How to Install a Counter on a Blog
A counter is a great tool for discovering how many visitors your blog has, where they come from and how they find your blog. It can also tell you what IP address was used when visiting your blog. Each counter offers a different level of complexity based upon program codes and cost. The information obtained from a counter can help you determine how much to charge for advertisements and what type of content is most popular. Installing a counter is fairly easy.
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Instructions
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Register for a free counter. On the registration page, you’ll be asked to provide a user name, email address, password and contact information. Your user name should be the name of your blog. Your email address should be the same email address you use to sign into your blog or receive blog updates. Your password should be something easy to remember, but not so easy that others can guess it within five seconds of visiting your blog. Remember to include both letters and numbers in your password (see Resources below).
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Accept the terms and conditions. Each counter comes with a disclaimer. Take the time to read through this information to make sure you are in complete agreement with what is being stated. If you aren’t, find another counter. If you are, click on the “register account” button.
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Activate your counter. After registering your account, you’ll be asked to check your email to activate your account. Follow the instructions in your email.
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Log into your account. If you have difficulty logging into your account, make sure you have the right login information written down. You may even want to click on the “forgot password” link to have your password resent. If the password is correct and you still cannot log in, delete your cookies and clean out your cache. Then turn off your computer, wait 5 minutes and turn it back on. Try logging into your account again. If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to email the counter provider to request help. Since everything is automated, glitches can occur on the software end that need dealing with.
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Add a new project. Once you’ve logged into your account, click on the “add a new project” link. You’ll be taken to a new page. This is where you’ll provide information about your blog, such as blog name, Web address, and the category your blog falls under ("arts," "computer," "entertainment," "marketing," "real estate" and a number of other listings). You’ll also be asked to provide a time zone, visitor length, log size and IP address to block. Pick the time zone that matches where you live, but leave the log size alone as that is determined by the account you purchase. The visitor length can be a bit tricky, as this helps you determine how many visitors are unique to your website. In other words, if the amount of time you pick passes since the last time Joe visited your blog, he will be considered a unique visitor instead of a repeat visitor. It’s best to set this number to 12 or 24 hours.
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Configure and install your counter. This is where you will customize your counter code. You’ll be asked if you want your counter to be public or private. Choose "private." No one needs to know your stats but you. Once you choose the visibility of your counter, you’ll be taken to an installation page where you can pick up a script code or an HTML code. There’s even a drop-down bar that allows you to pick the correct code for your blog. If, for instance, you use Blogger, you’ll click on the "blogger/blogspot" button, then click "next" to grab your code.
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Copy and paste your code. This is the easiest part. After copying the code provided to you by the counter site, log into your blog, click on the template or layout section, click on the footer section, paste the code into your footer and click "save."
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Test your code. To test your code, sign out of your blog. Clean your cookies and cache, and then your blog address. Click on a few posts, then sign into your counter provider’s website to see if your path has been tracked. If it has, you’re good to go. If it hasn’t, ask a friend to visit your blog and check it again—especially if you’ve chosen to blog your IP address.
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Tips & Warnings
Install your counter after you’ve written a minimum of 30 posts or begin to receive comments from strangers on a weekly basis.
Don’t install a counter when your blog is new, as “no visitors” or “limited visitors” can cause you to feel like a failure.
Don’t get obsessed with your tracking results. They should be used as a guide, not as an end-all to what you post or how you market your blog.
