Receiving and reporting page-specific user feedback concerning one or more particular web pages of a website

• US 7,478,121 B1
• Filed: 07/31/2002
• Issued: 01/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verint Americas Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: OpinionLab Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Nickerson, Rand B., Treschl, Mark A., Rudman, Jay S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harrell; Robert B
• Application Number:
  US10/210,609
• Time in Patent Office: 2,358 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/223, 709/203, 709/217, 709/225, 709/245, 714/124, 707/3, 707/6, 707/5, 707/10, 705/10, 705/51, 702/186, 702/188, 715/501.1
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A method for receiving page-specific user feedback concerning a web page of a website includes using an icon viewable on the page to solicit one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the page from a user that has accessed the page. The method includes using software associated with the icon to receive one or more page-specific comments from the user for reporting to a website owner. In one embodiment, the software requires the user to provide one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the page as a whole to provide one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the page. In another embodiment, the software obtains background data for reporting to a website owner along with the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the page. In another embodiment, each appearance of a specified word in the one or more open-ended comments concerning the page is identified and a report reflecting the identified appearances of the specified word is generated.

Claims

1. A system for receiving page-specific user feedback concerning a particular web page of a website, comprising:

a first icon viewable on the particular web page, the first icon soliciting one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole from a user that has accessed the particular web page;

a second icon viewable on the particular web page, the second icon soliciting one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page from the user; and

software associated with the first and second icons and operable to receive one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole and one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page from the user for reporting to a website owner, the software operable to require the user to provide one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole in order to provide one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page, association of the one or more required page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole with the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page making the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page more meaningful to and useable by the website owner.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more required page-specific subjective ratings each comprise one of:

a general page-specific subjective rating of the particular web page as a whole; and

a specific page-specific subjective rating of one or more particular aspects of the particular web page as a whole.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein a particular aspect of the particular web page as a whole comprises content, design, or usability.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a third icon viewable on the particular web page independent of input from the user subsequent to the user accessing the particular web page, the third icon soliciting page-specific feedback concerning the particular web page from the user independent of input from the user subsequent to the user accessing the particular web page, the third icon operable to receive user input indicating a desire to provide page-specific feedback concerning the particular web page, the user input causing the first and second icons to become viewable on the particular web page.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein a single icon comprises the first and second icons.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the software associated with the first and second icons is incorporated into software of the particular web page and the user need not download software separate from the particular web page to provide the one or more page-specific subjective ratings or the one or more page-specific open-ended comments.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the software associated with the first and second icons is incorporated into a web browser of the user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more required page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole allow the website owner to identify one or more particular web pages of the website for which one or more page-specific subjective ratings are notable relative to page-specific subjective ratings for other particular web pages of the website.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the software is operable to obtain background data concerning a computer system of the user for reporting to the website owner along with the one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole and the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page received from the user, the background data for the user facilitating resolution of one or more issues reflected in the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page received from the user.

10. A method for receiving page-specific user feedback concerning a particular web page of a website, comprising:

using a first icon viewable on the particular web page to solicit one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole from a user that has accessed the particular web page;

using a second icon viewable on the particular web page to solicit one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page from the user; and

using software associated with the first and second icons to receive one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole and one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page from the user for reporting to a website owner, the software operable to require the user to provide one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole in order to provide one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page, association of the one or more required page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole with the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page making the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page more meaningful to and useable by the website owner.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more required page-specific subjective ratings each comprise one of:

a general page-specific subjective rating of the particular web page as a whole; and

a specific page-specific subjective rating of one or more particular aspects of the particular web page as a whole.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a particular aspect of the particular web page as a whole comprises content, design, or usability.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising using a third icon viewable on the particular web page independent of input from the user subsequent to the user accessing the particular web page to solicit page-specific feedback concerning the particular web page from the user independent of input from the user subsequent to the user accessing the particular web page, the third icon operable to receive user input indicating a desire to provide page-specific feedback concerning the particular web page, the user input causing the first and second icons to become viewable on the particular web page.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein a single icon comprises the first and second icons.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the software associated with the first and second icons is incorporated into software of the particular web page and the user need not download software separate from the particular web page to provide the one or more page-specific subjective ratings or the one or more page-specific open-ended comments.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the software associated with the first and second icons is incorporated into a web browser of the user.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more required page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole allow the website owner to identify one or more particular web pages of the website for which one or more page-specific subjective ratings are notable relative to page-specific subjective ratings for other particular web pages of the website.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the software is operable to obtain background data concerning a computer system of the user for reporting to the website owner along with the one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole and the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page received from the user, the background data for the user facilitating resolution of one or more issues reflected in the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page received from the user.

19. A system for receiving page-specific user feedback concerning a particular web page of a website, comprising:

means for soliciting one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole from a user that has accessed the particular web page;

means for soliciting one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page from the user; and

means for receiving one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole and one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page from the user for reporting to a website owner, the user being required in order to provide one or more page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole to provide one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page, association of the one or more required page-specific subjective ratings concerning the particular web page as a whole with the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page making the one or more page-specific open-ended comments concerning the particular web page more meaningful to and useable by the website owner.