You think you have a handle on hits
versus page views? Ready to tackle your log files? Many tools
will offer to run the log files from the web, but, I prefer to download
mine, and run in several tools. Much easier that way for me. When you
have FTP open sometime, look for a LOGS folder, open that folder, and
you usually will see web.cache, web.log, mail.log, and several other
files. You can download the web.log file and save to your
computer. * side note* Cobalt server users can usually find
the log file by logging into their siteadmin, then clicking site usage, then scrolling down to download log file.
How ever you get the file, be aware it
is usually several megabytes in size. You can open the file in notepad,
but will most likely see something like this....
123.45.678.90
- - [05/Apr/2003:02:33:06 -0600] "GET
/usa1.jpg HTTP/1.1" 304 - "http://www.nhyrvana.com/nobud2.html"
"Mozilla/4.0 (compatible;
MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; Bubba Gump .NET CLR 1.0.3705)"
mostly likely thousands of lines like
that. * a quick decipher for you *
ip connecting to
site- - [date time ] "file
to get. in techie terms." 304 - "browser
info.. most will say mozilla as it s the base browser developed on.
(compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; system
info.. name shown on the site pulling info, or comp pulling
info...)"
That is what statistic tool are for.
Log analyzers. There are several that are free, or have generous trial
offers. OpenWebScope,
WebLog
lite, FileLogger,
123 Log Analyzer are
just a few tools we have used. Each tool may show you slightly different
information for the same LOG FILE, so you are encouraged to use more
than one.
Most will have you point to your downloaded
log file, then analyze it, then you view it. The analyzed log file can
help you see how much bandwidth you are really using, perhaps see
bandwidth thieves, determine the best time to update your site, or just
give you an idea of who is linking you. The information in log files is
vast and it is up to you what you get from it, and how you use it.
Again, it is suggested you use more than one tool to analyze and see the
differences in report style and information reported.
