Page-View Recording with Click-Thru Tracking

• US 20060136586A1
• Filed: 02/28/2006
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Fakes, Thomas F., Johnson, Jeffrey V.
• Granted Patent: US 7,536,459 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99955 Archiving or backup

Abstract

Page-view recording with click-thru tracking is described. In an embodiment, a tracking system receives a request for content that includes request-tracking information. The request-tracking information designates that the tracking system receive the content request before the request is communicated to a content provider. The request for content is communicated to the content provider that provides the content. The content includes content-tracking information that the tracking system receives from a requesting device when the content is provided to the requesting device. The tracking system maintains the request-tracking and the content-tracking information, and associates the request-tracking and the content-tracking information with the destination device.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a content provider configured to provide data that includes tracking information to a destination device that initiates a request for the data;

a tracking device configured to;

route the request for the data from the destination device to the content provider without delaying the request to record the tracking information;

receive the tracking information from the destination device when the destination device receives the data from the content provider; and

maintain the tracking information which is associated with the destination device.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the content provider includes the tracking device.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking device is further configured to associate the tracking information with a user of the destination device.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking information includes a designation of the tracking device such that the tracking information can be routed to the tracking device from the destination device based upon the designation.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking information identifies the content provider as a provider of the data.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking information includes a destination device identifier when the data is provided to the destination device.

7. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking information identifies the data.

8. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking information is a uniform resource locator.

9. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the tracking information is included as part of a uniform resource locator that designates the second device, identifies the first device as a provider of the data, identifies the destination device, and identifies the data.

10. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the tracking device is further configured to receive a request for additional data from the destination device, the request including request-tracking information, the tracking device further configured to maintain the request-tracking information which is associated with the destination device; and

the content provider is further configured to receive the request for the additional data when routed from the tracking device, and provide the additional data to the destination device.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving a request for content from a requesting device, the request for the content including request-tracking information relating to the request for the content;

routing the request for the content to a content provider that then provides the content to the requesting device, the content including content-tracking information relating to providing the content;

receiving the content-tracking information from the destination device when the destination device receives the content from the content provider; and

storing the request-tracking information and the content-tracking information.

12. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising associating the request-tracking information and the content-tracking information with the destination device.

13. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising associating the request-tracking information and the content-tracking information with a user of the destination device.

14. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein the content-tracking information is received after the content has been rendered at the destination device.

15. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising storing a content provider identifier that identifies the content provider, a destination device identifier that identifies the destination device, and a content identifier that identifies the content.

16. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising storing a content provider identifier that identifies the content provider, a destination device identifier that identifies the destination device, a content identifier that identifies the content, and a user identifier that identifies a user of the destination device.

17. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising determining from the request-tracking information, a selectable connection identifier that identifies a selectable connection and a rendered content identifier that identifies rendered content, wherein the request for content is generated from the selectable connection within the rendered content at the destination device.

18. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising determining from the request-tracking information, a selectable connection identifier that identifies a selectable connection, a rendered content identifier that identifies rendered content, and a location identifier that identifies a location, wherein the request for content is generated from the selectable connection at the identified location within the rendered content at the destination device.

19. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising determining from the request-tracking information, a data link identifier that identifies a data link, a Web page identifier that identifies a Web page, and a location identifier that identifies a location, wherein the request for content is generated from the data link at the identified location within the Web page at the destination device.

20. A method as recited in claim 11, further comprising determining from the request-tracking information, a selectable connection identifier that identifies a selectable connection, an application component identifier that identifies an application component, and a location identifier that identifies a location, wherein the request for the content is generated from the selectable connection at the identified location within a user interface for the application component at the destination device.