So I go to log in to statcounter to check my website stats, and it keeps saying I got the wrong info. I know my user name is correct, because I checked my email and statcounter sent me an email saying account [SoraCross] has been activated. I know my password is correct because I went through a list of all the passwords I've used in 5 years on it. So after not getting in for 5 minutes I decided to request my password. So I click on the forgot password page, put in my email and wait.... and wait... and wait... It's been 15 minuets, and it's still processing. This is the worst service I have ever had with a stat counting site,  and I will be taking their button off my website!

why use a stat counter button anyway.
thats what your sites stats are for , or use google's tools

Ooh! You're a tough bit of gear, SoraCross.

Statcounter is a free service. You've been getting this stuff for free, Mate. You're not paying for it as you would be with a paid host. It's free!

So Statcounter is having a temporary problem with their server down, or some such. You've been inconvenienced for a total of 20 minutes. OK, come back in an hour. She'll be right, Mate! It's free!

So you take the Statcounter link off your site and cease getting the free service. So what? Do you think Statcounter cares? What have they lost? What have you lost? It's free!

Maybe you'd like to say sorry to Statcounter.

Regards,
Laurie.

Hmm, maybe you're right. I'll try again tomorrow. They seem to be having problems as even the button my my site isn't showing up, though their main site seems to be coming up fine, so I don't know.

give it a break - why worry us about some stats button - your host provides stats and google has an excellent product for - wait for it....free.

matte wrote:

give it a break - why worry us about some stats button - your host provides stats and Google has an excellent product for - wait for it....free.

It was just a support button, the counter was hidden. I was saying I couldn't check my stats, and it was pissing me off, but I can now. Anyway, my web host doesn't provide me with stats, and what Google product are you taking about?

Google Analytics.  Very useful, will tally your visitors all kinds of different ways: where they went in your site, how long they stayed, where they're from, what browser their using, what resolution, OS, etc...

Just set up the free account, copy/paste the snippet of javascript into each of your pages, then by the next day you should start to see the info.

A simple trace-route reveals that statcounter is hosted by theplanet.com

On saturday may 31st 2008 (start date of this post) the ev1/thepanet datacenter in texas blew up in an explosion sending brick walls in all directions and knocking out 9000 servers

http://forums.theplanet.com/index.php?showtopic=90185

theplanet wrote:

On Saturday, May 31st at 4:55pm CDT in our H1 data center, electrical gear shorted, creating an explosion and fire that knocked down three walls surrounding our electrical equipment room. Thankfully, no one was injured. In addition, no customer servers were damaged or lost.

We have just been allowed into the building to physically inspect the damage. Early indications are that the short was in a high-volume wire conduit. We were not allowed to activate our backup generator plan based on instructions from the fire department.

As a result ServerCommand is currently not available and we are working to bring it back online as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please call support 866.325.0045 for any issues. Additional support technicians are on staff to help. Status updates will be made available via the phone system as well on our forums at http://forums.theplanet.com/index.php?showtopic=90185

We are sorry for the incident and sincerely apologize for the impact.

go easy on the poor fellows!

Wow! Now I'm very impressed with StatCounter -- a free tool that still sent me my weekly stat reports today, (Matte, it's not a button, it actually gives all kinds of stats and info about each site for free) even after a huge explosion at their parent company! Well, organized company! I'd send them a thank you note, now, but maybe they have more important things to do for a while.

atwhatcost wrote:

it actually gives all kinds of stats and info about each site for free

But doesn't EVERY web host provide that information? Even the free hosts I used to use in the past provided it.

matte wrote:

atwhatcost wrote:

it actually gives all kinds of stats and info about each site for free

But doesn't EVERY web host provide that information? Even the free hosts I used to use in the past provided it.

Well, can't tell about all of them, but for the free ones I use -- it goes from Bupkis from Tripod/Lykos (they think they are giving us a big deal when they tell us how much space we have left, but hey, you usually get what you pay for most of the time), to how many folks visit the 12 different sites on the webring in the last week (if they visit through the webring links), and the best deal I get for my freebies is -- how many visits per day for the last 30 days AND which sites brought them to it. Last one is a bit suspect, since I don't really believe people came to my blog through homosexual porn sites or other spammy sites -- there's just nothing in it for them to link to my blog, and there's no links on their sites.

None of my feebies (except StatCounter, since it too is a freebie) tell where visitors go once they get to my site, how long they stay, which KW/KWP were used, KW analysis (eh, I swear it looks like any bunch of words plopped together that include my two really obvious KWs, will show my site(s), simply because, after writing so much, particularly on the blog, I've used the larger portion of American (and many British) words -- spelled correctly and incorrectly. Not intentionally, just an over-all theme that the "writers" speak like kids, but still have a large vocabulary), not only which countries they come from, but which cities, states/providences, and IPS (IPS is included in my blog provider's info, but the rest aren't). Granted, I can figure out which SE everyone comes from, if I click on the referrer's link or can read the entire elongated URL. You know how they look when they come from SE's -- the SE's name, lots of "20%s", plus signs in between every word, and sometimes loooooooooooooong-tail phrases! StatCounter is kind enough just to tell me 33 linked through Google, 2 from Yahoo, and 1 from MSN.

Of course, this is just me speaking, and you know how (lack of) skilled I am at using anything analytical for sites, but, it is cool watching the site grow visitor-wise, and how it is really catching on within like kinds of blogs, which is more of what I've always wanted then what most people are going for -- the money! Ultimately, my goal is to make money, but not in the usual method -- I want the web presense to reel in a series of childrens books deal -- since Pooh, Padington, and Cordoroy just isn't enough TB's stories through the history of the TB!

Im with steven and would recommend google analytics - gives an amazing amount of info and free!!
the only word of caution is that the stats are always slightly different to those supplied by my host.

I suppose the answer if you want very accurate pay for it   which begs the question which software would you all recomend ?

Your Host's own raw web logs are the most accurate - encompassing every bit of activity on your site

There a free interpretters and paid ones, the level of detail required is up to each individual.

The nice thing about google anayltics is that it's geared up towards sales/ROI/conversion tracking - arguably the most important factors!