From standalone analytics service to core CMS module

Our own approach to analytics in 2005

In 2005, we launched Dotdetector — our standalone web analytics system.

It was originally built as a public service: anyone could register and start tracking visitors, referrals, and keywords across their sites.

But unlike typical counters of the time, Dotdetector wasn’t about page hits. It focused on what really mattered:

• 🔗 Where visitors came from.

• 🧭 The exact path they took across the site.

• 🔑 The keywords they used in all major search engines — not just Google.

This made Dotdetector more actionable than Google Analytics for our needs — it gave us raw, useful insights instead of abstract graphs.

Features and highlights

• 📊 Multi-site tracking with flexible reporting.

• 🔗 Referral and ad campaign analytics.

• 🧭 Full visitor journey tracking (page by page).

• 🔑 Real search keyword extraction from every major search engine.

• ⚡ Lightweight, practical, and tuned for real decision-making.

• 🚪 Launched as an open-registration SaaS, later kept as an internal tool.

• 📲 Today enhanced with QR code tracking — bridging offline campaigns with online behavior.

Why it mattered

Dotdetector was our first SaaS-like product, ahead of its time in the mid-2000s.

And when we realized how powerful it was, we integrated it directly into our CMS — where it continues to evolve to this day.

👉 This was the project where our CMS gained its own native analytics engine — starting with referrals and keywords, and today expanded to cover QR code tracking for modern campaigns.

📌 Today, Dotdetector is no longer a standalone service — it has become a native analytics layer inside QRaway, powering everything from visitor tracking to QR-based campaigns.