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Recommended log file analysis software for OS X?
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Due to some questions over direct traffic and Googlebot behavior, I want to do some log file analysis. The catch is this is a Mac shop, so all our systems are on OS X. I have Windows 8 running in an emulator, but for the sake of simplicity I'd rather run all my software in OS X.
This post by Tim Resnik recommended Web Log Explorer, but it's for Windows only. I did discover Sawmill, which claims to run on any platform.
Any other suggestions? Bear in mind our site is load balanced over three servers, so please take that into consideration.
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Hello! I just came across your question. Here is a recent Moz post of mine on how to use log files for technical SEO -- the example screenshots are from the SEO dashboard in Logz.io. Feel free to sign-up at our site and test our public beta to see if it works for you.

Disclosure: Yes, I work for the company.
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Hiya ufmedia,
Funny you bring this up, I just spent a few hours pulling my hair out trying to get a log parser to work on my Mac. Ultimately, I went back to my PC and ran Web Log Explorer. I have heard good things about Splunk, but seems too robust for SEO purposes alone. Their free version allows for 500/MB per day. If you are under that, It might be worth giving it a go. Sawmill looks like it could do the trick, but may require a decent amount of setup. Thanks for the tip! I will check it out.
Thanks!
Tim
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