On the free version of wordpress, ie the one you setup for free and get hosted at “myblog.wordpress.com”, it has a very nice module on the dashboard for tracking statistics. It displays a nice hit-counter graph and shows search engine terms used etc, without any clutter
Is it possible to get this for a self hosted install of wordpress? I can’t see it installed by default
Not installed by default, but available as plugin from repository: WordPress.com Stats
The new Jetpack plugin from Automattic (released March 2011) uses the same stats system as the old WordPress.com Stats plugin, it is easier to set up (no API key), and it looks nicer and provides more features. I’d say go with Jetpack.
(I’m the developer of both WordPress.com Stats and the Stats module for Jetpack.)