Most blogs and websites come pre-installed with Webalizer, a web server log file analysis program. Understanding the data provided by Webalizer will help you know more about your site’s visitors and how you can better serve them.

Webalizer.org provides a “Simpleton’s Guide to Web Server Analysis,” but it is lengthy, so in this post we’ll “cut to the chase,” so to speak, and list the specific terms associated with Webalizer and what they mean to us as bloggers. This link provides an example of what the Webalizer stats look like.

To access the Webalizer data on your site, enter your blog’s URL followed by /cpanel. You’ll be required to enter the username and password from your web host, which may or may not be the same as the username and password to your WordPress dashboard.

• Hits – the total number of requests made to your server during a specified amount of time. Non-existent content is also counted.
• Files – number of successful server requests. In other words, the data requested was received by the person or bot that requested it. Note that hits and files are higher than visits because a page typically has a large number of file items on it, such as images, etc.
• Sites — number of unique IP addresses that made server requests. This figure is often used as a rough gauge of how many people viewed your blog. It is an estimate, however, because more than one person can use the same IP address, such as from a public library, and one person can use more than one IP address, such as a home and office computer.
• Visits – this is another number that can give bloggers a rough estimate of how many guests have stopped by your site. It represents the number of first-time requests for a specific page during a specific time. The default time is 30 minutes. This data is based on either IP addresses or HTTP cookies. If the same person requests more than one page during the specified time period, they are counted twice.
• Pages – also known as “Page Views.” This figure represents actual URLs being requested that can be identified by page file extensions, such as .html, .php, etc.
• KByte — the quantity of data that is being transferred between your server and remote sites.

Definition of common analytics terms used by Webalizer:

• Host – a machine that is running a browser.
• Site – a remote machine that makes a request to your server. This is based upon IP addresses.
• URL – Uniform Resource Locators specify where an item is located on the web.
• Referrers – URLs that lead users to your blog. Note that most referrers are internal because a page request automatically initiates a request for all items contained within that page, such as images, etc.
• Search Strings – what organic searches led visitors to your site.
• User Agents – browsers (Internet Explorer, FireFox, etc.)
• Entry – the first page requested during a visit.
• Exit – the last page requested during a visit.

Webalizer is not the only analytics program out there. In fact, some would argue it’s not the best. I typically use this information not as a judge of the exact amount of site visitors I receive, but look for things such as making sure I have consistent growth, which keywords (site strings) are bringing people to my site, and I watch the entry pages to see which posts and topics are bringing the most visitors.

Most of us use Google Search on a daily basis. I use it so frequently, it’s set as my home page. Today’s post shares 23 ways bloggers can use Google Search more effectively.

1. Explicit Phrase – include your desired search terms in quotation marks. Example: “cold hard facts.”
2. Exclude Words – place a minus sign “-” in front of any words you wish to have Google exclude from your search results. Example:  red white -blue
3. Include Words – Google ignores certain words, such as conjunctions and articles. If you want to include a typically ignored word, simply place a plus sign in front of it. Example: peanut butter +and jelly
4. Definitions — Need a quick definition? Put the word “define” with a colon in front of the word you want to define. Example: define: blogger
5. Site Search – Most blogs and websites include a search function, but for those that don’t, you can still confine your search results to that site only using Google Search by typing “site:” followed by the site you wish to search. Example: “blogging tips” site: www.onbloggingwell.com
6. Synonyms – It’s easy to include synonyms within your search results. Add the tilde (~) symbol in front of the word for which you want synonyms included. Example: ~automobiles
7. Specific Document Types – If you’re looking for a PowerPoint or PDF (Portable Document File) for a particular topic, tell Google by placing “filetype” followed by a colon after your search terms. Example: educational institutions filetype:ppt
8. Either/Or Search – Add the word “OR” in your search. This type of search works well for related terms and singular/plural search situations. (Note: Both letters must be capitalized for this to work.) Example: Internet Marketing OR Advertising
9. Numeric Ranges – This is a handy search tool if you’re researching a specific era. Simply include an ellipsis between the numeric range you wish to search. Example: 2000…2009
10. Related Sites – If you’ve found a great website and you’re wondering if there are similar sites out there, add the word “related” with a colon before the site URL. You can also use this type of search to check out your competition. Example: related: www.onbloggingwell.com
11. Weather – This is handy for travel bloggers. Simply type weather and a city name into the search box at Google and you’ll get the weather report for that city. Example: weather Honolulu
12. Time – You can also check the time using Google. This can save embarrassment if you’re blogging about another location and you’re not sure the time difference. Simply add the word “time” before the city name. Example: time Honolulu
13. Spell Checker – Google has an automatic spell check included. I use it constantly when I’m unsure how to spell a particular word. You’ve probably seen the phrase “Did you mean . . . ?” Simply type in the word you need to spell check into the Google search box.
14. Fill in the Blank – To search for something you can’t quite remember, do a “fill in the blank” search using Google. Add an asterisk after your search phrase. Example:  Thomas Edison invented*
15. Google Scholar – Searches through indexed pages of scholarly literature. http://scholar.google.com
16. Google Maps – Easily conduct location searches using Google Maps. Simply type in the address you want to search for or pick directions. You can even create routes or plan trips. http://maps.google.com
17. Google Videos — There is a wealth of online information available on video. Tutorials are very popular. Simply type your search terms into the Google Search box and click on the Video tab in the navigation bar. You can search for all sorts of information helpful to bloggers, such as how to set up a WordPress blog or how to use Google’s Webmaster Tools.
18. Specify Domain Extension – If you want to limit your search to only government sites, educational sites, or whichever extension you choose, add “site: .edu” or “site: .gov” after your search terms in Google’s Search box.
19. Advanced Search – You can limit the time frame of your search results (for instance, last 3 months) or choose a specific language and other options by choosing the Advanced Search option from the Google Search home page.
20. News – Find out the latest news developments on a particular topic by selecting the News tab from Google Search’s navigation bar.
21. Images — Most people are familiar with this feature, but if you’re looking for a specific image on your topic, click the Images tab in the navigation bar.
22. Google Trends – Displays the top 10 “Hot Topics” and top 10 “Hot Searches,” allowing bloggers to see what people are currently searching for. http://google.com/trends
23. Google Insights – Allows users to compare search patterns by selecting certain criteria, such as categories, seasonality, geographic distribution, and properties. http://www.google.com/insights/search/

Would you believe I ran across this next cool Google Search tool about 5 minutes after clicking the Publish button? Here’s a short video by Darren Rowse explaining how bloggers can use Google Wonder Wheel to brainstorm blog posts.

WordPress TV is a collection of help and tutorial videos on WordPress for beginners and experts alike. At this “information central” site, you  can browse by category or type keywords into the search box if you have a particular topic in mind you’d like to learn more about.

There is a variety of information at WordPress TV. For example, under the “writing” category, you can learn how to schedule a post for a later date, create an excerpt using the “more” tag, set a post (or blog) to private, use the QuickPost function, create a poll, and other articles.

The categories list at WordPress TV is extensive. A few you may find helpful include Blog Management, Blogging Tools, Media, Plugins, SEO, Themes, and more. You may wish to bookmark this site for future reference.

Until next time,

Happy Blogging!