Tracking Site Visitors

[mark4man]

People...

My web hosting service (Hostway) gives me a periodic host report, whereby various numerical URL's are listed as visiting my site & requesting data. The numbers are all 9 & 10 digit sequences, looking like: [example: 34.XXX.XX.25.]

How can I use these numbers to in turn visit the sites who visited me (or find out who visited me in general...be it an end user with a browser or otherwise)?

Can I simply plug them in to my browser's Address bar (which I tried with no success)...or is there a way to cross-reference them?

Thanks,

mark4man

[edited by: Receptional at 10:42 am (utc) on Mar. 30, 2006]
[edit reason] Made the IP number unrecognizable, just in case. [/edit]

[gregbo]

The digit sequences are the IP addresses of the sites that issued some kind of HTTP command to your web server. You can't merely plug them into your browser because there may not be a web server listening on the HTTP port at those addresses.

You can use some of the geotargeting databases that map IP addresses to countries (and smaller geographic areas, in some cases). However, be warned that these databases are not necessarily correct or up-to-date.

[Receptional]

Hi,

IP numbers in themselves are not very useful. For example, one ISP could be sending hundreds of visitors using the same IP number. Conversely, a user on a large ISP could use several IP numbers in a single session, making them look like several people.

See:
[webmasterworld.com...]

[mark4man]

Thanks...

Isn't there a DOS command that will track an IP (like a ping, or something)?

Thanks,

mark4man

[Receptional]

Tracing an IP only does not necessarily trace back to the user - often it is only back to the ISP.

IP locators are getting better - but not THAT good.

[mark4man]

Thanks...

Yeah...my site's a music site; & I thought it might permit me to do a target demographic...or even recontact folks (via e-mail) who visited to ask for input on the music & maybe do a light duty sales pitch.

I was just curious as to that type of thing...that's all.

Thanks again,

mark4man