ANALYSIS OF WEB SITE USAGE DATA: HOW MUCH CAN WE LEARN ABOUT THE CONSUMER FROM WEB LOGFILES?

Abstract

We discuss information needs of marketers on the World-Wide Web and present a classification of types of information one can possibly get about Web site visits based on its ease of gathering. We then analyze how information needs can be satisfied using different categories of information gathered with these varying degrees of ease. We conclude that, although some of the information needs of marketers can be satisfied using data that can be automatically gathered with state-of-the- art Web tracking methods, many others cannot. We also discuss relevant issues and potential solutions to this problem.