This simple and free PERL script (5Kb download) reads your Web search engine's log and produces a report listing your most popular search phrases in rank order. You will need to gain access to the log or a copy of it. Run this script with the log as your input, and the report will be your output. You may need to tweak the script a bit depending on the idosyncracies of your search engine's log format. A number of institutions have run this script as a low-overhead way to gain basic insight into search patterns. You might want to run the script periodically--say, once a month. With the help of your server administrator, you might be able to automate periodic running of this report.

We're also looking for versions of this script in other languages, such as Python, Ruby, and Visual Basic. If you'd like to code this script in another language and share it, we'll be more than happy to host it here and fully attribute your great work.