Website Activity Log
A website activity log is important for analyzing the activities taking place on a website. It provides statistics which prove to be useful in tracking the performance of a website.
What is a Website Activity Log?
These are the records which are maintained in order to keep track of the visitors to a website. The errors that occur on the websites too are recorded in the activity logs. Measuring the number of visitors to the website is the most important function in a website activity log. The activity logs are maintained for a month or a quarter. These logs prove to be useful in understanding the trends in terms of Internet usage. The details that are recorded in activity logs include the following:
- Number of page views
- Visiting time and date
- Number of downloaded files
- Referral source of the visitor
Analyzing the Logs
The analysis of website activity logs is carried out with the help of specialized software. The reports created with the help of these activity logs provide us with information about the average session length of time along with other facts and figures like page views, visitor sessions, etc. Other information about the website activity includes the data about popular entry and exit pages of that particular website, the passwords beings used, country of origin of visitors, popular referring sites, number of forms submitted, page and form errors, popular keywords used by visitors, etc.
Based on the analysis carried out through activity logs, changes can be brought about in the website to suit the visitors’ interest. New features can be incorporated in the website on the basis of information about the demand or response from the visitors.
Advantages of Analyzing Log Files
The data used for analysis is obtained from log files or by the method of page tagging. Since, the raw data is available in log files one doesn’t have to make changes in the website in order to collect data through page tagging. The information about visits from Internet search engine spiders too is stored in log files. Search engine optimization is carried out with the help of this information. Additional domain name system (DNS) lookups are not required for log files. Thus, the problem of external server calls affecting the page load speeds don’t occur in this case.
Tracking the Website Activity
The practice of website activity monitoring is considered to be important for making the required changes on the basis of usage patterns of the visitors. One can monitor Internet activity and keep a track of the traffic sent by ‘other websites’. The ‘other websites’ could be those of alliance partners, blogs, etc. Strengthening the partnership with websites which redirect their traffic to your website becomes possible by learning how to track the website activity. It help us understand how to increase web traffic. Read more on the topic of to tracking website visitors.
The new field of web analytics has grown with the advent of the technology called Internet. Web analytics includes the activities of collecting and analyzing the Internet data in order to understand and optimize web usage. On-site and off-site are the 2 types of web analytics. The visitors’ journey/activity on your own website is monitored with the help of on-site web analytics. Performance of the website in commercial terms is analyzed in this type of web analytics. In off-site web analytics, web measurement and analysis is carried out no matter if the site is owned or if it is some other website. The visibility (share of voice), comments and potential audience of a website are measured and analyzed in off-site web analytics.
One should monitor Internet activity constantly in order to understand the trends and usage patterns. Website activity logs thus, prove to be a useful tool in the whole process of website analysis.
