What are Logfile Analysis and Page-Tagging?

[Mosaic]

Hi All,

I was reading an article about web analytics and i came through these two topics (logfile analysis and page tagging), but i was unable to understand these terms exactly.Can anyone help me to understand these terms in a simple way?

Thanks & Regards
Mosaic

[unilytics]

Page Tagging is using a JavaScript or other HTML element (like an image) to track page views and/or actions.

logfile analysis is the direct processing of the logs generated by webservers.

Both have their pros and cons, and as a general rule of thumb, both should be used to best understand your traffic.

[webboy1]

Just to add to this ...

We largely use page tagging rather than analysing raw log files. However, what I would say is that consistency is key. So if you use one or other, or both, make sure to compare like with like i.e. don't look at page tagging results one week then log files the next. It's unlikely that they'll match ... and you'll think you have flucuating traffic.

Not important to which you decide to use, but important when comparing week on week stats.

[dazzlebot]

One minor point to note is that page tagging is usually cookie based, and as a previous poster has commented there will be discrepancies if both methods of tracking are used.