Traffic Analysis Primer

By: Chris Beasley, Published: 2003-04-18, Parent Category: Traffic Analysis

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Summary

Traffic Jargon

A hit is an HTTP request.
An impression is a page view.
A unique is an impression by a unique IP address or person.
A referrer is someone who links to your site.
A user agent is software used to access your site.

Counters and Trackers

Counters simply count the number of times a page has been viewed.
Trackers provide detailed information about who visits your website.

The Three Flavors of Tracking Software

Remote trackers usually require you to post a banner and can be unreliable.
Logging programs create their own logs and provide more control over which pages are tracked.
Log analysis programs often come with your hosting account and simply analyze your server's log files.

What to do Every Day

Check referrers.
Check user agents.

Other Statistic Uses

Visitor demographics and behavior.
Changing traffic patterns.

Additional Resources:

http://www.bignosebird.com/apache/a9.shtml
http://www.fleiner.com/bots/
http://evolt.org/article/Using_Apache_to_stop_bad_robots/18/15126/index.html