About Log File Analysis
1. Web server log files
Used for technical websites audit. Contains records of all requests/hits received by the server. Details included are time and date when the request was made, IP addresses, URL/page requested, the user-agent from the browser, but data are stored anonymously.
Server log file includes:
- Server IP
- Timestamp (date & time)
- Method (GET / POST)
- Request URI (URI stem + URI query)
- HTTP status code
- User-agent
Multiple other details could be related to Host name, Request/Client IP, Bytes downloaded, Time taken.
2. URL meanings
An URL like https://hostingwebspace.com/video.html has: https:// - protocol, hostingwebspace.com - server name and /video.html - file name. The server name is converted into an IP address via the domain name server. Order like an HTTP Get request is sent to the web server. These requests are recorded as hits by the web server.
SEO experts use Log File Analysis to see and make decisions related to:
- How much crawl budget is being wasted and where
- Accessibility errors during search engine crawl
- Areas of crawl deficiency
Technical views for potential increasing in organic search results: site architecture (internal link structure), duplicate or low quality content, site performance and speed. It takes time and knowledge, and you can count on our SEO services.
Tracking Search Engines Actions
Locate and treat appropriate user-agents. After, validate the IP range by carrying out a reverse DNS lookup to avoid fake user agents. Verify if Googlebot is accessing your server.
Tools For Technical SEO Audit
Browser Plugins:
1. Redirect Path - for 301, 302, 404, 500 HTTP Status Codes, and client side redirects like Meta and Javascript redirects
Chrome
(https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/redirect-path/aomidfkchockcldhbkggjokdkkebmdll)
2. Wappalyzer - identifies software on websites
Firefox
(https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/wappalyzer/)
Chrome
(https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/wappalyzer/gppongmhjkpfnbhagpmjfkannfbllamg)
Note: Wappalyzer shows you technologies, software, content management system used on any website. Actually, you will see icons directly on your browser when you visit a website.
It detects content management systems, ecommerce platforms, web frameworks, server software, analytics tools and many more.
3. Check My Links - identifies broken links in webpage
Chrome
(https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/check-my-links/ojkcdipcgfaekbeaelaapakgnjflfglf)
Online Tools:
1. Webmaster Tools - Bing
http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster
2. Search Console - Google
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools
