Associating Website Clicks With Links On A Web Page

• US 20090006995A1
• Filed: 09/10/2008
• Published: 01/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Omniture Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Zinn, Richard, Error, Christopher Reid, Error, Brett M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,196,048 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

Objects on a web page are associated with stored records indicating historical object usage. Associations between objects and records take into account discrepancies in object identifiers resulting from authorial edits and/or differences in browser assignment of object identifiers. An object having an object identifier that differs from that of a stored record by not more than a predetermined tolerance value, and that has other indicia that match the stored record, is considered to match the stored record. Reports are generated quantifying web page object usage, for example by superimposing color shadings or other visual indicia on a representation of a web page.

Claims

1. A method of identifying which of a plurality of user-activatable objects on a web page has been activated by a user, comprising:

receiving a communication indicating user activation of an object in a plurality of objects on a web page, the communication comprising an object identifier and additional identifying indicia for the object;

comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia; and

responsive to the object identifier of the user-activated object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report including statistics for user-activated objects.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report including a representation of the web page, and for superimposing visual indicators quantifying user activations for objects on the web page.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the visual indicators are color-coded.

7. A method of identifying a user-activatable object among a plurality of user-activatable objects, the object having an object identifier and additional identifying indicia, comprising:

comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object with records comprising object idenifiers and additional idenifying indicia;

responsive to the object identifier of the user-activatable object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object;

indicating a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record;

indicating a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type.

10. A method for displaying a report depicting web page object usage, comprising:

generating a representation of a user view of a web page including user-activatable web page objects, each web page object being capable of responding to user activation within the user view and of causing an action to be performed in response to such user activation; and

superimposing on the representation of the user view of the web page, visual indicators quantifying user activations of the objects, each visual indicator indicating at least one of;

a number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the visual indicator; and

a range indicating a minimum and maximum number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the visual indicator.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a first visual indicator is a first color, and a second visual indicator is a second color different from the first color, and wherein each color represents a range indicating a minimum and maximum number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the corresponding visual indicator.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the web page includes a first user-activatable web page object for performing an action and a second user-activatable web page object for performing the same action, and wherein superimposing visual indicators quantifying use activations comprises:

superimposing a first visual indicator on the first user-activatable web page object to quantify user activations of the first user-activatable web page object; and

superimposing a second visual indicator on the second user-activatable web page object to quantify user activations of the second user-activatable web page object.

13. A computer program product for identifying which of a plurality of user-activatable objects on a web page has been activated by a user, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

receiving a communication indicating user activation of an object in a plurality of objects on a web page, the communication comprising an object identifier and additional identifying indicia for the object;

comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia; and

responsive to the object identifier of the user-activated object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

14. A computer program product for displaying a report depicting web page object usage, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

generating a representation of a user view of a web page including user-activatable web page objects, each web page object being capable of responding to user activation within the user view and of causing an action to be performed in response to such user activation; and

superimposing on the representation of the user view of the web page, visual indicators quantifying user activations of the objects, each visual indicator indicating at least one of;

a number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the visual indicator; and

a range indicating a minimum and maximum number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the visual indicator.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein a first visual indicator is a first color, and a second visual indicator is a second color different from the first color, and wherein each color represents a range indicating a minimum and maximum number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the corresponding visual indicator.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the web page includes a first user-activatable web page object for performing an action and a second user-activatable web page object for performing the same action, and wherein the computer program code for superimposing visual indicators quantifying use activations comprises:

computer program code for superimposing a first visual indicator on the first user-activatable web page object to quantify user activations of the first user-activatable web page object; and

computer program code for superimposing a second visual indicator on the second user-activatable web page object to quantify user activations of the second user-activatable web page object.

17. A system for identifying which of a plurality of user-activatable objects on a web page has been activated by a user, comprising:

a communication device, for receiving a communication indicating user activation of an object in a plurality of objects on a web page, the communication comprising an object identifier and additional identifying indicia for the object;

an object comparator, coupled to the communication device, for comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia; and

a match indicator, coupled to the object comparator, for, responsive to the object identifier of the user-activated object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

18. A system for displaying a report depicting web page object usage, comprising:

a report generator, for generating a representation of a user view of a web page including user-activatable web page objects, each web page object being capable of responding to user activation within the user view and of causing an action to be performed in response to such user activation; and

an object highlighter, for superimposing on the representation of the user view of the web page, visual indicators quantifying user activations of the objects, each visual indicator indicating at least one of;

a number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the visual indicator; and

a range indicating a minimum and maximum number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the visual indicator.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein a first visual indicator is a first color, and a second visual indicator is a second color different from the first color, and wherein each color represents a range indicating a minimum and maximum number of times that a set of users activated a web page object superimposed by the corresponding visual indicator.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the web page includes a first user-activatable web page object for performing an action and a second user-activatable web page object for performing the same action, and wherein the object highlighter:

superimposes a first visual indicator on the first user-activatable web page object to quantify user activations of the first user-activatable web page object; and

superimposes a second visual indicator on the second user-activatable web page object to quantify user activations of the second user-activatable web page object.