Anyone who has followed this blog knows I’m a stataholic who loves to analyze statistical (blog) tracking programs. A new one, named Woopra, has been added to my list. As luck would have it, Lorelle (of Lorelle on WordPress) knows Woopra better than most.

Here’s her explanation in detail.

6) In a recent email from you, you mentioned you are now the editor-in-chief of the Woopra blog/zine. Can you explain what Woopra is and how it can benefit bloggers?

Woopra is the most exciting software technology I’ve stumbled across in a very long time and I’m so thrilled to be a small part of it. Woopra is a web analytics program that reports on your blog traffic, but it is more than that. Woopra is installed on your computer as Java software, running in the background, and links to your blog through a JavaScript which can be installed manually or through the Woopra WordPress Plugin.

Woopra is different for many reasons, way beyond its purpose as a web analytics program. Primarily because it has the most beautiful software interface. It’s lovely. Woopra also tracks your blog statistics live – right now. As they are happening. There is also a live chat feature that allows you to start a conversation with visitors on your blog while they are visiting your blog. They need to do nothing more than accept your invitation to chat, no special software provided. Bloggers are having so much fun with this, even holding contests inviting people to visit and chat and handing out prizes.

When someone registers with your blog or leaves a comment, their name is storied in a cookie which Woopra can read. Woopra then changes the Visitor #34503 to “Sally Jones” – and the anonymous visitor now becomes a person moving through your blog. You can tag them and create a custom event notification so you will be alerted the next time they visit, and can track their visits over time.

One user told me that they didn’t like that Woopra was raising the accountability standards. “I can’t tell so-and-so that I visited their blog when I didn’t. They can guilt-trip me by saying, ‘I checked Woopra and you haven’t been by in six weeks!’ No more lying!” We all laughed, but I see Woopra changing the face of the web in many ways, through instant monitoring of visitors, live chats, and customized tracking.

Right now, Woopra is free for beta testing, but only by private invitation only. There are more than 25,000 beta testers, and more approvals may be coming, so you can sign up and wait, but be patient. If you get approved, you will be expected to monitor the Woopra Forums and comment and report on bugs and feature requests.

For those currently using Woopra, we are inviting our beta testers to guest blog on the Woopra about how they are using Woopra and web analytics to help them blog. We’re also looking for articles on how blog and web stats change and influence your blogging behavior – especially when it comes to social networking. How we work and use the web for our business and social life is measurable, but how do the numbers really change your experience and usage. Email me if you are a Woopra member and interesting in contributing.

Today’s Assignment

In the past I’ve written posts titled Confusing Blog Stats – Is a Visit A Visit?, Page Views Are Over Rated and in Blogging – Year One – Lesson 4, I share what I learned from stats.

Although it’s easy to get addicted to checking our statistics, much can be learned from them. Dig past the initial numbers and hoards of useful information lies beneath.

How close do you look at your statistics?

Do you know where your traffic is coming from?

Are your keywords/keyword phrases working?

What are your statistics telling you?