Comparison of analysis tools.

If you want to keep track of your visitors' traffic to your website in any way, which landing pages perform best and who your visitors are, you will need to implement an analytics tool for your software. But what can such a tool do, how do you use it, and does it not cost a farm? Depending on what you specifically need for your website, it is different which analysis tool is best for you. Some have a large selection of integrations and several features you can take advantage of, and then some offer one service, which is then thoroughly tested and usable. We can not tell you which one is specifically suitable for you, but we can give you a brief overview of some of the most common analysis tools and specify what they each can and where they differentiate from each other.

Matomo is one of the leading open-source analytics software that can count more than one million websites using their service. Matomo had its beginnings back in 2007 as an open-source analysis tool, which means that Matomo's source code is freely available to its users, and one can further distribute the code. Matomo is particularly concerned that the user controls the data they are sitting with without being remotely hosted.

As Matomo itself brands them, they are "The Google Analytics alternative that protects your data", which translates to the Google Analytics alternative that protects your data. So let us immediately address the issue of GDPR compliance. Unlike Google Analytics, which has the right to use the same data that you collect, Matomo advertises that they will never use your data for their own purposes. A pretty good plus. Matomo has a strong focus on GDPR with their 'advanced Privacy features', which means that the users' movements on your website are not shared with advertising companies. A significant advantage of Matomo is that the data you get is 100% your data without it being shared with external parties.

Overview of Product features. Where Matomo may not be able to compete with, for example, Google Analytics is on the range of features available in their product. Matomo offers over 70 plugins that you can use in your own way, and on top of that, you also have the opportunity to build your own plugin.

What are the prices? The biggest difference, and probably also most significant for many, is that Matomo is a benefit you have to pay for. Matomo offers its service in two versions; On-Premise, which is a free service where you host Matomo on your own server. The other option is their Cloud, where you host on Matomo's server. The last option is probably preferable if you do not have technical staff and a server that can host the tool. But then Matomo also manages all the hosting for you, and the only thing you have to focus on is tracking your data - which is probably also why there is an amount behind the service.

Siteimprove was founded in 2003 with its first office in Copenhagen. Since then, the company has expanded and now includes 13 offices worldwide.

Siteimprove offers several different tools and focuses heavily on supporting companies in their digital journey. You can therefore use Siteimprove for several other purposes, but we focus on their analytics tool in this context. One of the significant advantages of Siteimprove is their user-friendly interface, and like Matomo, they also offer full ownership of the data you receive. Siteimprove is especially proud of having set up their analysis tool from the user's perspective so that it is made as straightforward as possible to use the tool without having to be an expert in data and analysis.

Another advantage of Siteimprove is getting insight and feedback from visitors to your website in real-time. It allows you to observe the behaviour of visitors in the present and uncover new trends and explore the user journeys. With real-time analysis and visualization in Live Analytics, you can observe your visitors' behaviour in the moment and discover new trends and explore user journeys. In addition, you can do surveys directly on the page in feedback, which shows you the user experience and provides ideas for improvements.

Overview of Product features.

Browser extensions CMS plugins Connectors API (Siteimprove)

A high degree of user-friendliness for editors

Remove barriers that hurt the user experience and preserve your brand's reputation for creating an inclusive digital presence for everyone. Siteimprove's web accessibility tools enable you to easily follow and comply with international web content accessibility guidelines across all levels of compliance. Another advantage of Siteimprove is that the data you have through their tool is 100% owned by you and is not used by Siteimprove. This also means that Siteimprove meets the requirements of GPPR.

What are the prices?

Like Matomo, Siteimprove is also a service you pay for, but unlike Matomo, Siteimprove works with flexible prices, which means that the price is adapted to the individual need.

The latest tool, and possibly the most well-known tool, is Google Analytics. Overall, Google Analytics helps you understand how your users use your websites and any apps to improve and create a better digital experience for your users. This analytics product works well for small and medium-sized businesses. Google analytics has several integrations designed to work transparently with other google operations and partner products, which means you can save time and increase efficiency with google analytics. These include Google Ads, AdSense and Search Console.

Overview of Product features.

• More options for data collection across websites, apps and Internet-connected devices Data access via mobile app, API, emails and more.

• Advanced reporting and segmentation of websites and apps (including real-time and user-centric reporting)

When talking about analytics tools, it is most often Google Analytics that gets hit for not complying with the GDPR, but one must also give Google that they are trying to improve. One thing that Google Analytics has done to make sure user data is viewed is that the administrator (you, for example) can decide how long to store user data on their servers. Google even writes that they act as Data Processors and only collect and use data according to the terms of each contract. The question is just whether it is enough?

But Google Analytics is probably also the most widely used analytics tool for websites, so it also has its benefits. The most significant benefit they can brand themselves on is that their tool is free. However, you have the opportunity to expand their service, which provides more integrations, and then you can pay through a monthly subscription. In addition, Google Analytics is easy to set up, with just a single script on your site.

What are the prices? Google Analytics is free, and you can start for free. However, it is possible to expand their service to the so-called Google Analytics 360, which is suitable for larger companies and has more integrations. This is through a monthly subscription.

I will end the article as I started it - depending on what needs you have for your particular website, it is different which analysis tool is best for you. After the GDPR came into force back in 2018, there has naturally been a greater focus on personal data, and this is seen especially with analysis tools that work with data. Matomo and Siteimprove explicitly say that they are GDPR compliant and that you as an administrator own the data in sheep from your tracking. Google Analytics goes in and says that you have ownership but that they can also use the collected data depending on whether the terms of the contract specify it. So that might be something to be aware of. If you need a user-friendly and transparent interface, then Siteimprove is your friend. They have put a lot of work into developing the most user-friendly analysis program that is intuitive for the user without having a greater knowledge of how data should be analyzed.