Internet website traffic flow analysis

• US 7,676,574 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2008
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Barrelet, Blaise, Glommen, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung; Zarni
• Application Number:
  US12/330,364
• Publication Number:
  US 20090083421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 709223-224, 709/203, 709/242, 709/230, 709/250
• 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 computer implemented method for tracking user traffic at a website that comprises a plurality of web pages, wherein each web page comprises one or more files stored at one or more website file servers, comprising:

identifying a first web page in the website as a home page;

embedding a first traffic analysis code in the identified home page, wherein the first traffic analysis code is configured to extract browser parameters from a web browser that has requested the identified home page;

identifying a plurality of second web pages in the website as tracking enabled pages, wherein the tracking enabled pages do not include the identified home page; and

embedding a second traffic analysis code into each of the plurality of tracking enabled pages of said website, wherein the second traffic analysis code is configured to extract information necessary for performing website traffic analysis.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified home page is one of the most heavily visited pages of the website.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified home page is an index page.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to extract information necessary for performing website traffic analysis.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to determine one or more plug-ins associated with the browser.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to determine the Javascript version number that is supported by the browser.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to determine whether the browser supports Java applets.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to determine the screen width and screen height of the computer at which the browser is running.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to determine the name of the browser.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to determine the version of the browser.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second traffic analysis code does not extract browser parameters from a web browser.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second traffic analysis codes cause a requesting browser to transfer data to a traffic analysis server when a web page including the respective first or second traffic analysis code is viewed by the requesting browser.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second traffic analysis code is further configured to enable tracking the flow of a website visitor from page to page of the website.

14. A computer readable storage medium, comprising:

a website that comprises a plurality of web pages, wherein each web page comprises one or more files stored at one or more website file servers;

a first traffic analysis code embedded in a first web page of said website, said first web page identified as a home page, wherein the first traffic analysis code is configured to extract browser parameters from a web browser that has requested the home page;

a second traffic analysis code embedded into a plurality of second web pages of said website, each of said plurality of second web pages identified as a tracking enabled page, wherein the second traffic analysis code is configured to extract from a web browser that has requested the tracking enabled page information necessary for performing website traffic analysis.

15. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon one or more sequences of instructions for causing one or more microprocessors to perform the steps for tracking user traffic at a website that comprises a plurality of web pages, wherein each web page comprises one or more files stored at one or more website file servers, the steps comprising:

identifying a first web page in the website as a home page;

embedding a first traffic analysis code in the identified home page, wherein the first traffic analysis code is configured to extract browser parameters from a web browser that has requested the identified home page;

identifying a plurality of second web pages in the website as tracking enabled pages, wherein the tracking enabled pages do not include the identified home page; and

embedding a second traffic analysis code into each of the plurality of tracking enabled pages of said website, wherein the second traffic analysis code is configured to extract information necessary for performing website traffic analysis.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first traffic analysis code is further configured to extract information necessary for performing website traffic analysis.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first and second traffic analysis codes cause a requesting browser to transfer data to a traffic analysis server when a web page including the respective first or second traffic analysis code is viewed by the requesting browser.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the second traffic analysis code does not extract browser parameters from a web browser.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the second traffic analysis code is further configured to enable tracking the flow of a website visitor from page to page of the website.