrase used for a domain. Recently beer.com - (the domain name only) sold for over six million dollars - can you believe it (now, why didn't I register THAT one?!). The cost is based on the number of people that visit (or could visit the site) and the advertising revenue generated from that site. But, let's say neither miller.com nor beer.com is available - some remaining options might be millerbrewing.com, millerbeer.com, tastesgreatlessfilling.com... as I said, this is a great opportunity to get creative (while recognizing that you want, above all, a name that is memorable).

If a domain name you are interested in is taken then you can also consider purchasing the domain name, pending the price and ownership status. And just like the walmart.com analogy - if you consider the business 10-20 years down the track, the cost of that domain name may make a lot more sense (just like real estate).  Some domains sell for $100.00 - some sell for $1,000.00 - and some sell for $10,000.00. It does depend on the perceived value of the name, and of course the seller's motivation. Quite often someone registers a domain name to run a business - or to start a new business plan. They do their research and realize that business is never going to happen, but they still decide to retain the domain name. They spot other companies with the same business plan and they ultimately sell the domain name to an interested buyer.  I think you will see domain finance companies appearing in the horizon as the value of domains increase - and the recognition of your domain starts to be seen as a long term investment.

BeareWare manages over 400 domain names for our clients, and many of our clients have actual portfolios in this area. When you consider that the cost of a domain name (in bulk) is around $8.00 per year ($35.00 for individual domains), you can see the potential value of having additional domain names. Imagine spending $8.00 a year on a domain name that brings you an extra 500 visitors per annum (or more). That's far less expensive than a mail-out or any other advertising you could do. To discuss your domain strategy, contact BeareWare today. Here is a list of services BeareWare provides for our clients in relation to domain name registration.

Domain Registration Includes...

• Domain Name strategy and selection (related to your business plan)
• Domain Name Registration (obtaining and securing your domain name)
• DNS (Domain Name Servers) - routing your domain to your actual website
• Account consolidation and transfers from other registrants
• Auto-renewal to ensure your site is permanently operating
• Managing Registrant, Administrative, Technical, and Billing information
• Informing client of new domain strategies and trends 

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BeareWare e-Mail Accounts - What Are The Capabilities?

Your BeareWare website comes with a variety of e-mail account options.  Each client will uses these options based on their own internal computer system setup and the direction they wish information to flow from their website. Selecting strategic e-mail forwarding accounts can show a high level of professionalism within your organization while making it easy for a prospect or client to remember how to contact you.

The information below will give you a breakdown of the current e-mail account features, as well as how to use them. Please contact BeareWare at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   when you need these options added to your account setup.

• E-Mail Forwarding
• E-Mail POP Account
• Group E-Mail
• E-NEWS Marketing

e-Mail Forwarding: 

The most commonly used e-mail use on a website is e-mail forwarding. This involves establishing an e-mail name with your website extension, which will forward visitor inquiries to a person's actual e-mail. 

For example, when you e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   that e-mail is sent to Peter & Vicki - as we both work on client accounts. It is irrelevant what e-mail Peter & Vicki use specifically - the inquiry to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   will be always sent directly to us. This is a good example of the naming convention - as webservices is easily remembered - and also what our clients are requiring when they contact us.

E-Mail Pop Accounts:

The most desirable way to present yourself through your own website, however, is with a POP account.  E-mail accounts are quite often confused with Internet access, which is not provided by an e-mail account. The easiest way to understant this is that an e-mail is for communicating from one Internet user to another - while accessing the Internet is only related to you and your organization (getting you from your computer to the Internet) and is generally provided in the form of a dial up account, DSL account, cable account, or a T-1 line. 

A good example of a POP account is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . BeareWare's Internet access from their offices to the Internet is provided by Bellsouth and a DSL line. When BeareWare signed up for this account, Bellsouth assigned e-mail addresses that could be used by BeareWare and Peter personally. Of course, to BeareWare clients and prospects, Peter is with BeareWare (not Bellsouth) and so, using his BeareWare e-mail reinforces the company brand & domain name. As basic as this might sound, it is astounding to me to see the amount of folks that stil use personal e-mails instead of their company domain name e-mail accounts.

The POP accounts operates just like any other e-mail account and can be set up easily in Outlook or Outlook Express (as well as in any other Webmail program). The main reason for having a POP account, is to allow your clients and prospects to be able to communicate to you through one e-mail (not a forwarder and providers e-mail). In other words, with a POP account, both your incoming and outgoing e-mail will have the same address ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , for instance) and it is a great way to incorporate your e-mail into your brand - showing a high level of professionalism within your organization.

Group E-Mail Account:

Within an organization, effective group communication is a must. Group e-Mail accounts are available to allow you to set up standard groups that you communicate with, and then allow you to e-mail one e-mail address which is automatically routed to each member of the group. The group can be 2 people or 20 - with the group being exclusive. 

For example, when the Australian Festival wanted to communicate to its committee (8 members making up the group), the e-mail  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  was set up to route the e-mail directly to each committee member. The difference between a group account and a forwarding account is that group accounts have security, so each user is given authorization to e-mail the group (but someone who doesn't have authorization cannot e-mail the group - which prevents unwanted or irrelevant e-mails getting to the group).

e-NEWS Marketing: (* additional charges for this service):

BeareWare's e-NEWS Marketing provides you with the complete set of tools necessary to market your goods & services to your current client/community base while attracting potential clients. An e-NEWS is an electronic newsletter, but can also be a special announcement, a press release, or an invitation.  

e-NEWS Marketing includes:

• Creating a customer e-NEWS template using current website flavor
• Creating an e-NEWS database list that is self-managed by subscribers
• Subscription forms that are placed on your organization’s website
• Client based or custom e-news blast-outs to subscribers
• Automatic management of bounced or blocked e-mails
• Custom design services to support marketing campaigns
• Data conversion of existing e-mail/mailing list data to e-news list

Watch for our upcoming BLOG on "The Power of e-NEWS"....

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About BeareWare 

BeareWare is a Website Design and Development firm that has been providing web-based solutions to small businesses since May, 2000. We provide web services in the areas of custom web design and development, online shops & e-commerce, and custom web applications, with a complement of support services including web hosting & management, e-news marketing, domain management, search engine optimization (SEO), web advertising, and client education & training.

Founder Peter Beare has been a systems developer, business analyst and professional services manager who has worked with companies ranging from small businesses to international corporations over the last 25 years. Peter’s expertise is in strategic website planning, design and development, website marketing and sales, with a strong background in database application programming & project management.

Design and Development Director Vicki Payne has an extensive background in graphical drawing & design. Vicki previously worked with Dell Computer Company for six years before joining BeareWare in 2005. Vicki’s expertise is in graphical web design and web programming. Vicki creates our client designs and then implements those designs into our client websites - producing stunning looking websites that provide superb functionality.

BeareWare has delivered more than 75 websites and web applications since its inception. We utilize state of the art design and content management systems, with our designs being directed by our clients’ business and marketing models, their target demographics, and desired outcomes. Our support services focus on technical website and customer support, online marketing campaigns, and ongoing client education and development.

To discuss your organization's website needs, contact us or call us at (615) 443-9050.

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