MOBILE DEVICE WEBSITE VISITOR METRIC SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20100159872A1
• Filed: 12/19/2008
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NBC Universal Media LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NBC Universal Incorporated (GE Aerospace)
• Inventors: Gholkar, Rohun Vijay, Johannessen, Christopher, Casenave, Blandon Cephas
• Application Number:
  US12/340,178
• Publication Number:
  US 20100159872A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/405
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• 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: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support

Abstract

Visits to a website or the like by mobile devices may be logged and counted based upon a subscriber ID or a session ID. If content is accessed via a carrier site, and a subscriber ID is available for the mobile device, the subscriber ID is used to record and count the visit. If the subscriber ID is not available, the session ID is used to record and count the visit. The session ID is attributed to a session that is initiated when content is accessed by the mobile device from the site. The session continues until the mobile device leaves the site. A cookie may also be set with the mobile device, if possible, and used in lieu of the subscriber and session IDs. More accurate measurements of site visits and visitors via mobile devices are afforded.

Claims

1. A method for measuring digital content access comprising:

augmenting a count based upon subscriber identification data when the digital content is transmitted to a mobile device and the subscriber identification data is available; and

augmenting the count based upon session identification data when the digital content is transmitted to the mobile device and the subscriber identification data is not available.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising setting a cookie with the mobile device and augmenting the count based on the cookie in lieu of either the subscriber identification data, the session identification data or both.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising initiating a session corresponding to the session identification data when the mobile device accesses the digital content.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising transmitting the digital content to the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital data includes a video file, an audio file, or a multi-media file.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising storing and reporting the count to the content provider.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital content includes advertising data.

4. The method of claim 4, comprising initiating a session identification only when the mobile device accesses the digital content from a content site other than a site for a subscription service provider for the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the session is initiated when the mobile device accesses a particular site.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the session is terminated when the mobile device leaves the particular site.

11. A method for measuring digital content access comprising:

augmenting a count based upon a cookie set with a mobile device when the digital data is transmitted to the mobile device and the cookie can be handled by the mobile device;

augmenting the count based upon subscriber identification data when the digital content is transmitted to a mobile device and the subscriber identification data is available but the cookie cannot be handled by the mobile device; and

augmenting the count based upon session identification data when the digital content is transmitted to the mobile device and the cookie cannot be handled by the mobile device and the subscriber identification data is not available.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the session is initiated when the mobile device accesses a particular site.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the session is terminated when the mobile device leaves the particular site.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the digital content includes a video file, an audio file, or a multi-media file.

17. The method of claim 11, comprising storing and reporting the count to the content provider.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the digital content includes advertising data.

12. A method for measuring digital content access comprising:

transmitting digital content to a mobile device from one of a carrier and a non-carrier;

initiating a session and attributing session identification data to the session when the digital content is provided by the non-carrier;

augmenting a count based upon subscriber identification data when the subscriber identification data is available; and

augmenting the count based upon the session identification data when subscriber identification data is not available.

13. The method of claim 12, comprising setting a cookie with the mobile device and augmenting the count based on the cookie in lieu of either the subscriber identification data, the session identification data or both.

19. A system for measuring digital content access comprising:

a server for transmitting digital content to a mobile device from one of a carrier and a non-carrier;

session identification data attributed to a session when the digital content is provided by the non-carrier;

a count that is augmented based upon subscriber identification data when the subscriber identification data is available, and that is augmented based upon the session identification data when subscriber identification data is not available.

20. The system of claim 19, comprising a carrier server configured to transmit the digital content from the carrier, and a non-carrier server configured to transmit the digital content from the non-carrier.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the session identification data is attributed to the session upon access to the digital content by the mobile device.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the count is maintained by a third party apart from the carrier and the non-carrier.

24. The system of claim 19, comprising a count record including data representative of a number of visits to a site, content accessed, and advertisements viewed.