Sounds like a topic I can do at Analytic Insight...
To understand the numbers, you have to know how they are derived.
For webalizer, checkout http://www.mrunix.net/webalizer/webalizer_help.html
This software has not been updated for years but so many sites are still using it.
For Awstats, http://awstats.sourceforge.net/docs/..._glossary.html
Awstats is more current and still actively maintained.
I would rank Awstats above Webalizer. However they each provide good information, it is just a mater of how to interpret.
Sign up also for Google Analytics, it can provides you with tons of info that Webalizer and Awstats don't.
Here's the answer from the Webalizer FAQ why there are more sites than visits.
Quote:
Why do my reports show more Sites than Visits?
Visits are only triggered when a valid request is found for a page, as defined by your PageType setting (or a URL that ends with a slash, which is also considered a page type). Sites however, are counted regardless of the request type. It is very common to have more sites than visits, particularly if you host non-pagetype URLs on your site that are linked to from the outside. If you are not hosting URLs that are linked to from outside sites, then make sure your PageType setting is correct. The default is .htm, .html and .cgi extensions, unless you specify otherwise.
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Uniques typical refers to unique visitors but there are different ways to count it.
One way is to count by IP, but if the user is behind a router, more than one user can be from the same IP.
Another way is to count by session. Visits in a valid session is counted as a unique visitor.
Yet another way is to track by cookie. So if the user visit over a few days but the cookie is still valid, it is counted as the same visitor. |
