Difference between Web Statistics Programs

Lots of people wonder why there are such major differences in reporting from different web statistic software. The main reason is that there are two main types of data collection methods for web stats: page tagging and log files. Log files are used by programs such as “awstats” while page tagging is used by programs like “Google Analytics”.

Page Tagging (Google Analytics)

Page tagging uses javascript or other methods to take voluntarily provided information from the visitor’s browser and sends that information to a third-party server.

The javascript is reloaded everytime a page is rendered even if it is loaded from the cache which provides better tracking of user behavior and gives more detailed statistics that can be used by business owners such as statistics on conversion rates or events that don’t involve server requests (An action not involving server requests would not be in the log files for programs such as Awstats).

Page tagging programs generally display fewer visitors/users because users can block information sharing and some browsers block sharing too. Javascript may also be disabled by visitors. A small percentage of visitors may leave the website before the javascript loads, which would also lead to an unreported visitor.

Log Files (Awstats)

Webservers keep logs of all requests made of them. Programs that use log files to provide website statistics provide data based on these logs. Everytime a request is made of the server, it will log the request. Logs are great for finding information about failed requests which won’t show up in page tagging. This helps with broken links and finding common misspellings.

The biggest problem with server logs is that their data may be misleading. Spam bots and certain bots can succeed in making the server think that they are actual users. This creates the illusion of a lot more visitors than there actually are.

Conclusion

Complementary usage of both types of web statistis programs is probably best. Just be aware of why there are differences in reported data. As both Google Analytics and Awstats are free, all webmasters should spend the time to setup both statistics programs. Generally, the true number of visitors you have is slightly above the number reported by Google Analytics.