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• Handling high volume traffic and traffic peaks with Matomo just got easier

  16 avril 2018, par Matomo Core Team

  When you use the self-hosted version of Matomo on-premise instead of the Matomo cloud-hosted solution, you may experience some traffic peaks on your Matomo server when the traffic volume on your websites increases. For example, every day at a certain time you might receive two or three times the amount of traffic that usually visits your website. This can have many negative impacts, including :

  • Slow loading time for your JavaScript tracker (piwik.js) which in turn may slow down your website giving your users a poor experience. Also you may see less page views in Matomo because by the time the tracker is loaded on your website, the user has already moved on to another page.
  • Some tracking requests might be simply ignored at some point because your server might not be able to handle any tracking requests anymore which results in many untracked visits and page views.
  • You may need additional servers only to handle traffic peaks which results in increased server costs, maintenance work and maintenance costs.

  The solution

  Handling traffic peaks has been possible with Matomo for years using the Queued Tracking plugin. When this feature is enabled, tracking requests are put into a queue instead of being processed immediately. Then when a job is running separately it takes the requests out of the queue and processes them. This brings various benefits.

  Faster tracking

  It improves the tracking speed on your server by a factor of 5 to 15. So for example, instead of a tracking request taking 50ms, it takes only 5ms. This means your server will be able to handle a lot more concurrent requests compared to the traditional tracking and is likely to survive traffics peaks much more likely without any trouble at all.

  Faster processing

  When a request is queued, the request still needs to be processed eventually. Because the Queued Tracking solution can take multiple tracking requests out of the queue at once and process them in one go, the processing speed increases massively as well. This is because by default each tracking request has to bootstrap Matomo and do a lot of things again and again which takes quite a bit of time (you’d be surprised). Instead, many things can now be cached and don’t have to be done multiple times. As a result, your server can process tracking requests much faster and needs less resources overall which in turn reduces cost and trouble.

  Queued Tracking is now easier to set up

  In the background, Queued Tracking has been using Redis, an in-memory database. While Redis is very fast, it’s not simple to setup and maintain it. Especially when it comes to making Redis “highly available” and when you need to scale your Redis. Also, your servers will need a lot more memory for Redis as all queued tracking requests are stored in memory.

  One click setup

  We have now added support for a MySQL database so you can activate Queued Tracking with a simple click. What used to take hours or maybe even weeks to set up and a lot of maintenance, can now be cut down to seconds. Queued Tracking will then simply reuse the database that you have been using all along for storing all your visits. A side benefit is that your server won’t need more memory and all queued tracking requests even survive a server reboot.

  Both Redis and MySQL are now supported in Queued Tracking. If you do have experience with managing Redis, we still recommend using this solution as it’s likely a bit faster. However, in most cases the MySQL solution should work just as well.

  Further improvements

  We have made various other improvements for Queued Tracking that increases the performance and you can now be notified when the number of queued tracking requests reaches a certain threshold. View the changelog for a list of all changes.

  Learn more

  We have been setting up Queued Tracking multiple times when it comes to high volume traffic or dealing with peaks and are amazed by the results. Often, we can even reduce the overall amount of needed servers.

  If this sounds like something that could be beneficial to you, we recommend you have a look at the Queued Tracking page and also check out the FAQ. You might be also interested in learning how to configure Matomo for speed.

  Need help with setting up, maintaining, or scaling Matomo ? Get in touch now.

  The post Handling high volume traffic and traffic peaks with Matomo just got easier appeared first on Analytics Platform - Matomo.

• How you can use the Piwik AOM plugin to improve your data and make better online marketing decisions

  13 septembre 2017, par André Kolell — Plugins, AdWords, Bing, Case Study, Criteo, eccommerce tracking, Facebook Ads, how to install piwik analytics, how-to piwik, integration, piwik, Taboola

  Hi, this is André, one of the authors of the Piwik Advanced Online Marketing plugin, which has just hit 5,000 downloads on the Piwik marketplace. In this blog post I’ll show you how Piwik AOM improves your data and enables you to make better online marketing decisions.

  Piwik itself is excellent in tracking all kinds of visitor data, like where a visitor is coming from and what he’s doing on your page or app (pageviews, events, conversions). But what Piwik did not yet take a closer a look at, is how much you’ve invested into your marketing activities and how profitable they are.

  With the Piwik AOM plugin you can integrate data like advertising costs, advertising campaign names, ad impressions etc. from advertising platforms (such as Google AdWords, Microsoft Bing, Criteo, Facebook Ads and Taboola) and individual campaigns (such as such as cost per view/click/acquisition and fixed price per months deals) into Piwik and combine that data with individual Piwik visits.

  Piwik AOM adds a new marketing performance report to Piwik giving you a great overview of all your marketing activities with drill-down functionality :

  

   

  When taking a look at a specific visitor, Piwik AOM shows you the exact cost of acquiring a specific visit :

  

   

  Leveraging Piwik AOM’s full potential

  But although you can access Piwik AOM’s valuable data directly in the Piwik UI for ad-hoc analyses, Piwik AOM’s true strength comes into play when working with the raw data in an external business intelligence application of your choice, where you can further integrate Piwik AOM’s data with your most accurate backend data (like conversion’s contribution margins after returns, new vs. existing customer, etc.).

  Piwik AOM offers some API endpoints that allow you to fetch the data you need but you can also retrieve it directly from Piwik AOM’s aom_visits table, which includes all visits, all allocated advertising costs and advertising campaign details. As there is never data being deleted from aom_visits, the table can easily be connected to your ETL tool with its last update timestamp column. A third way to get data out of Piwik AOM is by developing your own Piwik plugin and listening to the AOM.aomVisitAddedOrUpdated event, which is posted whenever an aom_visits record is added or updated.

  Integrating Piwik AOM’s data with your backend data in the business intelligence application of your choice allows you to evaluate the real performance of your online marketing campaigns when applying different conversion attribution models, conduct customer journey analyses, create sophisticated forecasts and whatever you can think of.

  AOM Use case

  A company that followed this approach, is FINANZCHECK.de, one of Germany’s leading loan comparison websites. At the eMetrics summit 2016 in Berlin, Germany, I gave a talk about FINANZCHECK’s architectural online marketing setup. Until recently, FINANZCHECK used Pentaho data integration to integrate data from Piwik, Piwik AOM and additional internal tools like its proprietary CRM software into Jaspersoft, its data warehouse an BI solution. The enriched data in Jaspersoft was not only used for reporting to various stakeholders but also for optimising all kinds of marketing activities (e.g. bids for individual keywords in Google AdWords) and proactive alerting. Not long ago, FINANZCHECK started an initiative to improve its setup even further – I’ll hopefully be able to cover this in a more detailed case study soon.

  Roadmap

  In the past, we had the chance to make great progress in developing this plugin by solving specific requirements of different companies who use Piwik AOM. During the next months, we plan to integrate more advertising platforms, reimplement Facebook Ads, improve the support of individual campaigns and work on the general plugin stability and performance.

  Before you install Piwik AOM

  Before installing Piwik AOM, you should know that its initial setup and even its maintenance can be quite complex. Piwik AOM will heavily modify your Piwik installation and you will only benefit from Piwik AOM if you are willing to invest quite some time into it.

  If you are not familiar with Piwik’s internals, PHP, MySQL, database backups, cronjobs, creating API accounts at the advertising platforms or adding parameters to your advertising campaign’s URLs, you should probably not install it on your own (at least not in your production environment).

  Piwik AOM has successfully been tested with up to 25k visitors a day for a period of more than two years, running on an AWS server with 4 GB RAM, once CPU and a separate AWS RDS MySQL database.

  Ideas and Support

  If you have ideas for new features or need support with your Piwik AOM installation or leveraging your marketing data’s potential in general, feel free to get in touch with the plugin’s co-author Daniel or me. You can find our contact details on the plugin’s website http://www.advanced-online-marketing.com.

  How to get the Piwik AOM plugin ?

  The Piwik AOM plugin is freely available through the Piwik marketplace at https://plugins.piwik.org/AOM

  Did you like this article ? If yes do not hesitate to share it or give your feedback about the topic you would like us to write about.

• Choosing the best self-hosted open-source analytics platform

  16 juillet, par Joe

  Google Analytics (GA) is the most widely used analytics platform, with 50.3% of the top 1 million active websites using it today. You’re probably using it right now. 

  But despite being a free tool, Google Analytics is proprietary software, which means you’re handing over your browsing data, metadata and search history to a third party.

  Do you trust them ? We sure don’t.

  This lack of control can lead to potential privacy risks and compliance issues. These issues have so far resulted in fines under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of an average of €2.5 million each, for a total of almost €6.6 billion since 2018.

  Open-source analytics platforms offer a solution. They’re a safer and more transparent alternative that lets you retain full control over how you collect and store your customers’ data. But what are these tools ? Where do you find them ? And, most importantly, how do you choose the best one for your needs ?

  This guide explores the benefits and features of open-source analytics platforms and compares popular options, including Matomo, a leading self-hosted, open-source Google Analytics alternative.

  What is an open-source analytics platform ?

  An analytics platform is software that collects, processes and analyses data to gain insights, identify trends, and make informed decisions. It helps users understand past performance, monitor current activities and predict future outcomes.

  An open-source analytics platform is a type of analytics suite in which anyone can view, modify and distribute the underlying source code.

  In contrast to proprietary analytics platforms, where a single entity owns and controls the code, open-source analytics platforms adhere to the principles of free and open-source software (FOSS). This allows everyone to use, study, share, and customise the software to meet their needs, fostering collaboration and transparency.

  Open-source analytics and the Free Software Foundation

  The concept of FOSS is rooted in the idea of software freedom. According to the Free Software Foundation (FSF), this idea is defined by four fundamental freedoms granted to the user the freedom to :

  • Use or run the program as they wish, for any purpose.
  • Study how the program works and change it as they wish.
  • Redistribute copies to help others.
  • Improve the code and distribute copies of their improved versions to others.

  Open access to the source code is a precondition for guaranteeing these freedoms.

  The importance of FOSS licensing

  The FSF has been instrumental in the free software movement, which serves as the foundation for open-source analytics platforms. Among other things, it created the GNU General Public Licence (GPL), which guarantees that all software distributions include the source code and are distributed under the same licence.

  However, other licences, including several copyleft and permissive licences, have been developed to address certain legal issues and loopholes in the GPL. Analytics platforms distributed under any of these licences are considered open-source since they are FSF-compliant.

  Benefits and drawbacks of open-source analytics platforms

  Open-source analytics platforms offer a compelling alternative to their proprietary counterparts, but they also have a few challenges.

  

  Benefits of open-source analytics

  • Full data ownership : Many open-source solutions let you host the analytics platform yourself. This gives you complete control over your customers’ data, ensuring privacy and security.
  • Customisable solution : With access to the source code, you can tailor the platform to your specific needs.
  • Full transparency : You can inspect the code to see exactly how data is collected, processed and stored, helping you ensure compliance with privacy regulations.
  • Community-driven development : Open-source projects benefit from the contributions of a global community of developers. This leads to faster innovation, quicker bug fixes and, in some cases, a wider range of features.
  • No predefined limits : Self-hosted open-source analytics platforms don’t impose arbitrary limits on data storage or processing. You’re only limited by your own server resources.

  Cons of open-source analytics

  • Technical expertise required : Setting up and maintaining a self-hosted open-source platform often requires technical knowledge.
  • No live/dedicated support team : While many projects have active communities, dedicated support might be limited compared to commercial offerings.
  • Integration challenges : Integrating with other tools in your stack might require custom development, especially if pre-built integrations aren’t available.
  • Feature gaps : Depending on the specific platform, there might be gaps in functionality compared to mature proprietary solutions.

  Why open-source is better than proprietary analytics

  Proprietary analytics platforms, like Google Analytics, have long been the go-to choice for many businesses. However, growing concerns around data privacy, vendor lock-in and limited customisation are driving a shift towards open-source alternatives.

  No vendor lock-in

  Proprietary platforms lock you into their ecosystem, controlling terms, pricing and future development. Migrating data can be costly, and you’re dependent on the vendor for updates. 

  Open-source platforms allow users to switch providers, modify software and contribute to development. Contributors can also create dedicated migration tools to import data from GA and other proprietary platforms.

  Data privacy concerns

  Proprietary analytics platforms can heighten the risk of data privacy violations and subsequent fines under regulations like the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This is because their opaque ‘black box’ design often obscures how they collect, process and use data. 

  Businesses often have limited visibility and even less control over a vendor’s data handling. They don’t know whether these vendors are using it for their own benefit or sharing it more widely, which can lead to privacy breaches and other data protection violations.

  These fines can reach into the millions and even billions. For example, Zoom was fined $85 million in 2021 for CCPA violations, while the largest fine in history has been the €1.2 billion fine imposed on Meta by the Irish Data Protection Act (DPA) under the EU GDPR.

  Customisation

  Proprietary platforms often offer a one-size-fits-all approach. While they might have some customisation options, you’re ultimately limited by what the vendor provides. Open-source platforms, on the other hand, offer unparalleled flexibility.

  Unlimited data processing

  Proprietary analytics platforms often restrict the amount of data you can collect and process, especially on free plans. Going over these limits usually requires upgrading to a paid plan, which can be a problem for high-traffic websites or businesses with large datasets. 

  Self-hosted tools only limit data processing based on your server resources, allowing you to collect and analyse as much data as you need at no extra cost.

  No black box effect

  Since proprietary tools are closed-source, they often lack transparency in their data processing methods. It’s difficult to understand and validate how their algorithms work or how they calculate specific metrics. This “black box” effect can lead to trust issues and make it challenging to validate your data’s accuracy.

  11 Key features to look for in an open-source analytics platform

  Choosing the right open-source analytics platform is crucial for unlocking actionable insights from your customers’ data. Here are 11 key features to consider :

  

  #1. Extensive support documentation and resource libraries

  Even with technical expertise, you might encounter challenges or have questions about the platform. A strong support system is essential. Look for platforms with comprehensive documentation, active community forums and the option for professional support for mission-critical deployments.

  #2. Live analytics

  Having access to live data and reports is crucial for making timely and informed decisions. A live analytics feature allows you to :

  • Monitor website traffic as it happens.
  • Optimise campaign performance tracking.
  • Identify and respond to issues like traffic spikes, drops or errors quickly, allowing for rapid troubleshooting.

  For example, Matomo updates tracking data every 10 seconds, which is more than enough to give you a live view of your website performance.

  #3. Personal data tracking

  Understanding user behaviour is at the heart of effective analytics. Look for a platform that allows you to track personal data while respecting privacy. This might include features like :

  • Creating detailed profiles of individual users and tracking their interactions across multiple sessions.
  • Track user-specific attributes like demographics, interests or purchase history.
  • Track user ID across different devices and platforms to understand user experience.

  #4. Conversion tracking

  Ultimately, you want to measure how effective your website is in achieving your business goals. Conversion tracking allows you to :

  • Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) like purchases, sign-ups or downloads.
  • Identify bottlenecks in the user journey that prevent conversions.
  • Measure the ROI of your marketing campaigns.

  #5. Session recordings

  Session recordings give your development team a qualitative understanding of user behaviour by letting you watch replays of individual user sessions. This can help you :

  • Identify usability issues.
  • Understand how users navigate your site and interact with different elements.
  • Uncover bugs or errors.

  #6. A/B testing

  Experimentation is key to optimising your website and improving conversion rates. Look for an integrated A/B testing feature that allows you to :

  • Test different variations of your website in terms of headlines, images, calls to action or page layouts.
  • Measure the impact on key metrics.
  • Implement changes based on statistically significant differences in user behaviour patterns, rather than guesswork.

  #7. Custom reporting and dashboards

  Every business has unique reporting needs. Look for a flexible platform that allows you to :

  • Build custom reports that focus on the metrics that matter most to you.
  • Create personalised dashboards that provide a quick overview of those KPIs.
  • Automate report generation to save your team valuable time.

  #8. No data sampling

  Data sampling can save time and processing power, but it can also lead to inaccurate insights if the sample isn’t representative of the entire dataset. The solution is to avoid data sampling entirely.

  Processing 100% of your customers’ data ensures that your reports are accurate and unbiased, providing a true picture of customer behaviour.

  #9. Google Analytics migration tools

  If you’re migrating from Google Analytics, a data export/import tool can save you time and effort. Some open-source analytics projects offer dedicated data importers to transfer historical data from GA into the new platform, preserving valuable insights. These tools help maintain data continuity and simplify the transition, reducing the manual effort involved in setting up a new analytics platform.

  #10 A broad customer base

  The breadth and diversity of an analytics platform’s customer base can be a strong indicator of its trustworthiness and capabilities. Consider the following :

  • Verticals served
  • The size of the companies that use it
  • Whether it’s trusted in highly-regulated industries

  If a platform is trusted by a large entity with stringent security and privacy requirements, such as governments or military branches, it speaks volumes about its security and data protection capabilities.

  #11 Self-hosting

  Self-hosting offers unparalleled control over your customers’ data and infrastructure.

  Unlike cloud-based solutions, where your customers’ data resides on third-party servers, self-hosting means you manage your own servers and databases. This approach ensures that your customers’ data remains within your own infrastructure, enhancing privacy and security.

  There are other features, like analytics for mobile apps, but these 11 will help shortlist your options to find the ideal tool.

  Choosing your self-hosted open-source analytics platform : A step-by-step guide

  The right self-hosted open-source analytics platform can significantly impact your data strategy. Follow these steps to make the best choice :

  

  Step #1. Define your needs and objectives

  Begin by clearly outlining what you want to achieve with your analytics platform :

  • Identify relevant KPIs.
  • Determine what type of reports to generate, their frequency and distribution.
  • Consider your privacy and compliance needs, like GDPR and CCPA.

  Step #2. Define your budget

  While self-hosted open-source platforms are usually free to use, there are still costs associated with self-hosting, including :

  • Server hardware and infrastructure.
  • Ongoing maintenance, updates and potential support fees.
  • Development resources if you plan to customise the platform.

  Step #3. Consider scalability and performance

  Scaling your analytics can be an issue with self-hosted platforms since it means scaling your server infrastructure as well. Before choosing a platform, you must think about :

  • Current traffic volume and projected growth.
  • Your current capacity to handle traffic.
  • The platform’s scalability options.

  Step #4. Research and evaluate potential solutions

  Shortlist a few different open-source analytics platforms that align with your requirements. In addition to the features outlined above, also consider factors like :

  • Ease of use.
  • Community and support.
  • Comprehensive documentation.
  • The platform’s security track record.

  Step #5. Sign up for a free trial and conduct thorough testing

  Many platforms offer free trials or demos. Take advantage of these opportunities to test the platform’s features, evaluate the user interface and more.

  You can embed multiple independent tracking codes on your website, which means you can test multiple analytics platforms simultaneously. Doing so helps you compare and validate results based on the same data, making comparisons more objective and reliable.

  Step #6. Plan for implementation and ongoing management

  After choosing a platform, follow the documentation to install and configure the software. Plan how you’ll migrate existing data if you’re switching from another platform.

  Ensure your team is trained on the platform, and establish a plan for updates, security patches and backups. Then, you’ll be ready to migrate to the new platform while minimising downtime.

  Top self-hosted open-source analytics tools

  Let’s examine three prominent self-hosted open-source analytics tools.

  Matomo

  Main Features	Analytics updated every 10 seconds, custom reports, dashboards, user segmentation, goal tracking, e-commerce tracking, funnels, heatmaps, session recordings, A/B testing, SEO tools and more advanced features.
  Best for	Businesses of all sizes and from all verticals. Advanced users
  Licencing	GPLv3 (core platform).Various commercial licences for plugins.
  Pricing	Self-hosted : Free (excluding paid plugins).Cloud version : Starts at $21.67/mo for 50K website hits when paid annually.

  

  Matomo Analytics dashboard

  Matomo is a powerful web analytics platform that prioritises data privacy and user control. It offers a comprehensive suite of features, including live analytics updated every 10 seconds, custom reporting, e-commerce tracking and more. You can choose between a full-featured open-source, self-hosted platform free of charge or a cloud-based, fully managed paid analytics service.

  Matomo also offers 100% data ownership and has a user base of over 1 million websites, including heavyweights like NASA, the European Commission, ahrefs and the United Nations.

  Plausible Analytics

  Main Features	Basic website analytics (page views, visitors, referrers, etc.), custom events, goal tracking and some campaign tracking features.
  Best for	Website owners, bloggers and small businesses.Non-technical users.
  Licencing	AGPLv3.
  Pricing	Self-hosted : FreeCloud version : Starts at $7.50/mo for 10K website hits when paid annually.

  

  Plausible Analytics 
  (Image source)

  Plausible Analytics is a lightweight, privacy-focused analytics tool designed to be simple and easy to use. It provides essential website traffic data without complex configurations or intrusive tracking.

  Fathom Lite & Fathom Analytics

  Main features	Basic website analytics (page views, visitors, referrers, etc.), custom events and goal tracking.
  Best for	Website owners and small businesses.Non-technical users.
  Licencing	Fathom Lite : MIT Licence (self-hosted).Fathom Analytics : Proprietary.
  Pricing	Fathom Lite : Free but currently unsupported.Cloud version : Starts at $12.50/month for up to 50 sites when paid annually.

  

  Fathom Analytics 
  (Image source)

  Fathom started as an open-source platform in 2018. But after the founders released V1.0.1, they switched to a closed-source, paid, proprietary model called Fathom Analytics. Since then, it has always been closed-source.

  However, the open-source version, Fathom Lite, is still available. It has very limited functionality, uses cookies and is currently unsupported by the company. No new features are under development and uptime isn’t guaranteed.

  Matomo vs. Plausible vs. Fathom

  Matomo, Plausible, and Fathom are all open-source, privacy-focused alternatives to Google Analytics. They offer features like no data sampling, data ownership, and EU-based cloud hosting.

  Here’s a head-to-head comparison of the three :

  	Matomo	Plausible	Fathom
  Focus	Comprehensive, feature-rich, customizable	Simple, lightweight, beginner-friendly	Simple, lightweight, privacy-focused
  Target User	Businesses, marketers and analysts seeking depth	Beginners, bloggers, and small businesses	Website owners and users prioritising simplicity
  Open Source	Fully open-source	Fully open-source	Limited open-source version
  Advanced analytics	Extensive	Very limited	Very limited
  Integrations	100+	Limited	Fewer than 15
  Customisation	High	Low	Low
  Data management	Granular control, raw data access, complex queries	Simplified, no raw data access	Simplified, no raw data access
  GDPR features	Compliant by design, plus GDPR Manager	Guides only	Compliant by design
  Pricing	Generally higher	Generally lower	Intermediate
  Learning curve	Steeper	Gentle	Gentle

  The open-core dilemma

  Open-source platforms are beneficial and trustworthy, leading some companies to falsely market themselves as such.

  Some were once open-source but later became commercial, criticised as “bait-and-switch.” Others offer a limited open-source “core” with proprietary features, called the “open core” model. While this dual licensing can be ethical and sustainable, some abuse it by offering a low-value open-source version and hiding valuable features behind a paywall.

  However, other companies have embraced the dual-licensing model in a more ethical way, providing a valuable solution with a wide range of tools under the open-source license and only leaving premium, non-essential add-ons as paid features.

  Matomo is a prime example of this practice, championing the principles of open-source analytics while developing a sustainable business model for its users’ benefit.

  Choose Matomo as your open-source data analytics tool

  Open-source analytics platforms offer compelling advantages over proprietary solutions like Google Analytics. They provide greater transparency, data ownership and customisation. Choosing an open-source analytics platform over a proprietary one gives you more control over your customers’ data and supports compliance with user privacy regulations.

  With its comprehensive features, powerful tools, commitment to privacy and active community, Matomo stands out as a leading choice. Make the switch to Matomo for ethical, user-focused analytics.

  Try Matomo for free.