Clicktracks Appetizer Review

• Posted by B Jones on April 21st, 2006 - Comment on this Post »

For those of you who never quite trusted Google enough to use their free web analytics program, Google Analytics, or if you are just a stats junkie like me, Clicktracks has released a new free version of their software called Appetizer.

I have downloaded, installed, and used the program. Here were my thoughts.

Downloading:
They did ask for some information, but not bad. Somehow I have a feeling that they will actually try to contact those who fill in their info.

Installation:
Pretty darned simple. Next - next- yes…etc.. - finish.

Setup:
Clicktracks allows you to either choose a location on your hard drive where your log files are, or connect via FTP to your logs directory and download the files you want to process. Kind of a pain.

Using Clicktracks Appetizer:
As far as I can tell, there is only 1 report available: the navigation report. It is pretty cool though. It has a small (and I mean small) browser window that overlays graphics on to your website, showing percentages of clicks on each link (they kind of look like little pagerank meters). You can navigate through the site and actually see the flow of traffic visually.

Overall:
All in all, I think the name (Appetizer) fits this product. Clicktracks has only given us a tiny taste of their program, probably to show people how different their program is.

It is useful, but I probably would only use it once in a while because it’s a pin to keep downloading the log files. I know, I could set up some sort of automated process, but who wants to go through all that. (BTW, they also offer a hosted javascript based service $$$ but this review is of Appetizer)

I also thought the whole user interface was very cramped. I was using a 17 inch monitor on my laptop, which is probably pretty average (I think). There may have been more features, but I wouldn’t know because I could only see about 50% of the windows.

This is more novelty than a useful, and I’m not willing to shell out the big bucks to pay for the program.

Try it yourself http://www.clicktracks.com/products/appetizer/faq.php

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