Web-site performance analysis system and method of providing a web-site performance analysis service

• US 20060036400A1
• Filed: 09/08/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sara Swanson, Stephane Kasriel, Walter Mann
• Original Assignee: Sara Swanson, Stephane Kasriel, Walter Mann
• Inventors: Kasriel, Stephane, Mann, Walter, Swanson, Sara
• Granted Patent: US 7,647,323 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method of providing a web-site performance analysis service is disclosed that gathers data relative to visits to web-pages that are associated with a web-site. Traversals are identified that correspond to each visit to the web-pages. Each identified traversal has an identification of either an incoming link from which each visit originated or an outgoing link to which each visit terminated. A time duration is measured that corresponds to each visit. A chart of a statistical distribution of pages-per-visit of the identified traversals is formed. The identified traversals and time duration corresponding to each visit is stored in a memory. The stored data from the memory is transferred to a database. Performance measures are produced that correspond to each visit to the web-pages based on the stored data in the database. A web-site performance analysis system that implements this method also is disclosed.

Claims

1. A web-site performance analysis system comprising:

a memory configured to contain data relative to visits to web-pages that are associated with a web-site, the data including;

an identification of traversals corresponding to each visit to the web-pages, the identification of traversals having one of (i) an identification of an incoming link from which each visit originated and (ii) an identification of an outgoing link to which each visit terminated;

a time duration measure corresponding to each visit; and

a chart of a statistical distribution of pages-per-visit of the identified traversals;

a database configured to provide efficient long-term storage of the data; and

a performance analysis modifier block, operably coupled to the database and memory, that is configured to periodically;

(i) modify the data in the memory based on the traversals and time duration measures corresponding to the visits, (ii) transfer the data from the memory to the database, and (iii) produce performance measures corresponding to each visit to the web-pages based on the data in the database.

2. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the memory comprises a plurality of registers arranged and configured to operate in a sequential order such that the data is ordered in the plurality of registers that correspond to sequentially successive time units.

3. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the memory comprises a plurality of parameter arrays, each parameter array corresponding to each web-page of the web-pages.

4. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance measures produced by the performance analysis modifier block include at least one of:

(i) a measure of download duration, corresponding to times required to download each web-page of the web-pages, and (ii) a measure of dwell duration, corresponding to time durations of each visit.

5. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 4 wherein the performance analysis modifier block is further configured to obtain a connection speed associated with each visit and the measure of the download duration is further based on the connection speed of the associated visit.

6. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 4 wherein the measure of the download duration includes a plurality of time durations associated with tasks required to effect the download of each web-page.

7. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance analysis modifier block is configured to provide the performance measures relative to at least one of:

(i) a parameter relative to the web-site, and (ii) a parameter relative to each web-page of the web-pages.

8. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance analysis modifier block is configured to provide the performance measures via a graphic display of each performance measure corresponding to each web-page.

9. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance measures include at least one of:

(i) a measure of entry rate to the web-site via each web-page of the web-pages based on the identification of the incoming link of a web-page that is external to the web-site from which each visit originated, and (ii) a measure of exit-rate from the web-site via each web-page of the web-pages based on the identification of the outgoing link of a web-page that is external to the web-site to which each visit terminated.

10. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance measures include a measure of backtracks from each web page based on the outgoing link being substantially identical to the incoming link.

11. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance measures include a measure of popularity of each web page corresponding to a number of visits to each web page of the web-pages.

12. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance measures include at least one of:

(i) a measure of depth of each web page of the web-pages that corresponds to a number of visits to other web pages of the web-site during an access to the web-site that includes a visit to each web page, and (ii) a measure of depth-time of each web page of the web-pages that corresponds a time duration of visits to the other web pages of the web-site during an access to the web-site that includes a visit to each web page.

13. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 12 wherein the visits to the other web pages correspond to a sequence of visits to effect a checkout procedure.

14. The web-site performance analysis system of claim 1 wherein the performance analysis modifier block is further configured to produce performance measures corresponding to the web-site, including at least one of:

(i) numbers of web-pages visited during each access to the web-site, and (ii) time durations of each access to the web-site.

15. A method of providing a web-site performance analysis service that gathers data relative to visits to web-pages that are associated with a web-site, comprising steps of:

identifying traversals corresponding to each visit to the web-pages, each identified traversal having one of (i) an identification of an incoming link from which each visit originated and (ii) an identification of an outgoing link to which each visit terminated;

measuring a time duration corresponding to each visit;

forming a chart of a statistical distribution of pages-per-visit of the identified traversals;

storing the identified traversals and time duration corresponding to each visit in a database; and

producing performance measures corresponding to each visit to the web-pages based on the stored data in the database.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein:

the identifying traversals step comprises at least one of identifying;

(i) a first visit to a first page of the web-pages as corresponding to an initiation of access to the web-site, and (ii) a last visit to a last page of the web-pages as corresponding to a termination of the access to the web-site; and

the producing performance measures step comprises at least one of producing;

(i) a measure of an entry rate to the web-site via each web-page of the of web-pages based on the identified first visits, and (ii) a measure of an exit rate from the web-site via each web-page of the web-pages based on the identified last visits.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the producing performance measures step comprises producing a measure of backtracking via each web-page based on a correspondence between the incoming link and the outgoing link.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the producing performance measures step comprises producing a popularity measure of each web-page based on occurrences of visits to each web-page.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the producing performance measures step comprises producing statistics for each web-page based on the measured time duration corresponding to each visit.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the time duration corresponds to at least one of:

(i) a time duration to download the web-page at each visit, and (ii) a time duration of each visit to the web-page.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the time duration to download the web-page includes a plurality of time durations associated with tasks required to effect the download.

22. The method of claim 15 wherein the producing performance measures step comprises producing an accumulation of performance measures corresponding to several of the web-pages.

23. The method of claim 15 wherein the producing performance measures step comprises producing at least one of:

(i) a measure of depth of each web page of the web-pages that corresponds to a number of visits to other web pages of the web-site during an access to the web-site that includes a visit to each web page, and (ii) a measure of depth-time of each web page of the of web-pages that corresponds to a time duration of visits to the other web pages of the web-site during an access to the web-site that includes a visit to each web page.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the visits to the other web pages correspond to a sequence of visits to effect a checkout procedure.

25. The method of claim 15 wherein the producing performance measures step comprises producing a measure of at least one of:

(i) numbers of web-pages visited during each access to the web-site, and (ii) time durations of each access to the web-site.

26. The method of claim 15 wherein the storing step comprises utilizing a plurality of registers arranged and configured to operate in a sequential order, and the method further includes a step of reordering the plurality of registers when the data is transferred to the database, so that the data in the plurality of registers that correspond to sequentially successive time units.

27. The method of claim 15 wherein the memory comprises a plurality of parameter arrays, each parameter array corresponding to each web-page of the web-pages.

28. The method of claim 15 further comprising a step of providing a graphic display corresponding to the traversals among the web-pages.