Internet website traffic flow analysis using timestamp data

• US 6,766,370 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2002
• Issued: 07/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Websidestory Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Barrelet, Blaise, Glommen, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US10/072,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20020147772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 709/224, 709/238, 709/203, 709/242
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3495 for systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/875 Monitoring of systems including the internet
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An Internet-based analysis tool follows, in real-time, the flow of traffic through a website. For every website page requested by a website visitor, the state of the visitor'"'"'s browser is recorded and data relating to the path visitors take through the website is collected and studied. The state of the visitor'"'"'s browser path is maintained in a traffic analysis cookie that is passed between a website file server and the visitor browser with every page requested for viewing. The cookie is maintained in a size that can be passed from server to browser and back again without negatively impacting server performance and without negatively impacting browser performance. The data in the cookie can follow the visitor browser through independent file servers, regardless of how the pages of a website might be distributed in storage.

Claims

1. A method of processing a computer file request to retrieve a network data file comprising a website page, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a network browser for a page at a website, the page having at least one graphical element having an image source attribute that specifies a website traffic path analysis data location;

detecting if the website page request includes a website cookie having website traffic path analysis data from the network browser for the current website;

producing a website cookie in response to detecting the absence of a website cookie, wherein the website cookie contains an initial set of traffic path analysis data for the current website;

determining if the cookie for the current website has expired, if a website cookie for the current website was detected;

setting the traffic path analysis data of the website cookie to initial values if the website cookie has expired, and otherwise updating traffic path analysis data for a current website visit by the network browser by adding the current requested website page to the traffic path analysis data and thereby showing the complete path of website pages requested during the current website visit, and

providing the network browser with image source data for the graphical element of the requested page and also with the website cookie containing the website traffic path analysis data, wherein,

the traffic path analysis data includes timestamp data that shows a clock time for the previously requested page in the sequence, the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence of pages by the network browser and the time duration of the current sequence of requested pages by the network browser.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the traffic path analysis data indicates a new web site visit has occurred if the timestamp for the previous cookie has a value greater than a predetermined expiration.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the total time spent on each unique page is determined using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence by the network browser.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the time duration of the current sequence of requested pages by the network browser during the web site visit is determined by using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time of the current sequence.

5. A method of processing a sequence of computer file requests from a network browser to retrieve network data files comprising hypertext mark-up language (html) documents, the method comprising:

requesting html documents that have at least one graphical element with an image source attribute that specifies a traffic path analysis data location;

detecting if each request includes a website cookie having traffic path analysis data from the network browser for the current website;

in response to detecting the absence of a website cookie, producing a website cookie and defining a new sequence of html documents to be requested and tracked beginning with an initial set of traffic path analysis data;

determining if the cookie has expired, if a website cookie was detected;

setting the traffic path analysis data of the website cookie to initial values if the website cookie has expired and defining a new sequence of html documents to be requested and tracked beginning with an initial set of traffic path analysis data, and otherwise updating traffic path analysis data for a current requested sequence of html documents by adding an identifier for the current requested document to the traffic path analysis data, thereby showing the complete path of html documents requested, and

providing the network browser with image source data for the graphical element of the requested html document and also with the website cookie containing the traffic path analysis data, wherein,

the traffic path analysis data includes timestamp data that shows a clock time for the previously requested html document in the sequence, the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence of html documents by the network browser and the time duration of the current sequence of requested documents by the network browser.

6. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein the traffic path analysis data indicates a new web site visit has occurred if the timestamp for the previous cookie has a value greater than a predetermined expiration.

7. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein the total time spent on each unique html document is determined using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence by the network browser.

8. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein the time duration of the current sequence of requested documents by the network browser during the web site visit is determined by using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time of the current sequence.

9. A computer server system for tracking data requests for retrieval of network computer files comprising website pages, the server system comprising:

a central processing unit that can establish communication with the network; and

program memory that stores programming instructions that are executed by the central processing unit such that the server system establishes communication with the network and communicates with a network browser, such that the server system receives a request from the network browser for a page at a network website, the page having at least one graphical element having an image source attribute that specifies a website traffic path analysis data location, detects if the website page request includes a website cookie having website traffic path analysis data from the network browser for the current website, produces a website cookie in response to detecting the absence of a website cookie, wherein the website cookie contains an initial set of traffic path analysis data for the current website, determines if the cookie for the current website has expired, if a website cookie for the current website was detected, sets the traffic path analysis data of the website cookie to initial values if the website cookie has expired, and otherwise updating traffic path analysis data for a current website visit by the network browser by adding the current requested website page to the traffic path analysis data and thereby showing the complete path of website pages requested during the current website visit, and provides the network browser with image source data for the graphical element of the requested page and also with the website cookie containing the website traffic path analysis data, wherein,

the traffic path analysis data includes timestamp data that shows a clock time for the previously requested page in the sequence, the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence of pages by the network browser and the time duration of the current sequence of requested pages by the network browser.

10. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein the traffic path analysis data indicates a new web site visit has occurred if the timestamp for the previous cookie has a value greater than a predetermined expiration.

11. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein the total time spent on each unique page is determined using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence by the network browser.

12. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein the time duration of the current sequence of requested pages by the network browser during the web site visit is determined by using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time of the current sequence.

13. The method as defined in claim 9, wherein the web pages comprise hypertext mark-up language (html) documents.

14. A program product for use in a computer system that executes program steps recorded in a computer-readable media to perform a method for processing a computer file request to retrieve a network data file comprising a website page, the program product comprising:

a recordable media; and

a program of computer-readable instructions executable by the computer system to perform method steps comprising

receiving a request from a network browser for a page at a website, the page having at least one graphical element having an image source attribute that specifies a website traffic path analysis data location;

detecting if the website page request includes a website cookie having website traffic path analysis data from the network browser for the current website;

producing a website cookie in response to detecting the absence of a website cookie, wherein the website cookie contains an initial set of traffic path analysis data for the current website;

determining if the cookie for the current website has expired, if a website cookie for the current website was detected;

setting the traffic path analysis data of the website cookie to initial values if the website cookie has expired, and otherwise updating traffic path analysis data for a current website visit by the network browser by adding the current requested website page to the traffic path analysis data and thereby showing the complete path of website pages requested during the current website visit, and

providing the network browser with image source data for the graphical element of the requested page and also with the website cookie containing the website traffic path analysis data, wherein,

the traffic path analysis data includes timestamp data that shows a clock time for the previously requested page in the sequence, the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence of pages by the network browser and the time duration of the current sequence of requested documents by the network browser.

15. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the traffic path analysis data indicates a new web site visit has occurred if the timestamp for the previous cookie has a value greater than a predetermined expiration.

16. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the total time spent on each unique page is determined using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time between visits to the current sequence by the network browser.

17. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the time duration of the current sequence of requested pages by the network browser during the web site visit is determined by using the traffic path analysis data reflecting the elapsed time of current sequence.

18. The method as defined in claim 14, wherein the web pages comprise hypertext mark-up language (html) documents.