[WEB4LIB] Re: Collecting Stats.

[Dale Askey]

Ed-

While I agree with James's comments about the inaccuracy of web 
log analysis,  I think you're on the right track moving from hits to 
users. The main thing to keep in mind is that these stats are only 
useful relative to themselves, in other words, to track an increase or 
decrease in traffic. Having had extensive experience with 
WebTrends, I know it is possible to configure the software--using 
filters--to relatively accurately reflect how many actual users are 
visiting a site. One just needs to root out the spiders and robots and 
focus on living, breathing users.

The main advantage to WebTrends is its ability to report data from 
numerous other categories other than raw traffic data such as user 
sessions and page hits. I was particularly fond of being able to know 
what browser our visitors were using since this heavily influences 
design considerations.

Best,
Dale
______
Dale Askey
General Reference, Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT  84112
Phone: (801) 587-9061
Fax: (801) 585-3464
daskey at library.utah.edu