Method for cross-domain tracking of web site traffic
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for tracking activity on a web site comprising:
- storing a web site on a first server coupled to a network, said website belonging to a first-party domain;
using a second server at a second domain, different from the first-party domain, to place a third-party cookie on a visitor computer to track activity of the visitor computer on the first server;
loading a web page from the web site on the visitor computer;
executing computer code associated with the web page at the visitor computer;
sending a data request to the second server responsive to execution of the computer code;
generating identification code at the second server responsive to the data request and returning the identification code from the second server to the visitor computer; and
associating at the visitor computer the identification code with a first-party cookie, said first party cookie being associated with the first-party domain;
again loading a web page from the web site on the visitor computer;
storing information about the visit to the web site in the first-party cookie;
opening the first-party cookie at the visitor computer; and
sending the information about the web visit to the second server.
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Abstract
Web traffic reporting methods that rely upon third-party cookies suffer in accuracy when those tracking cookies are frequently refused by web users or deleted once they have been accepted. The invention described herein circumvents this problem by employing first-party cookies instead. This is accomplished by a client-side script that maintains the first-party cookie (as placed by the web site in question) and sends a site-maintained visitor ID to a tracking service for analysis. The effect is to improve the accuracy of traffic statistics that rely on that cookie.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for tracking activity on a web site comprising:
storing a web site on a first server coupled to a network, said website belonging to a first-party domain;
using a second server at a second domain, different from the first-party domain, to place a third-party cookie on a visitor computer to track activity of the visitor computer on the first server;
loading a web page from the web site on the visitor computer;
executing computer code associated with the web page at the visitor computer;
sending a data request to the second server responsive to execution of the computer code;
generating identification code at the second server responsive to the data request and returning the identification code from the second server to the visitor computer; and
associating at the visitor computer the identification code with a first-party cookie, said first party cookie being associated with the first-party domain;
again loading a web page from the web site on the visitor computer;
storing information about the visit to the web site in the first-party cookie;
opening the first-party cookie at the visitor computer; and
sending the information about the web visit to the second server.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for tracking a visitor computer across multiple domains on a network comprising:
- loading a web page from a first web site at a first domain on the visitor computer;
reading an identification code in a first-party cookie set by the first domain at the visitor computer;
sending a data request to a server coupled to the network;
sending the identification code with the data request;
creating a third-party cookie using the identification code;
placing the third-party cookie on the visitor computer;
loading a web page from a second web site at a second domain on the visitor computer;
sending the third party cookie to the server; and
storing visitor computer activity across both domains at the server. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
- loading a web page from a first web site at a first domain on the visitor computer;
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9. A method for tracking activity on a web site comprising:
- providing a script for embedding in downloadable content and configured to be downloaded by a visitor computer over a network from a first party, the script operable to;
obtain a unique ID;
assign the unique ID to a first party cookie associated with the downloadable content of the first party; and
transmit a communication over the network to a third party tracking server;
receiving the communication at the third-party tracking server and, responsive to receipt, causing a third party cookie having the unique ID to be set on the visitor computer; and
maintaining a record of visitor computer activity on the web page using the third party cookie. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
- providing a script for embedding in downloadable content and configured to be downloaded by a visitor computer over a network from a first party, the script operable to;
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14. A method for tracking activity on a network resource comprising:
- providing one or more scripts for embedding on a web page and configured to be downloaded by a visitor computer from the network resource, the scripts operable to;
transmitting a communication to a third party tracking server, receiving a response from the third-party tracking server along with an ID, storing the ID in a first party cookie associated with the network resource, and storing the ID in a third party cookie associated with the tracking server. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
- providing one or more scripts for embedding on a web page and configured to be downloaded by a visitor computer from the network resource, the scripts operable to;
Specification