The OC Global Alliance requests information from each of its teams about the number of annual users for ministry websites. This article explains how to determine the number of annual users for websites by addressing these frequently asked questions:
If you have suggestions, comments or questions not addressed here, write us at research@oci.org.
What is meant by the number of annual website users and why are we interested in this figure?
The OCGA Annual Ministry Summary and Numbers Report requests the number of annual users for your ministry website. This number is made up of one-time visitors and return visitors to a particular website (the latter are only counted one time, even thought they used the website more than once). For the purpose of the OC Global Alliance ministry summary the calendar year (January 1 to December 31) is used. Although the number of annual users is an approximate figure, it is one of the better measures of ministry website usage that we believe all teams within the Global Alliance can provide, as will be explained below,
Let’s clarify what we mean and do not mean by annual users.
How do I determine the number of annual website users?
Your website host or a third party website analytics service, such as Google Analytics, can provide you with insightful information about the amount of traffic for your ministry website. You should be able to configure the administrative settings to give you the total number of annual users for the calendar year (January 1 to December 31) as described above. If you are using Google Analytics, see the specific instructions in the next FAQ.
How can I determine annual users using Google Analytics?
Using Google Analytics, take these five steps to determine the number of annual users.
Hopefully your web hosting service can provide you with some information about the traffic for you site for the calendar year. Based on the information you have, use the appropriate formula to estimate the number of annual users for your website.
Note: The constants in the above formulas were taken from https://www.tendenci.com/help-files/meaning-of-hits-visits-page-views-an....
As you see, this is a general estimation. To prepare for next year, set up a website analytics service TODAY! See the next FAQ for recommendations.
What can I do now to best prepare for next year?
Be sure that you have a website analytics service that is monitoring the traffic for your ministry website for the entire year. We recommend Google Analytics, a free service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Reportedly Google Analytics is the most widely used web analytics service on the Internet. Sign up at https://www.google.com/analytics/standard/.