Using website Server Log Files

You can spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to be on top for particular keywords without ever examining how your web website visitors are already finding your web website.

There are plenty of programs that will read your logs and produce reports showing the keywords and links people are using to find your website.

Ask your provider if referrer information is captured. If not, tell them you want this to begin immediately, and that you want the information written in extended log format. They'll know exactly what this means and should be able to do this easily. In most cases, it involves making a very simple change to the server's configuration file.

If they can't or won't make the change, consider moving. This is the most valuable information that your web website logs can record, so you definitely want it.

If your provider already captures the information, then all you need is a program to read it. Ask them if they have an online program that you can use. There are many low-cost programs that they can install. Otherwise, you can download the information and run it through an offline program. Again, there is a wide variety to choose from.

Typical server log data:

• Daily Statistics
• Hourly Statistics
• URLs
• Entry
• Exit
• websites
• Referrers
• Search Keywords and Phrases
• Agents
• Countries