What data does ClubRunner collect on our websites?

Great Question, John. I can give you some insight.

ClubRunner has built-in Google Analytics tracking to help you gain insight into your website traffic. All you need to do is signup with a free Google account and it will allow you access to advanced data about your ClubRunner website. They do recommend setting up a Google account just for your club so that management of the account can be passed on easily. As a note you can add others to be able to view the analytics.

More information and setup instructions can be found at. https://www.clubrunnersupport.com/kb/articles/how-to-track-website-statistics-with-google-analytics

 

Thanks, Bob. I do have both Google Analytics and Statcounter operating on the Rotary Club of Dryden Website, however, that doesn't tell me how the Dryden site is doing against other club websites. My goal is to grow a website. I know the site is growing although until now very slowly. My goal this year is to reach a new high. I am on track to double or triple the number of page views, visitors and even return visits. The big challenge is to keep diligently posting items.

I find your first sentence interesting in paragraph 2. If ClubRunner has "built-in Google Analytics", does that mean they likely have data on each client website's traffic and can make such comparisons. If so is there a way to get a comparative report. I have two types of comparisons on which I would like to gain information. One would be to compare Dryden's site to a club site from another community of similar size in which only one club exists. The other would be a large club website which is in a large city/urban place such as the Toronto Downtown club.

From my years of doing a District website, I already know that the District website was consistently receiving twice the traffic of my club. Do you think this is typical if they are both being consistently maintained?

 

Built In, simply means they have a module that can connect google analytics to reveiw the site. All the analytics and review is done by google themselves.

I doubt Clubrunner themselves is tracking that data, it is likely feedback that the webmaster has. However, clubrunner support would be able to better tell you that answer. If I wanted to know those comparative numbers, I'd reach out to those similar clubs and ask their webmaster for their google analytics reports.

Regarding your club vs your district, the question of Target Audience would be a key factor in understanding why.

 

Bob, I totally agree with you regarding the 'target audience'. I have written articles on the difference. However, it is my experience that very few Rotarians who manage club or district websites discuss such matters, whereas I think the issue is of critical importance as it should be determining the content of each website.

Bob, do you know anything about services such as Alexa, SimilarWeb, Semrush or SEOquake as I mentioned in the original post. I was contacted yesterday by Semrush. They track over thirty variables. I am going to get a training session on Thursday.

Here is a sample SEOquake bar on this forum.

 

I've done a little more digging on this topic. First, there are many, many sites offering this kind of service for a fee. The prices range very widely from a low of $7.00/mo for one site to over $400.00/mo for corporations. The place to find a long list is www.capterra.com/seo-software

A few sites give you an opportunity to search your own site and others as a come-on. One was zigstat.com.wedsiteoutlook.com Here is an example:



Another even better site is https://www.seoptimer.com. It provides all kinds of data but most importantly it ranks how well your site works (Dryden's site got a B). It tells you what works well and what does not. It makes recommendations on how you can improve your site. For Dryden, it made 15 recommendations and ranked them as high priority (1) medium priority (2) and low priority (12). The one high priority was to reduce your total page file size. The two medium priority was a) to fix one broken link, b) use your main keywords across important HTML tags (whatever that means?). Their lowest price plan is $19/mo. for DIY. The more you pay the more keywords you get monitored.

Many of the sites you can't try out unless you register for a free trial. That way they get your e-mail and they will bug you as they offer free seminars. One of the lower cost sites is SEranking.com. They offer a personal subscription at $7.00/mo which provides 50 keywords and 1000 backlinks, but no SMM. At the Optimum level for $39.00/mo you get 250 keywords and 5000 backlinks but do get SMM.

For those not familiar with the terms SEO means Search Engine Optimization; SEM means Seach Engine Marketing and SMM means Social Media Marketing.

One final thought for ClubRunner to consider. Is it possible for Clubrunner to sub-contract with one of the better sites and offer it at a reduced cost through bulk buying as an optional extra? I also understand Google has a "Keyword Planner" but I haven't researched it yet.

Your thoughts, please.