Network real estate analysis

• US 7,660,869 B1
• Filed: 07/25/2002
• Issued: 02/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ip Ot Sub Ulc
• Original Assignee: Vignette Corporation (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Kitts, Brendan J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne; Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOLD, AVI M
• Application Number:
  US10/202,742
• Time in Patent Office: 2,756 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/228, 709/231, 715/513, 715/962, 715/736, 715/738, 715/772, 715/745, 715/811
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5083 wherein the managed service relates to web hosting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/962 Operator interface for marketing or sales

Abstract

A method can be used to analyze the “real-estate” performance of content items within a network site. The method can comprise determining the click distance to reach each content item and determining the performance of each content item. The method can also comprise calculating a predicted value for performance based on statistical relationship between location and performance observed in a population of content items. The method can comprise comparing the predicted and actual performance. If a content item has an actual performance greater than its predicted performance, then it may be promoted to a better location in the site and the converse for poorer performing content. Such an analysis may be performed using a graph or tabular data.

Claims

1. A data processing system readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to implement a method for analyzing performance of content items within a network site, the computer readable program code comprising:

an instruction for determining a first measure of how many clicks it takes, on average, for a user to reach a first content item residing at a first network address within the network site during a session at the network site;

an instruction for computing or accessing an actual number of a performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site;

an instruction for determining a predicted number for the performance statistic associated with the first content item, wherein the predicted number is determined utilizing the first measure;

an instruction for comparing the predicted number and the actual number for the performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site; and

an instruction for generating a real-estate performance value for the first content item.

2. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program code further comprises an instruction for recommending moving the first content item from the first network address to a different network address within the network site based on the real-estate performance value.

3. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the computer readable program code further comprises an instruction for moving the first content item from the first network address to a second network address within the network site.

4. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 3, wherein:

the second network address is a number of clicks further from or closer to a main network address of the network site than the first network address.

5. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the performance statistic comprises a number of requests for the first content item or a request rate for the first content item.

6. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the performance statistic comprises at least one of revenue, profit or demand.

7. A method of analyzing a performance of a first content item within a network site comprising:

at a computer configured to access network activity information stored by one or more servers;

determining a first measure of how many clicks it takes, on average, for a user to reach a first content item residing at a first network address within a network site during a session at the network site;

computing or accessing an actual number of a performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site;

determining a predicted number for the performance statistic associated with the first content item, wherein the predicted number is determined utilizing the first measure;

comparing the predicted number and the actual number for the performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site; and

generating a real-estate performance value for the first content item.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising moving the first content item to a different network address.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising moving the first content item from the first network address to a second network address within the network site.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein;

the second network address is a number of clicks further from or closer to a main network address of the network site than the first network address.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the performance statistic comprises a number of requests for the first content item or a request rate for the first content item.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the performance statistic comprises at least one of revenue, profit or demand.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising accessing a network activity log at a storage location and making the determination of the first measure based on the network activity log, wherein the computer is coupled to the storage location and performs the accessing of the network activity log.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the storage location is a database accessible by the computer over a network.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the network activity log is stored at the storage location by a server.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the computer comprises one of the one or more servers.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the computer further comprises a processer and a computer readable storage medium storing performance analysis instructions executable by the processor to determine the first measure, compute or access the actual number, determine the predicted number, compare the predicted number and the actual number and generate a real-estate performance value.

18. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

providing server code and performance analysis code;

executing the server code to store a network activity log at a storage location accessible by the computer; and

executing the performance analysis code at the computer to cause the computer to access the network activity log, determine the first measure, compute or access the actual number, determine the predicted number, compare the predicted number and the actual number and generate a real-estate performance value.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the server code is provided at a server remote from the computer.

20. A data processing system comprising:

a storage location storing network activity information;

a performance analysis computer coupled to the storage location comprising a processor and a computer readable storage medium storing instructions executable by the processor, the performance analysis computer configured to;

access the network activity information from the storage location;

determine a first measure of how many clicks it takes, on average, for a user to reach a first content item residing at a first network address within a network site during a session at the network site;

compute or access an actual number of a performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site; and

determine a predicted number for the performance statistic associated with the first content item, wherein the predicted number is determined utilizing the first measure;

compare the predicted number and the actual number for the performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site; and

generate a real-estate performance value for the first content item.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the storage location comprises a storage location remote from the performance analysis computer.

22. The system of claim 20, further comprising a server configured to store a network activity log at the storage location.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a client computer coupled to the server, wherein the server is configured to store information in the network activity log based on requests by the client computer.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the storage location comprises a database.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the second network address is a number of clicks further from or closer to a main network address of the network site than the first network address.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the performance analysis computer is further configured to recommend moving the first content item from the first network address to a second network address within the network site based on the real-estate performance value.

27. The system of claim 20, wherein the performance analysis computer comprises a server coupled to a client computer via a network, and wherein the server is configured to store information in the network activity log based on requests by the client computer.

28. A data processing system readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed by a computer to implement a method for analyzing performance of content items within a network site, the method comprising:

providing a network activity information accessing element, a first measure determining element, an actual number determining element, a predicted number determining element, a comparison element and a real estate performance value generating element;

accessing network activity information using the network activity information accessing element;

determining a first measure of how many clicks it takes, on average, for a user to reach a first content item residing at a first network address within the network site during a session at the network site, wherein the first measure determining element determines the first measure using information received from the network activity information accessing element;

computing or accessing an actual number of a performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site using the actual number determining element;

determining a predicted number for the performance statistic associated with the first content item, wherein the predicted number is determined by the predicted number determining element utilizing the first measure provided by the first measure determining element;

comparing the predicted number provided by the predicted number determining element and the actual number provided by the actual number determining element for the performance statistic for the first content item residing at the first network address within the network site, wherein the comparing is performed by the comparison element; and

generating a real-estate performance value for the first content item using the real estate performance value generating element.

29. The data processing system readable storage medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises transforming the network site by moving the first content item from the first network address to a second network address within the network site.