Log file analysis is examining your server's access logs to see exactly which URLs search engine crawlers requested, when, how often and what status codes they received. It is the only record of what crawlers actually did, rather than what they were invited to do.
Why Log File Analysis matters for SEO
Every other crawl signal is inference. Logs show whether Googlebot is spending its time on your money pages or on parameter URLs, which is the difference between a crawl budget theory and a crawl budget fact.
Pro tip on Log File Analysis
Filter logs to verified search engine user agents, then compare crawl frequency against page value. Look for high crawl rates on low-value URL patterns, important pages crawled rarely, and status codes crawlers receive that visitors do not.
Related terms
Learn more
Log analysis is an enterprise-scale technique. CrawlRaven covers the crawl-side view for sites below that scale, joined to your Search Console data.
Try CrawlRaven Free