An activity log is important for analyzing the user activities that occur 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 visitors to a website. The errors that occur in site functionality are also recorded. Measuring the number of visitors to the website is the log's most important function. These logs are maintained for a month or a quarter. They prove to be useful in understanding the trends in terms of Internet usage. The details that are recorded 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 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 most popular landing pages, the passwords beings used, country of origin of visitors, popular referring sites, number of forms submitted, page and form errors, and 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 search engine crawlers is also 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 doesn't occur in this case.
Tracking Web Activity
The practice of monitoring web traffic 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.
The new field of web analytics has grown, as Internet usage has risen over the years. It includes the activities of collecting and analyzing data in order to understand and optimize web usage. On-site and off-site are the two types of web analytics. The visitor's activity on your own website is monitored with the help of on-site analytics. Performance of the website in commercial terms is analyzed in this type of analytics. In off-site analytics, web measurement, and analysis is carried out, irrespective of whether the site is owned or not. The visibility, comments, and potential audience of a website are measured and analyzed in off-site analytics.
