About Logfile Analysis
Logfile Analysis is a process by which you gain and develop an insight into how your web site is traversed by your visitors. It provides you with a wealth of information about your website, your visitors, your visitors activity on your website, whether your website is achieving what it was designed to do how, the areas in which it is succeeding as well as showing you where it is failing. Correctly used, it provides the essential information that allows you to make informed decisions about your website and it’s operation, rather than relying on wild guesses.
It is virtually impossible to run and operate a successful website without using Logfile Analysis. If you were to compare your website to a car, logfile analysis is the equivalent of your accelerator, your brake, your speedometer and other gauges, all rolled up into one. Now maybe you can understand why Logfile Analysis is so important. In fact, if you are failing to adopt the use of a suitable Logfile Analysis tool on your website, you are virtually attempting to drive your business with a blindfold on.
Consider these 2 important definitions for your better understanding of the subject.
Log File: Each web site has a log file (stored on the server), which records details every time a visitor to the site requests a file. Log files store data such as the IP address of the visitor, the visitor's nationality, operating system, browser etc. The log file can be analyzed to obtain statistics on unique visitors, page views, hits etc. Often used as measurements in SEO.
Log File Analysis: The analysis of records stored in the log file. In its raw format, the data in the log files can be hard to read and overwhelming. There are numerous log file analyzers that convert log file data into user-friendly charts and graphs. A good analyzer is generally considered an essential tool in SEO because it can show search engine statistics such as the number of visitors received from each search engine, the keywords each visitors used to find the site, visits by search engine spiders etc. |
