I'll be starting an online business, but I want to do some thorough research into the success of current sites which are popular online. I'd like access to the most thorough information possible about web traffic online. Basically sites/services like Nielsen Net Ratings where I can get detailed information. I know Alexa.com is another site which collects and publishes info. I need to put together a toolbox of the most effective of these types of resources related to the internet industry. Also dempgraphic information is important. I'm going to need this information for marketing, and also for drawing up my business plan, and more. What sites do the professionals use to get their information about the business of internet? Thanks for the Google Analytics answer...I'm still hunting though for information which will tell me about activity elsewhere on the internet, like top-rated sites, internet activity & top sites per industry, fastest growing new sites, etc. I have found some more information myself: hitwise.com, nielsen net ratings, and Jupiter Research are all along the lines of what I'm looking for...are these the best? are there any more? Any internet professionals out there willing to share their acquired wisdom?

Great.... First of all All the Best for your venture.... Welll there are loads of websites for this. But what i like best is http://www.google.com/analytics/ https://www.google.com/accounts/ServiceLogin?service=sitemaps&nui=1&continue=https://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/siteoverview%3Fhl%3Den&hl=en These are the best free and excellent analytical tools to give you all kind of reports about your site.. Cheers Once again All the best for your online venture

Nielsen Net Ratings is the best in terms of credibility and usage among top tier companies. But their reports are expensive and they release so little information to the public. Some free ones are Alexa http://www.alexa.com Ranking.com http://www.ranking.com For ecommerce stores, Internet Retailer magazine has a publication called Top 500 Guide http://www.internetretailer.com/top500/ that ranks the top 500 web retailers. The publication details the strategies of these ecommerce sites as well as metrics such as conversion rates, sales, % of web sales, etc.