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Log Analysis Data & Uses for Better Site Development and
Positioning
64.68.82.208 - - [11/Jan/2004:19:34:08 -0800] "GET /robots.txt
HTTP/1.0" 404 42586 "-" "Googlebot/2.1
(+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html)"
The next parts of the log analysis data report the status
and the file size of the requested file (underlined above
for illustration purposes). By status, we are talking about
error codes. A 200 is OK. That means the file was found and
given without problems. A 404 would mean an error; file not
found, as was the case with our robots.txt file. There is
no such file on our server. Check with your host for code
breakdowns. They can tell you which codes are OK, and which
ones are errors. As with the last part of the log analysis
data, you can use this information for the same purposes.
64.68.82.208 - - [11/Jan/2004:19:34:08 -0800] "GET /robots.txt
HTTP/1.0" 404 42586 "-" "Googlebot/2.1
(+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html)"
The next part of the log analysis data is the browser type
information (underlined above for illustration purposes).
This information comes in handy when developing browser specific
content. It can help you decide if browser specific content
is a direction to go, and can help you determine which browser
types to design for. In the information, googlebot identifies
as the browser. Although googlebot is a spider, it is what
requested the file, so it gets identified as the browser.
64.68.82.208 - - [11/Jan/2004:19:34:08 -0800] "GET /robots.txt
HTTP/1.0" 404 42586 "-" "Googlebot/2.1
(+http://www.googlebot.com/bot.html)"
The next part of the log analysis data is the referrer information
(underlined above for illustration purposes). The first part
of the log analysis data tells you the IP that sent the request;
this part tells the actual URL that the request was sent from.
In our log, this information is provided by googlebot itself,
and is not the true referring URL page. Google inserts this
information so we can educate ouselves about their bot. If
it was a true referral URL, then this information would reveal
the most about your visitors. You know that they came to your
site through that link, where they may not have been to every
page on the IP that sent them. Reviewing the page they came
from will give you clues and insights to their interests,
and help you to tailor your site to meet those interests.
OK, so now I've got all This Log Analysis Data, but what do I do with it Again?
Aside from the things we already mentioned, lets delve a
bit deeper into the information a linked page can tell about
your visitors. Lets us say your log analysis data tell you
that a particular visitor came in from lets say Amazon.com.
What educated assumptions can you make about your visitor?
The biggest one is that they probably shop online. That means
they may have already made a purchase with a credit card.
It might also symbolize that they are bargain or cautious
shoppers. People that look for a good deal.
However, what if they came from the Amazon.com book section?
What would that log analysis data mean? We could say they
like to read, or maybe they know someone who likes to read
and were buying them a gift. Maybe they were simply price
comparing to see if Amazon.com might be thriftier than their
local bookstore. Maybe they were an author checking to see
if their book was yet available on Amazon.com. Maybe they
are into self-help books, or do self-educating at home with
books they purchase from Amazon.com book section. By visiting
that link, what kind of pricing does Amazon.com book section
use in that section? If you look around and compare, where
does Amazon.com book section fall into that pricing? Are they
at the high end? Are they at the low end? On the other hand,
do they fall somewhere in between the pricing? That will give
you insight to your visitor's shopping style. Are they a bargain
shopper, or isn't money a factor to them? Some of these ideas
are a bit out there, but the bottom line thing we can infer
from this link is that in someway, somehow, they like reading
or know someone who does. The question becomes how do you
turn this information into an advantage for your site?
Armed with your log analysis data and the research you have
just done, lets say your research shows that Amazon.com book
section falls at the low end of the pricing spectrum. That
tells us that your visitor is a thrifty shopper. They like
finding a good deal. What kind of affiliate programs do you
know of that offer a good deal? Can you restructure any of
your product or services offerings to cater to the thrifty
shopper? In addressing their reader's sides is your content
well written and grammatically correct? Do you have educational
topics on your site that the visitor could sink their teeth
into? If your investigation revealed leisure or fantasy reading,
then do you have that kind of content on your site? In looking
at all these variables, before you make any changes, make
sure that the added content fits in with your site topic.
If you can't add topics similar to their tastes, then you
can at least add affiliates similar to their tastes.
Lets use another Amazon.com example, but this time, let us
say they came from a link from Amazon's top selling electronics
area. Let us first say that anyone coming from an online shopping
link has probably bought something online. That implies that
they might have a credit card, or at the very least, they
are comfortable with the online shopping experience. This
means that half the work has already been done with these
people. If you have built trust with your site or publication,
they will be just as open to use those credit cards or checking
accounts to make online purchases from you, or one of your
affiliates. Now back to the log analysis data at hand.
Back
to Table of Contents
Dealing
With Huge Log Files (Article Continues)
About the Author
James R. Sanders is the owner of Sanders
Consultation Group Plus. He has been a webmaster and website
designer since 1997. He has also been involved in self employment
ventures since 1992. He is presently a contributing author
of NewbieHangout. His writing is targeted to webmasters, would
be webmasters, website designers, would be website designers,
self employed, or those researching information looking for
solutions to questions associated with design, business operations,
and promotion today. His goal is to provide practical information
based upon his years of experience to help webmasters, website
designers, and self employed people achieve their goals in
today's competitive global market. You can subscribe to his
free newsletters at SCGP
- Newsletter.
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