Finseo

GoDaddy Server Log Access

How to access server logs from GoDaddy hosting for AI bot analytics and visibility tracking.

About GoDaddy

GoDaddy is one of the world's largest domain registrars and web hosting companies. They offer various hosting solutions including shared hosting with cPanel, Managed WordPress hosting, and VPS options. Access to server logs varies significantly based on your hosting plan.

Multiple Hosting Types
cPanel/Plesk
Managed WordPress

Overview

GoDaddy offers different hosting products with varying levels of server log access:

Shared Hosting (cPanel)

Full access to raw logs through cPanel interface and FTP

Managed WordPress

Limited access - logs available through File Manager or SFTP only

Method 1: cPanel (Shared Hosting)

If you have GoDaddy's Linux Hosting with cPanel, accessing logs is straightforward:

1

Access Your GoDaddy Account

Sign in to your GoDaddy account at godaddy.com and navigate to your products.

2

Open cPanel

In your hosting dashboard, click "Manage" next to your hosting plan, then click "cPanel Admin".

3

Navigate to Raw Access

In cPanel, look for the "Metrics" section and click on "Raw Access" or "Raw Access Logs".

4

Download Your Logs

Click on your domain name to download the compressed log file. The file will be in .gz format.

Log files contain:

  • • Visitor IP addresses
  • • User-Agent strings (for bot identification)
  • • Access timestamps
  • • Requested URLs
  • • HTTP status codes
5

Extract and Upload

Extract the .gz file on your computer to get the .log file, then upload to Bot Analytics.

Upload to Bot Analytics

Method 2: Managed WordPress Hosting

GoDaddy's Managed WordPress hosting has limited log access. Here's what's available:

Option 1: File Manager

  1. Go to your GoDaddy products page
  2. Click "Manage All" next to Managed WordPress
  3. Select "Settings" for your website
  4. Under "Tools", click "File Browser"
  5. Look for log files in the root directory or contact support for location

Option 2: SFTP Access

  1. In your site settings, find "SSH/SFTP login"
  2. Click "Change" to create new credentials
  3. Use FileZilla with the provided hostname, username, and password
  4. Connect on port 22 (SFTP)
  5. Navigate to find log files (location varies)

Option 3: Contact Support

If you can't find logs via the above methods, contact GoDaddy support and request your raw access logs. They can provide them or guide you to the correct location.

Method 3: FTP/SFTP (All Plans)

For any GoDaddy hosting plan with FTP access:

FTP Setup

  1. Access your hosting control panel
  2. Look for "FTP Accounts" or "FTP Users"
  3. Create or note existing FTP credentials
  4. Connect using FileZilla or similar FTP client

Common log locations:

  • /logs/
  • /var/log/
  • /home/username/logs/
  • /statistics/logs/

VPS & Dedicated Servers

Full root access on VPS and dedicated servers allows complete log access:

SSH Access

# Connect via SSH
ssh root@your-server-ip

# Navigate to Apache logs
cd /var/log/apache2/
# or for Nginx
cd /var/log/nginx/

# View recent entries
tail -n 1000 access.log

# Compress for download
tar -czf logs.tar.gz *.log

# Download via SCP
scp root@server-ip:/var/log/apache2/logs.tar.gz .

GoDaddy-Specific Limitations

Managed WordPress Restrictions

Raw server logs are not readily available in the dashboard. You must use SFTP or contact support, which can slow down your analytics workflow.

Log Rotation

GoDaddy rotates logs frequently. Download them regularly to maintain historical data for bot traffic analysis.

Shared Hosting Performance

On busy shared servers, log files can be very large. Consider downloading during off-peak hours or using FTP resume features.

Security Features

GoDaddy's firewall may block some bot traffic. Ensure legitimate AI crawlers like GPTBot and ChatGPT-User are whitelisted in your security settings.

Best Practices for GoDaddy

Choose the Right Plan: If bot analytics is important, consider cPanel hosting or VPS for easier log access.

Enable Logging: Some plans require you to enable raw access logs. Check your hosting settings or contact support.

Regular Downloads: Set up a weekly schedule to download logs before they're rotated or deleted.

Monitor File Sizes: GoDaddy may limit file download sizes. Split large logs or use command-line tools for better performance.

Next Steps

After downloading your GoDaddy server logs:

  • Upload logs to Finseo Bot Analytics for AI crawler analysis
  • Identify which pages receive the most AI bot traffic
  • Optimize your content for better AI visibility
  • Consider upgrading your hosting plan if you need better log access
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