Web Logs Becomes Web Analytics
In 1999 I was working for abc distributing in North Miami. We had been using Webtrends at the time for web analytics. Actually I don’t think we called it web analytics. We called it Web Log Analysis. Logfile analysis did not last long. These web logs were just the files that track every file (like image, html, etc.). We actually call these hits. Hits are anything that hits the server. The problem with hits, which would eventually go away as well, is hits are not real people. You can have one visitor who visits one time, but because there were 50 images in the page, 10 javascript libraries adn 10 other things, there were 70 hits during that one browser session. Alas, hits goes into the bin of not so important history.
Accuracy vs. Knowing What Was Going On!
What drove this large ecommerce company I worked for to move to cloud based web analytics is that the logfiles got to big to analyze. I found this out the hard way when I was trying to merge together the log files of several large web servers. There was like 4 gigabytes of data per server. Maybe today that sounds like not so much. Actually it is a lot still when it comes to trying to merge millions of lines in files. We needed at least 5 front-line servers at abc distributing, because at the time you needed a bunch of servers with an F4 in front to handle their traffic. Unless I merged all those files and ran one report, there was no way of knowing the sites real traffic. I needed an answer quick.
Hitbox To The Rescue
So at that time, the leading lower end cloud based analysis solution was called Hitbox, by Websidestory (always thought that was a nice play on words). Hitbox would eventually be acquired and merge into Omniture Site Catalyst, which I also have expertise in. Just happens I was around so early on in the web analytics field that I was helping the Hitbox team figure out what to actually look at. Years later, as I look around for web analytics consulting work, I still see that web analytics has been relegated quite often to a not so important task done by a not so important employee. Alas, that is where using a seasoned web analytics consultant like myself can make a big difference.
Seasoned Web Analytics Expert
So, if you are looking for a web analytics expert, do not hesitate to contact me to find out what I can do for your business. It really does not matter if it is Omniture SiteCatalyst, Coremetrics, Google Analytics or one of a dozen others out there. I have the experience to help you. Getting the right consultant can make all the difference. Please fill out the form below to contact me. Thanks, Dan Gudema.
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