What is the difference between hits and visitors?
 
It is a common mistake and in some cases, one which is used to misguide you into thinking that a website has more actual people looking on the website than there actually is.
 
There is a lot of terminologies that are quoted by the SEO Professional and sales people, trying to get you to place a listing on their website, and some unscrupulous people (and goodness knows, there's plenty of those around!) will be quite happy to take advantage of your ignorance of the terms they are using.
 
A clever (and dishonest) sales person or SEO specialist will proudly proclaim, "We will get you a thousand hits per day," trusting that you are unaware of what that actually means. A non-savvy website owner will think to himself, "Wow! A thousand visitors per day! That's a lot!"

But here's the trick. Let's say your home page has a header image, 5 menu images, a couple other pictures somewhere on the page, plus a style sheet that gets called by the page. That works out to a total of 10 hits per page: the page itself, the style sheet, and eight images.

Now let's suppose that your site is interesting and well designed, so every visitor who comes to it sticks around long enough to read five pages. That's a total of 50 hits per visitor.

So when the SEO company brags that they're going to get your 1000 hits per day, they really mean that they're going to give you 20 visitors per day.

All of a sudden their promises don't seem so golden, do they?
 
What is important

Simple... The number of visitors to the site, and to be pedantic, not just the visitor, but the  unique visitor.
 
What is a Hit, Visitor and the Unique Visitor?
 
A "hit" is counted every single time your website sends a page or graphic to a visitor. So, if one visitor looks at your homepage, that counts as one hit. If your homepage links to nine graphics - logos, photographs etc. - that counts as nine more "hits", giving a total of 10 hits overall. If your visitor leaves your site at this point without looking at any more pages, they have still registered 10 "hits" - this means that hits alone don't give you a very clear idea about how popular your website is. 

A visitor is every time a person (computer terminal) visits your website.
 
A unique visitor is how many times that person (computer terminal) visits your website.
 
Counters

The problem with using counters to track visitors is they are set up to measure page views, not unique visitors. Every time someone views your page, whether it's the first time or the twentieth, that visitor is counted. And if the page times out for some reason and they "Reload," it counts them again. And if someone just wants to have fun with your counter, they can exit and enter the site several times and are counted as a visitor each time... even if they never look at product.

So if you cannot count hits and you cannot use a counter, how do you track the traffic on your site?
 
Install visitor tracking code on your website, such as Google Analytics (see link in Resources at the bottom).
 
A web traffic analysis program will give you vital information about the traffic coming to your site, including where visitors are coming from, including which keywords they used, which search engines, what countries they are situated in, what paths your visitors are taking whilst on the website and which pages are the main exit points of your site... In fact it is full of all sorts of information... and for Google Analytics it is free.
 
This information is private and only available to you, the account owner. It is best to install the tracking code as soon as possible to start building history. If you are using Google Adwords (you pay to advertise your website) or Google Adsense (you place advertising on your website for profit) then you may already have access to Google Analytics.
 
How do I find out how many visitors a website gets if I am not the owner?
 
There are many cases where you may not be the website owner, but want to find out how well another website performs. However, since you do not own the site then you will not be able to see the full-blown traffic stats displayed by Google Analytics. Now it is time to do some investigation...
 
You may be curious about how much traffic any website generates, or you want to find out how well your competitor's website is performing. The first place to go is TrafficEstimate which is free (see link in Resources at the bottom). Search for a website address to see the estimated number of visitors to the site in the last 30 days, along with a simple graph. Keep in mind that the estimator tool is just that, an estimate, however at least you can get a ballpark figure. An interesting graph is shown for facebook.com which sees a steady climb in traffic and visitors, however more recently by comparing the two you can see that the visitors are spending a longer amount of time on the website.

Alexa is the top web information authority which is also free (see link in Resources at the bottom). Search for a website address and see how a website ranks compared to all other websites in the world. 

You can search for any website address that you are interested in finding its traffic rank. Alexa also provides other neat graphs and handy info. Although it does not show you the exact number of visitors, you can get a general idea of the website's performance. By comparing the traffic rank of your website to your competitor's website, you can estimate who gets more traffic. For example, YouTube.com ranks higher than Weather.com. Please note, although this is another great tools to use they are sometimes a bit behind with keywords and the amount of links, linked in.
 
THE BIKER GUIDE summing up...
 
We hope this article will help understand the difference between hits and visitors and hopefully to help you choose wisely where you place any advertising or your business on the World Wide Web!
 
If you would like any further advise of hits, visitors and anything else included in this information, do not hesitate to ask.
 
If you already knew all of the above, please accept our apologies and welcoming you to our world of seo geekness!

• Google Analytics www.google.com/analytics
• Google Adwords www. Google.co.uk/ AdWords
• TrafficEstimate www.trafficestimate.com
• Alexa www.alexa.com

THE BIKER GUIDE
 
Bringing the Biker Community together!
 
www.thebikerguide.co.uk
 
 PS: Did you know when someone is quoting a site ranking of 1 that is 1 out of 10!

...A THIRD DON’T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT DANGEROUS DRIVING  

UK commuters are behaving badly behind the wheel, with 65% admitting to their own bad driving behaviours over the last year, dispelling the patient and polite British persona.  

Rushed and stressed commuters don’t feel guilty about driving dangerously or being distracted on the road as they race to get to the office on time, according to new research from car insurance provider Allianz Your Cover. In fact a fifth (21%) blame their poor habits on other commuters.  

The top five bad commuter behaviours are:   1. Speeding (30%) 2. Careless driving (14%) 3. Travelling too fast for the conditions (14%) 4. Tailgating (13%) 5. Not looking when changing lanes (13%)  

Commuters may however have been twisting the truth about their bad habits, as although nearly a third (30%) admitted to speeding, more than half (55%) have seen other drivers exceed the speed limit. And the bad habit bluffing doesn’t stop there:   • 5% admit they have jumped a red light – 38% have seen other commuters do this • 4% have applied make-up – 22% have seen other commuters do this • 2% say they failed to stop at a give way sign – 22% have seen other commuters do this  

More than half of British commuters (52%) are in too much of a hurry to drive safely and are blaming their bad driving on a lack of concentration (30%) and being tired (27%). The commuting environment impacts the workplace as almost half of drivers (43%) believe that their commute affects their mood and can negatively impact their work.  

Natalie Woods, of Allianz Your Cover Insurance said: “Our research found that British commuters feel they drive carelessly during their journeys due to rushing and tiredness. This is supported by police road accident statistics which show that 46%* of accidents can be attributed to careless driving. We urge drivers to take a careful and considerate approach to their driving in order to reduce accident rates and improve the experience of all their fellow commuters and drivers. One in ten (13%) have witnessed an accident on their way to work – not the kind of start to the day anybody would want.”  

Despite witnessing the bad habits of their fellow commuters, one in four (27%) hope that a driver would stop to help them if they were in need, a lot less (15%) have actually pulled over to help. The main reason for continuing their commute instead of helping a fellow commuter is to avoid being put in danger (43%). With safety being top priority breakdown services can help out those in need enabling other drivers to continue their journey. Other reasons given for not stopping to help fellow commuters are not knowing how to help (27%), followed by being in a rush (27%).

Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the cafe having originally opened in 1938 and the 110th anniversary of Harley Davidson, two of the most famous names in UK motorcycling continue their collaboration into 2013 with Warr's Harley Davidson hosting a year long series of Harley Nights, in partnership with Ace Cafe London.

From 6pm on the last Thursday of every month, starting on Thursday 28th March!

Designed to bring together Harley Davidson owners and potential owners under one roof in a friendly motorcycle inspired atmosphere.      

Warr's HD items will be up for grabs as raffle prizes. Spend £5 or more over the counter and receive a raffle ticket. Draw will take place at 10pm.      

To find out more about Warr's Harley Davidson Harley Nights, or any of its prestigious events contact Warr's Harley Davidson, 611 Kings Road, London, SW6 2EL

IAM’s head of riding standards and advanced biker, Peter Rodger, is advising on getting back on the road after the winter.  

• Check your bike’s fluid levels, brakes, lights, horn and coolant to make sure they’re all in good working order.
• Try starting your bike to check if the battery needs recharging.
• Check that the tyres have sufficient tread, no obvious damage, and are inflated to the right pressure. If you have taken any part of the bike apart over the winter check it is properly back together and that the nuts are all tightened appropriately.
• When you’ve given it the once over, switch on the engine and let your bike warm up before you go out on a ride.
• If you’re feeling particularly rusty, get on your motorcycle in a car park before taking it out on the road.  The first ride should be about settling in gently – you need to get used to riding again.
• Gain confidence by having a few short, simple rides. Consider it a warm up for you and the bike; you've had time away, and both need to warm up again.
• Make sure your leathers and helmet are in good nick– don’t be tempted to take that first ride in street gear because you’re not planning on being out for long.   

Rodger said: “It’s that time of the year when many riders are taking their bikes out from winter storage. Check the bike before you begin this season’s rides, and make sure the rider is up to it as well.”

All new Ducati machines registered from April 1 onwards will now come with the added security of a MASTER Security System. 

 Ducati has joined an industry initiative developed by the Motorcycle Industry Association in adopting the MASTER Security system. The system is fitted free of charge during the pre-delivery inspection at authorised Ducati dealerships and involves a variety of engine, chassis and bodywork parts being marked using a ‘stealth’ UV security etching, glass transponders, ultra violet fluid, Datadots® as well as a discreet warning label to deter would-be thieves.

It is the first and only official national scheme approved by the police authorities, the Home Office and powered by security market leaders, Datatag ID Ltd, and it is hoped it will go some way to reducing the 26,000 motorcycles stolen each year in the UK. These are often stripped and rebuilt around genuine frames and as such recovery rates are low, with the Police unable to prove ownership beyond doubt. With Ducati and other manufacturers united behind one scheme, the industry has a greater opportunity in combating this problem.

Ducati Managing Director, Tim Maccabee, commented "Ducati are committed to ensuring that customers have a good level of security in place and the MASTER Systems will certainly add benefit to the security of their beloved Ducati. The issue of theft is a consideration for each and every customer and this added layer of prevention we feel is vital. We’re very pleased to be part of an industry initiative that helps combat theft in this way and with support from our dealers we are proud to be a part of this effort."

Datatag’s Managing Director Kevin Howells said ‘To have Ducati join the growing list of brands backing the MASTER Scheme is fantastic. They have an incredibly desirable range and by fitting MASTER with our technology we are confident that owners will feel more secure and will have reduced their risk of theft considerably.’

For more information on the Master Security System

For more information on the Ducati range and accessories visit: www.ducatiuk.com