Analytic Confusion – AWStats vs. Google Analytics

By Randy Dod

Some web site owners or webmasters use AWStats to view and analyze their web site traffic, some install Google Analytics on their site for additional insight, and some use both. What are the differences between AWStats and Google Analytics? One of the main differences is they generate their data using different methods, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. This is why they sometimes generate very different traffic results. Below are some of the reasons for this.

AWStats (AWS) uses log based tracking. Every time users perform actions on your website, the server records or logs details of those actions. AWS puts together log data into a meaningful format. Advantages include the ability to track bots, downloads of PDFs, images and documents, and tracking failed requests. Disadvantages include not tracking some views of cached files, inflated page views due to tracking every file requested for a page because it can’t tell all those files are assembled into a single “page,” and the inability to see the number of users behind firewalls and shared connections.

Google Analytics (GA) uses script based tracking. It relies on JavaScript, cookies, and a remotely-hosted piece of code to collect, process and interpret user data. Advantages include GA seeing a page the same as a user, rather than a collection of files and images (thus giving a more accurate page view count), reports that communicate business value better to the webmaster, and better data collection inside web pages and paths to determine things like where a user abandoned filling out a form. Disadvantages include not being able to track user behavior if they have JavaScript turned off or don’t allow cookies, and the inability to track search engine visits since search engine spiders (in fact, many automated agents or ‘bots’) don’t run JavaScript by design.

The bottom line is that it gets complex, and the only way around it is to make assumptions as to what constitutes a unique user or visitor, and simply accept that inaccuracies are inevitable. Google Analytics reads low, AWStats reads high, and that’s the way it is.

If you would like to explore this more in depth, read our complete article on the differences between AWStats and Google Analytics.

Some of this information was also derived from this articles: Google Analytics vs AWstats log file analysis – the differences

2 responses to “Analytic Confusion – AWStats vs. Google Analytics”

  1. Roberto Salvatore writes:

    Awstat is complete, Google Analytics is more “lite”, but if you run a VPS or a small dedicated server and you turn on Awstat on your domains (you can do this also by Plesk), you’ll show a significative increase of CPU working. Google Analytics runs out of your server, so it doesn’t overloads your resources. But if you have tons of server resources, Awstat is better than Google Analytics!

  2. Todd writes:

    Personally I use both and look for more trends than anything else. It’s nice though because you see some keywords on one that you do not see on the other. Analytics is better for business because you can really drill down and find out what users do on your website.