Woopra, the best free Analytics

Google Analytics is almost the default free service for any blogger, and for good reason. It’s a solid service, essential for anyone needing to track visitor statistics and create a successful blog.

The biggest complaint I hear around however is over the fact Google Analytics doesn’t have any kind of ‘live tracking’ functions, statistics refresh just once per 24hours which can become a pain with time.

Enter Woopra.

Woopra is a real-time tracking service with a huge range of features and is also completely free at the moment, although premium services will eventually be available.

Woopra is also in private beta, although by signing up there’s a good chance you’ll be accepted fairly promptly. Current restrictions also include the number of websites you can have tracked for the beta.

Woopra is a desktop application, although a basic version exists online, nothing compared to Google Analytics however. I prefer using a desktop program however as they perform better, can have more intuitive interfaces and more advanced features.

The standout Woopra features include:

• Live Tracking
  Visitor tracking updated in real-time, dozens of other analytics updated several times a day. Live tracking is particularly useful for reacting to sudden events such as a Digg traffic surge etc.
• Rich User Interface
  Great UI combined with easy to use data representation tools and overlays.
• Multiple Site Monitoring
• Deep Analytics and Search Capabilities
  Huge range of data, all indexed for easy searching such as “Specific user names, IP addresses, geographic locations, user browsing data, visitor history, visitor paths, arrival and departure points”
• Instant Chatting
  A little creepy, but you can make a chat box pop-up in any site visitors browser. Not sure how many people would accept this and have a conversation.
• Visitor Tagging
  Recognise and monitor types of users and regular visitors.
• Real-time Notifications
  Define actions then receive notifications.
• Integration
  Integrate with WordPress (and other blog platforms) to get dashboard access to Woopra statistics. Also a wide range of developer tools enable plugins and applications to take advantage of the Woopra platform.

I highly recommend you giving this service a try!