Economic factors Logfile analysis

Logfile analysis is almost always performed in-house. Page tagging can be performed in-house, but it is more often provided as a third-party service. The economic difference between these two models can also be a consideration for a company deciding which to purchase.

Logfile analysis typically involves a one-off software purchase; however, some vendors are introducing maximum annual page views with additional costs to process additional information. In addition to commercial offerings, several open-source logfile analysis tools are available free of charge.
For Logfile analysis you have to store and archive your own data, which often grows very large quickly. Although the cost of hardware to do this is minimal, the overhead for an IT department can be considerable.
For Logfile analysis you need to maintain the software, including updates and security patches.
Complex page tagging vendors charge a monthly fee based on volume i.e. number of pageviews per month collected.

Which solution is cheaper to implement depends on the amount of technical expertise within the company, the vendor chosen, the amount of activity seen on the web sites, the depth and type of information sought, and the number of distinct web sites needing statistics.

Reference By: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_analytics#On-site_web_analytics_technologies

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Advantages of logfile analysis

The main advantages of logfile analysis over page tagging are as follows:

The web server normally already produces logfiles, so the raw data is already available. No changes to the website are required.

The data is on the company's own servers, and is in a standard, rather than a proprietary, format. This makes it easy for a company to switch programs later, use several different programs, and analyze historical data with a new program.

Logfiles contain information on visits from search engine spiders, which generally do not execute JavaScript on a page and are therefore not recorded by page tagging. Although these should not be reported as part of the human activity, it is useful information for search engine optimization.

Logfiles require no additional DNS lookups or TCP slow starts. Thus there are no external server calls which can slow page load speeds, or result in uncounted page views.

The web server reliably records every transaction it makes, e.g. serving PDF documents and content generated by scripts, and does not rely on the visitors' browsers cooperating.

Reference By: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_analytics#On-site_web_analytics_technologies

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Logfile analysis vs page tagging

LogFile analysis programs and page tagging solutions to both web analytics that companies are easily available. In some cases, the same web analytics company will offer both approaches. The question then should choose a company that is causing the system. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages.

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Web server logfile analysis

Web servers LogFile some records of their transactions. It soon popularity in the logfiles on the website to provide information that can be read by the program was realized. This web log analysis software have emerged.

The page views and visits (or sessions) said. After a certain amount of inactivity expired visit that uniquely identified client, usually 30 minutes was defined as a sequence of requests, the page View, as opposed to a graphic of a page, the Web server is defined as a request was. The page views and visits are still commonly displayed metrics, but rather by those who are considered to be primary.

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