According to the Web Analytics Association (WAA) there are few web analytics schools to meet the increasing demand for professionals who can provide comprehensive analysis of website statistics. How site visitors interact with a particular website or pages on that site provide site owners and administrators with the information they need to make business decisions. Decisions about marketing campaigns, future site content, and products or services to expand or develop can all be influenced by visitor behaviors. Unfortunately, web analytics involves much more than just page views and referral information to truly understand that behavior.

Site statistical tools monitor and report back a variety of visitor behaviors and actions, depending on the specific tool and the settings used. Web analytics schools ideally should instruct students on the use of site tools that gather data such as:
·    Daily site visitors, including trends and comparisons to similar sites
·    Page views based on actual views, unique views, and returning visitors
·    Links clicked, including files downloaded, affiliate link monitoring, etc.
·    Return versus unique visitors
·    Length of visits, including time spent on individual pages
·    Referring sites and inbound links, as well as link backs, pings, and trackbacks
·    Search terms used to find site pages
·    Bounce rates and other statistical information on a site-wide or page-by-page basis

However, learning how to install and operate site statistic tools to gather such information is only the beginning of a web analyst's education. Once the date is collected and reports generated, the next step in the process is to understand what it all means. What caused drops or increases in traffic or page views? How do you know why some visitors stayed and others left after only a few seconds? Why are certain pages more popular than others? How are visitors finding the website, or certain pages within the website? What content traffic strategies are working to increase traffic and why?

These are the questions web analytics schools should teach students how to answer using available site statistical tools. These tools have evolved tremendously in the first part of the new millennium. However, the questions these tools help answer never change, no matter how advanced the tools become over time. As a result, web analytics schools must teach students how to use a variety of tools. However, understandably the core focus should be finding answers to these basic questions through understanding of the data presented.

While the lack of web analytics schools makes it difficult to find professionals with these abilities today, there is hope for the future. Many schools now offer web analytical courses, diploma programs, and even degrees with concentrations in website analysis. Much like financial analysts and statistical analysts have grown in popularity and thus in educational opportunities, as demand for professionals trained to analyze website statistics increases, so will educational options. The Web Analytics Association continues to push for more educational opportunities and programs in this growing field, with attention to setting industry standards and requirements for such programs.