Why RCounter?
Here you can find answers, which help you to become
acquainted with RCounter. What is the RCounter system?
What advantages and disadvantages does the product have?
Why should you prefer exactly our product? Read this
document to get all answers about the RCounter system.
Contents
- ANNOTATION
- “WHY RCounter?” - DISTINCTIVE
FEATURES OF THE SYSTEM
2.1.
Main advantages of the RCounter system
2.2. Detailed comparative characteristic
with analogs
2.3. Disadvantages
of the RCounter system
- COMPARISON TABLE OF THE
RCOUNTER SYSTEM WITH ANALOGS
- PLANS ABOUT IMPROVING THE
SYSTEM
- WHERE CAN YOU FIND FULL
INFORMATION ABOUT RCounter?
- WHERE CAN YOU BUY THE SOURCE CODE OF THE RCounter
SYSTEM?
1.
Annotation
RCounter is a system for gathering and reviewing statistics,
analysis of web-site attendance (and separate web-pages).
The basic functions and advantages of the system:
- a plenty of diverse kinds of statistics (hits,
hosts totally and by dates, unique IP-addresses, “where
from” statistics);
- support of statistics on separate pages of a large
site;
- access to statistics (review) via Internet;
- setting the Rcounter system through Internet (Web-access);
- storage of site statistics in the separate database
completely belonging to a site owner;
- support of “skin” technology for set-up of counter
appearance on the site, capability to disable show
of the counter on the site;
The special advantage of the system is the reliable
registration of site attendance. As RCounter is placed
on the same server, as the site contents, - a visitor
who opens the site “is inevitably counted” unlike other
counters and rating systems (for example, Rambler, Hostglobal),
which by virtue of the congestion periodically are unavailable
and “skip” some part of visits of your site.
2. “Why RCounter?” - distinctive
features of the system
You may ask yourself – Why should I use exactly
this new product? Especially, when there are many analogs
on the market, in which the similar problems have already
solved. Such question is lawful for the RCounter system.
In this chapter you can find answers for such questions,
which certain will allow you to make right choice -
whether it is necessary to use RCounter and buy its
commercial version, or it is possible to work with more
simple analogs.
2.1. Main advantages of
the RCounter system
- Many kinds of gathered statistics;
- Statistics for separate pages of the site;
- “Where from” statistics;
- Rights on the statistic base;
- Access limitation of to statistics;
- Editing the statistic base;
- Quality of count of visits;
- Possibility of skin editing (creation);
- Ignoring “debug” site visits;
- Handy representation of statistics;
Below you can read all these advantages in detail.
It is explained why the RCounter system may be important
for you as a site owner.
2.2.
Detailed comparative characteristic with analogs
1. Many kinds of gathered statistics
RCounter: The system as a whole contains
and displays many different kinds of statistics. All
these statistics are in process simultaneously (synchronously)
and agreed among themselves. It enables to do very interesting
analytical conclusions at usage of the certain techniques,
the part from which is described in the documentation
accompanying the product.
Rating systems such as HostGlobal,
SpyLog, One.ru:
as a rule, have smaller number of different kinds of
statistics. The most advanced systems have comparable
number of kinds of statistics.
Freeware/shareware CGI-counters:
as a rule, they have extremely primitive statistics (usually
they consist of simple hit/host amount, not always even
there is distribution by dates).
2. Statistics for separate pages of the site
RCounter allows conducting detailed visit
statistics of separate pages. It is done very simply
and there are no by-effects. There is possibility to
compare attendance of different site pages. It is possible
to analyze from which page and to what page of your
site the users pass. It opens a lot of wide opportunities
for analyzing audience, optimization of structure and
contents of your site, so it allows increasing the number
of your site visits!
Other rating systems and CGI-counters
have no similar possibility. This function, in some
cases, can be realized by an indirect way, but it requires
the large expenditures of labor at creation of the site,
its registration, and mainly - at the audience analysis.
Thus, it is very difficult to realize the regular audience
analysis of separate pages (for example, weekly) with
the help of other systems.
3. “Where from” statistics
RCounter allows receiving “where from”
statistics. It is an indication of site addresses from
which your visitors have carried out transition to your
site. This statistics is of great value, as it allows
after site registration in various catalogs and search
systems defining from which ones the visitors goes,
and from which ones it is not present. Besides, this
statistics allows finding out that the reference to
your site occurs on other Internet resources, where
you did not order it. Also, such kind of statistics
allows defining the value of the different catalogs
(search systems) for your site. Because, sometimes,
some popular catalogs may bring to you on business as
many visitors as your friend’s home page.
Other rating systems and CGI-counters
have no similar possibility (at least, among known ratings
and counters the given possibility has not been detected).
4. Right on the statistic base
RCounter creates the separate database
(separate file in the *.esf format) for statistics of
each site, which belongs to the site owner. The file
(the statistic database) always can be copied, transferred
on other server. Also you can make a backup copy of
the statistic database. You are always sure that nobody
will delete and change statistics or change count principles
of one or other parameters of your site.
Rating systems, such as HostGlobal,
SpyLog, One.ru
store the united base with statistics of all sites using
the system. You can not get the base of separate site.
If you are going to change your site name and complete
site processing or move your site on other server –
you may have difficulties with continuation of the former
statistics in some cases. Periodically, when the rating
system (the principles of rating account) are corrected
– some part of statistics of sites is deleted, or its
interpretation is changed. It occurs at request of the
rating system owners, without taking opinions and wishes
of the owners of concrete sites into consideration.
5. Access limitation to statistics
RCounter allows you (at your discretion)
to open or limit access to statistics for web visitors
(your site visitors).
Rating systems, such as HostGlobal,
SpyLog, One.ru:
generally, all statistics, gathered by these
systems, is accessible not only for the site owner,
but also for everyone. Sometimes, it may breathe on
the site image.
6. Editing the statistic base
RCounter allows you to edit various parameters.
There is special utility for this purpose. In particular,
it allows you to continue the work with statistics,
which has gathered with the help of other rating systems.
Also, this function can be used for solution of other
problems.
Other rating systems and CGI-counters
do not allow the site owner to edit statistics independently.
But there are rare exceptions among the CGI-counters.
7. Quality of visit count
RCounter can be placed on the same physical
server as the site does. Thus, every visitor of the
site will be registered and taken into account in statistics.
Rating systems, such as HostGlobal,
SpyLog, One.ru:
as a rule, place on remote and busy servers, therefore
not always at visiting your site the call of the counter
of this system can be successfully executed. Thus, the
probability of “missing” visits is very high. The more
popular a rating system, the higher probability that
there are “missing” visits for your site. It is also
true for the distance between a rating system server
and your site server.
8. Possibility of skin editing (creation)
RCounter allows you to create an absolutely
arbitrary skin for the counter, or to disable displaying
the counter on a page at all (but the counter will gather
statistics). It can be used almost any graphics editor
for skin creation. The preparation and installation
of a skin in the system is very simple (there is the
special utility for this purposes). Besides, there will
be the skin exchange system among its authors, for their
publication on the Internet.
Rating systems, such as HostGlobal, SpyLog,
One.ru in principle do not allow you to install
an arbitrary image of the counter (as they require installation
of the image in their stylistics). In the best of cases,
you may select one of the several standard fixed size
images. It is impossible to disable displaying image
of the counter on your site (just gathering statistics).
Freeware/shareware CGI-counters
in some cases allow you to change appearance
of the counter, but as a rule their mechanism is not
flexible. At the present time, there are no freeware/shareware
CGI-counters, which allow you to disable displaying
the counter.
9. Ignoring “debug” site visits
RCounter allows you to set IP-addresses
of computers, the visits from which should completely
be ignored. It is useful, that “debug” visits of employees
who developing and testing your site were ignored. Such
visits may be useful for increasing of site rating,
but they are very harmful, if you are going to receive
reliable and objective statistics.
Freeware/shareware CGI-counters
have no similar possibility.
10. Handy representation of statistics
RCounter allows you to view statistics
via a browser, as a usual Internet-page (web-access).
At viewing, it is possible to pass from one page of
statistics to another, change the modes of sorting in
the lists very fast.
Rating systems, such as HostGlobal, SpyLog,
One.ru generally have the comparable convenience
of displaying statistics, but at displaying the lists,
the modes of sorting, as a rule, are not adjusted.
Freeware/shareware CGI-counters,
as a rule, have no similar possibility. Usually you
can view only total visits shown on the counter image
via the Internet. If these systems have other kinds
of statistics, as a rule, it is impossible to view via
the Internet.
2.3.
Disadvantages of the RCounter system
We know and responsibly tell you not only about advantages
of our system, but also about its disadvantages in comparison
with analogs (competitors). However, most of disadvantages
we are not simply declaring, but also we are going to
correct in the following versions of the system. See
disadvantages of the "RCounter" system below:
- There is no displaying graphs (diagrams) on pages
of statistic review, that reduces visualization. Correction
of the disadvantage: It is planned to apply
graphs (diagrams) in the following version for all
kinds of statistics;
- RCounter does not show statistics by geographical
distribution of visitors (statistics, from what regions/countries
visitors come in your site). Correction of the
disadvantage: the necessary information for
displaying this kind of statistics in the database
is present, its displaying is planned to realize in
one of the following versions of the system;
- The distribution of visitors according to the time
of day is not displayed. Correction of the disadvantage:
the necessary information in the database is present,
displaying diagrams of the visitor distribution according
to the time of day is planned to realize in one of
the following versions of the system.
Except correction of the listed disadvantages, it is
planned to introduce some important improvements to
the RCounter system, which absent for analogs/competitors.
See the list of such improvements in the separate chapter.
3.
Comparison table of the RCounter system with analogs
You can find the results of comparison of the RCounter
system with other systems (both concrete systems and
classes of systems), deciding similar problems in the
table below.
Possibility (function)
|
Rambler Top100
|
One.ru
|
CGI-counters
|
RCounter
|
Statistics by separate pages of a site
|
No
|
Indirectly
|
No
|
Yes
|
“Where from” statistics
|
No
|
Announced, but it doesn't work
|
No
|
Yes
|
Statistics by visitor geography
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No,
but
it is planned
|
Distribution of visits by days
|
Yes
|
No
|
Usually is not present
|
Yes
|
Using graphs (diagrams) for reviewing statistics
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No,
but
it is planned
|
For what period the statistics (not including
total visits) is accessible
|
1-2 months for different kinds
of statistics
|
A Week
|
Usually no more than a week
|
all period
|
Access limitation to statistics
|
Partially
|
Partially
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Review of statistics via the Internet (web-access)
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
Yes
|
Possibility to set ignored IP-addresses
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Possibility to disable displaying the counter
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Free skin editing
|
No
|
No
|
Usually not
|
Yes
|
Editing statistics
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Accessory of the base to site owner
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Separate base of statistics on a site
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Possibility to place application of the counter
on one server with a site
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Type of the server, on which the application
for account of statistics is placed
|
-
|
-
|
Different
|
Multiplatform
|
4.
Plans about improving the system
The developers of the RCounter system plan to develop
it in the following directions and realize the following
improvements:
- Display of geographical distribution of site visitors;
- Using graphs (diagrams) for reviewing statistics;
- Account and display of distribution of visitors
according to the time of day;
- Open the rating of sites using RCounter pages (participation
of sites in the rating at desire of site owners) on
www.rcounter.noonet.ru;
- Account of enclosure of site pages, count of total
parameters for groups of pages (by site sections);
- Preparation and issue of statistic report in the
form of Excel tables;
- Writing detailed journals of visits of sites (optional).
5.
Where can you find full information about RCounter?
There are two main sources where you can obtain full information about the RCounter system:
- www.rcounter.noonet.ru;
- The RCounter documentation (all versions of the product has the detailed documentation);
6.
Where can you buy the source code of the RCounter system?
You can order all source code of the RCounter system. So you can order adaptation of this product for your problems. Just visit www.rcoutner.noonet.ru.
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