I've done quite a bit of research into web analytics lately, and I have found a couple of things. Google analytics Is a great tool, but it cannot be the only tool an organization relies on. Because it is a purely JavaScript based, it is unable to catch browsers that do not have JavaScript enabled, this includes the search engine robots, some hand held devices, as well as a percent of users that manually turn this off. That being said we need a tool to parse the log files from the server and to give us information about these users, as well as providing us with "on demand" stats where as Google's stats are next day. The server logs also contain a wealth of other information that we are collecting automatically, so we might as well take advantage of it.

I have come to the conclusion that we need to use Google Analytics but we also need a tool that reads the server logs. There are quite a variety of tools that would fill this need. Google recently purchased Urchin who's web analysis product runs Google analytics, costs about $3k and will work with the Google Mini, Urchin also gives the ability to read logs from server software other than IIS (like apache, the software used for open source applications) .

Urchin will be releasing another version shortly, and this will be the first release since the Google buyout. Another option is WebTrends Analytics it costs about $4k. It Like Urchin will read both IIS and Apache logs, and has a web interface for users. The last product is NetTracker, it runs about $4k for the software, and another grand for support. it was recently bought out by Unica. The administration of netTracker is not the smoothest, and the support seems to have declined on quality since the buy out.

When creating content for your website, it's best to be careful about where you get your content from, whether it's from a freelancer or from another website. You do not want to get on the wrong side of the law or get on someone's bad books when it comes to their copyrighted work.

Unless you take articles from article directories, you must contact the author and ask for their permission. There is no way around that. Sure, the author would like to receive the free publicity, but it's best to let him or her know before you use their work. It's common courtesy.

I'm a heavy article author and marketer, so I know the tricks people pull to get articles on their websites. Some will include links which don't work, don't include the resource box, or just plain spin my articles into their own by changing the title and leaving everything else the same. I usually don' take much action unless it's a major case, because I've got better things to do with my time, like marketing my business and serving my customers, but others might do things differently. They'll certainly take action if they feel it warrants it.

I can tell you from personal experience; trust is low on the Internet and people are willing to take legal action (my freelancer is doing that just now to someone else who copied her work). So it's best to stay on the safe side and play by the rules. Don't ever plagiarize someone else's work and you'll avoid any copyright issues!

As you know there is lots of information out there on this subject. These days we are blessed being that we have the world of information at our finger tips. This of course can be helpful but it can also be overwhelming.

If you want to generate a real income then you will need to treat your venture with a serious mind set. One that is detailed and specific. I visit a number of forums online and I notice a certain pattern.

Those who succeed seem to be far more detailed in how they succeeded. Those who fail seem to be only detailed in blaming the reasons why they failed. They do not provide specifics as to what they did.

The reason maybe because they would have to defend their actions. They would be exposed and vulnerable to criticism.

By the way this criticism would be constructive because the majority of folks out there would genuinely point out what you are doing wrong and how you can go about fixing it.

You see those who succeed are not afraid of this. They understand that they may have shortcomings and welcome constructive analysis in order to move themselves closer to their objective.

The point I want to make is this. In order to bring anything from the world of ideas into the world of reality you will need to be detailed in your execution.

I mean you could not go to a bank and ask the bank manager for venture capital if all you have is ideas with no basis in reality. You will have to be specific and provide actual actions you can take to achieve your goal.

The same should hold true before you buy into any business opportunity online or build any website. Before you invest anything you need to provide a detailed outline as to what you are prepared to do and how you are going to do it - based upon the reality of your given set of skills and circumstances.

Once you do this I promise you that you will build a real business that will generate a real income because your execution will be detailed and specific and grounded in reality.