5 Ways to Leverage Log Data

There used to be a time not so long ago when log data aggregation was done mainly to serve as reference for the tech experts for troubleshooting and a bit of analytics. The recent years, however, saw a surge in interest in log data from experts who recognize it as a treasure trove of valuable information. Such information has recently been used successfully by organizations not only for technical aspects, but to gain better business insights and generate new ROI avenues for their enterprise. Apps have also been developed for the purpose of simplifying the leveraging of this information such as the Papertrail Log Management tool.

If you are an online entrepreneur though, how do you leverage log data to benefit your business? Here are 5 ways to leverage log data.

  1. Improve Response Times

Thanks in part to studies conducted by Amazon, Google, and The BBC, website response times have become a critical aspect of business IT operations. The internal study conducted by Amazon showed that the retail giant can lose more than a billion dollars in sales each year if its website took a second slower to fully load. Similar studies by The BBC and Google seem to suggest that a great majority of internet users have become so used to fast internet connections and powerful computer processors  that they have become intolerant of slow loading pages. Log data can clue-in network administrators on how to improve response times. Sluggish response times may be attributed to pages that are not optimized, slow servers and even too much logging. Leveraging information from log data can vastly improve response times, which will likely lead to higher conversion rates.

  1. Enhancing Overall User Experience

Log events can give network administrators insight on how web page visitors behave and interact with the website. Studies show that a good overall user experience increases conversion rates. Setting log management tools to identify patterns in user activity as well as indicators of positive user behavior that leads to sales may be leveraged to enhance your website’s overall user experience.

  1. Business Analytics

Log management programs may be configured to detect and alert for data that send out notifications whenever specific conversion goals are met. Certain criteria in web visitor behavior and activity patterns may also be analyzed for triggers that lead to more engagements or sales. Among the other log data that can be leveraged for business analytics include transaction and business process event logs, revenue generation rate and client SLAs.

  1. Rechanneling Network Resources

Logging may take up valuable resources in the IT processes, but it is necessary for the management, troubleshooting and maintenance of the network. Log data, if managed properly, can also reveal areas in the system that may be weakened by malware and exploited by hackers. Log data, can therefore be leveraged to make logging leaner and more efficient and thus prevent system bloat. This way, valuable network resources may be rechanneled for more critical tasks. These include:

  • Monitoring for changes in patterns in log data and suspicious events
  • Detecting anomalous activity in real time
  • Real-time analysis of system health
  • Evaluating website activity
  • Alerting for critical events such as downtimes and security breach

Using a log management tool in this regard allows network administrators to perform the task easier and more efficiently. In turn, this allows you to rechannel the efforts of one of your most important resources—your IT personnel.

  1. Leverage for Better Marketing Strategy

Analyzing log data can help digital marketers plan their campaign. Efforts to improve brand awareness, product visibility, web traffic, conversions and sales will be easier if marketers have a better understanding on how potential clients behave and interact with their website. Log data will also help marketers plan their SEO strategy, as well as detect which website pages that Google crawlers can and cannot detect.

These are just some of the ways that you can leverage log data. In case you haven’t used the log data that your system generates to better advantage, you may want to download a trial version of a log management tool to help you get started.

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