How to Check Website Traffic on HostGator: AWStats Audit

• Learn how to check website traffic on HostGator.
• Use the Customer Portal to view visitor counts and bandwidth data.
• Open AWStats in cPanel for complete monthly server logs.
• Audit publisher claims before paying for links.

You can check website traffic on HostGator using two tools. The Customer Portal displays high-level visitor charts. For deeper audits, cPanel includes AWStats. This guide shows site owners and link buyers how to read these server stats. Use these steps to check audience numbers.

Server logs show every request made to your site. Browser tools often miss visits when ad blockers run. In contrast, your web server records every page load directly. Checking server metrics helps you confirm real traffic trends with confidence. This is reliable.

Checking website traffic in the HostGator Customer Portal

The HostGator Customer Portal offers a simple visitor overview. You do not need to open cPanel to see basic traffic numbers. Follow these quick steps to find your data.

1. Log in to your HostGator Customer Portal account.
2. Find your domain name in the main dashboard.
3. Look for the Visitor Analytics panel on the overview screen.
4. Click on the Review Your Analytics button.
5. Select View Full Metrics and choose your domain from the menu.

The dashboard lets you check data from the last 24 hours or past 7 days. You will see three core metrics on this screen:

• Visitors: The total number of site visits. It includes new users and returning visitors.
• Page Views: The total count of pages loaded across all sessions.
• Bandwidth: The total volume of web data served by your host.

For other dashboard setups, read our guide on how to check website traffic on GoDaddy.

Accessing detailed server reports in cPanel AWStats

For complete logs, use AWStats inside HostGator cPanel. AWStats reads raw server files to show visitor locations, popular pages, and bot activity.

1. Log in to your HostGator cPanel account.
2. Go to the Metrics section and click AWStats.
3. Find your site in the domain list.
4. Click the View icon next to your domain name.
5. Click the Update now link at the top to refresh log numbers.

AWStats updates automatically every 24 hours. Accounts with over 100 domains cannot use AWStats due to server resource caps. If you need more panel comparisons, see our post on how to check website traffic on cPanel.

Key AWStats reports to audit on HostGator

AWStats divides your web server data into several useful tables. Focus on these main sections during an audit:

• Monthly History: This table shows unique visits, pages viewed, and bandwidth over the whole year.
• Days and Hours: These charts reveal hourly visit patterns and help spot sudden traffic spikes.
• Locales and Countries: This section lists visitor countries. Compare them using our guide on how to check website traffic by country.
• Robots and Spiders: Tracks crawlers and scrapers.
• HTTP Error Codes: Lists server errors.

Excluding internal IP addresses from HostGator AWStats

Your own visits can inflate traffic numbers on smaller websites. You can exclude your office IP from AWStats reports by editing one file.

1. Find your public IP address using an online check tool.
2. Open cPanel and click on File Manager.
3. Open the tmp directory and click the awstats folder.
4. Find the file named awstats.yourdomain.com.conf.
5. Right-click the config file and choose Edit.
6. Add your IP to the SkipHosts line, such as SkipHosts="203.0.113.195".
7. Click the Save Changes button.

HostGator server metrics vs Google Analytics 4

Publishers often share analytics numbers that do not match server logs. Knowing why they differ helps you judge traffic claims accurately.

AWStats counts all raw server hits. As a result, its visit totals are often higher than GA4 sessions. To learn more about alternative tracking setups, check our post on how to check website traffic without Google Analytics.

Vetting HostGator publisher sites before paying for links

Never buy backlinks based on screenshots alone. Use this four-step checklist to evaluate any publisher site hosted on HostGator.

1. Check traffic history: Request 12-month data. Confirm search growth over time.
2. Review reader locations: Make sure visitor regions match your target market. Read our guide on how to check organic traffic of a website.
3. Audit referring domains: Inspect backlink profiles using our workflow on how to check referring domains.
4. Filter out bot traffic: Check server logs to ensure visit numbers come from real people rather than web scrapers.