Server side disambiguation of ambiguous statistics

• US 8,255,523 B1
• Filed: 04/24/2009
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.), Ceramatec, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Nandy, Sagnik, Tulsi, Japjit, Nikolic, Ognjen, Liebert, Elizabeth L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Swearingen, Jeffrey R
• Application Number:
  US12/429,834
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/142 Managing session states for stateless protocols; Signalling session states; State transitions; Keeping-state mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Tracking data communications are received for single properties that include ambiguous event statistics. The event statistics are disambiguated by an analytics processing system by identifying account and visitor identifier pairs from account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications. For each account and visitor identifier pair, ambiguous event statistics are ordered by the corresponding event times and disambiguated.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving at an analytics data processing apparatus tracking data communications for a single property, the single property including a plurality of sub-properties, each sub-property being associated with a respective account identifier identifying a tracking account, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to a sub-property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more coupled event statistics, the coupled event statistics being event statistics for at least two of the sub-properties coupled at a single property level that corresponds to the single property;

identifying at the analytics data processing apparatus account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering at the analytics data processing apparatus the coupled event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

deriving decoupled event statistics from the coupled event statistics ordered by the event times, the decoupled event statistics including statistics for only the sub-property associated with the account identifier; and

identifying a plurality of sessions from the decoupled event statistics, each session being an association of decoupled event statistics that meet a session criterion; and

wherein the coupled event statistics include referrer data specifying a referrer in the tracking data communication, and wherein deriving decoupled event statistics comprises propagating referrer data specifying a first referrer in a first tracking data communication for a first visitor identifier and a first account identifier to a subsequent second tracking data communication for the first visitor identifier and the first account identifier associated with a first session; and

wherein propagating the referrer data comprises propagating the referrer data only in response to determining that the subsequent second tracking data includes referrer data specifying a direct referral to the sub-property associated with the first account identifier.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein deriving decoupled event statistics further comprises:

decoupling referrer data specifying a first referrer in a first tracking data communication for a first visitor identifier and a first account identifier from a subsequent second tracking data communication for the first visitor identifier and a second account identifier having referrer data specifying the first referrer.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the single property is defined by a web site, and wherein each sub-property is defined by a corresponding web page hosted on the web site.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the single property is defined by a web page, and wherein each sub-property is defined by corresponding gadgets embedded in the web page.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the single property is defined by a cookie space, the cookie space defined by all resources that cause a browser to store a cookie that is common to each of the resources.

6. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving at an analytics data processing apparatus tracking data communications for a single property, the single property including a plurality of sub-properties, each sub-property being associated with a respective account identifier identifying a tracking account, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to a sub-property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more coupled event statistics, the coupled event statistics being event statistics for at least two of the sub-properties coupled at a single property level that corresponds to the single property;

identifying at the analytics data processing apparatus account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering at the analytics data processing apparatus the coupled event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

deriving decoupled event statistics from the coupled event statistics ordered by the event times, the decoupled event statistics including statistics for only the sub-property associated with the account identifier; and

identifying a plurality of sessions from the decoupled event statistics, each session being an association of decoupled event statistics that meet a session criterion;

wherein the coupled event statistics include campaign data specifying a campaign in the tracking data communication, and wherein deriving decoupled event statistics comprises;

decoupling campaign data specifying a first campaign in a first tracking data communication for a first visitor identifier and a first account identifier from a subsequent second tracking data communication for the first visitor identifier and a second account identifier having campaign data specifying the first campaign.

7. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving at an analytics data processing apparatus tracking data communications for a single property, the single property including a plurality of sub-properties, each sub-property being associated with a respective account identifier identifying a tracking account, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to a sub-property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more coupled event statistics, the coupled event statistics being event statistics for at least two of the sub-properties coupled at a single property level that corresponds to the single property;

identifying at the analytics data processing apparatus account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering at the analytics data processing apparatus the coupled event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

deriving decoupled event statistics from the coupled event statistics ordered by the event times, the decoupled event statistics including statistics for only the sub-property associated with the account identifier; and

identifying a plurality of sessions from the decoupled event statistics, each session being an association of decoupled event statistics that meet a session criterion;

wherein the coupled event statistics include campaign data specifying a campaign in the tracking data communication, and wherein deriving decoupled event statistics comprises;

propagating campaign data specifying a first campaign in a first tracking data communication for a first visitor identifier and a first account identifier to a subsequent second tracking data communication for the first visitor identifier and the first account identifier associated with a first session.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein the session criterion is a predetermined time period.

9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving at an analytics data processing apparatus tracking data communications for a single property, the single property including a plurality of sub-properties, each sub-property being associated with a respective account identifier identifying a tracking account, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to a sub-property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more coupled event statistics, the coupled event statistics being event statistics for at least two of the sub-properties coupled at a single property level that corresponds to the single property;

identifying at the analytics data processing apparatus account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering at the analytics data processing apparatus the coupled event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

identifying a plurality of sessions from the decoupled event statistics, each session being an association of decoupled event statistics that meet a session criterion; and

deriving decoupled event statistics from the coupled event statistics ordered by the event times, the decoupled event statistics including statistics for only the sub-property associated with the account identifier; and

further comprising;

defining, by the analytics data processing apparatus, a plurality of processing time windows, and each processing time window defining a start time, an end time, an intra-processing time that occurs between the start time and end time of the processing time window, and a post-processing time that occurs after the end time of the processing time window;

for each tracking data communication received after a last processing time, the last processing time being one of the intra-processing times or the end time, comparing the event time to the last processing time; and

repeating the ordering of the coupled event statistics, the deriving of the decoupled event statistics, and the identifying the plurality of sessions for the tracking data communications having event times that occur after the last processing time at one of the intra-processing times, end time, or the post-processing time that is later than the last processing time.

10. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving at an analytics data processing apparatus tracking data communications for a single property, the single property including a plurality of sub-properties, each sub-property being associated with a respective account identifier identifying a tracking account, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to a sub-property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more coupled event statistics, the coupled event statistics being event statistics for at least two of the sub-properties coupled at a single property level that corresponds to the single property;

identifying at the analytics data processing apparatus account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering at the analytics data processing apparatus the coupled event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

deriving decoupled event statistics from the coupled event statistics ordered by the event times, the decoupled event statistics including statistics for only the sub-property associated with the account identifier; and

identifying a plurality of sessions from the decoupled event statistics, each session being an association of decoupled event statistics that meet a session criterion; and

further comprising;

tagging each tracking data communication with a time at which it is received at the analytics data processing apparatus;

defining, by the analytics data processing apparatus, a plurality of processing time windows, and each processing time window defining a start time, an end time, an intra-processing time that occurs between the start time and end time of the processing time window, and a post-processing time that occurs after the end time of the processing time window; and

for each tracking data communication received after a last processing time, the last processing time being one of the intra-processing times or the end time, repeating the ordering of the coupled event statistics, the deriving of the decoupled event statistics, and the identifying the plurality of sessions for the tracking data communications at one of the intra-processing times, end time, or the post-processing time that is later than the last processing time.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising, for each accounting identifier:

aggregating the decoupled event statistics into aggregated event statistics for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair that includes the account identifier; and

storing the aggregated event statistics for access by a user of the tracking account identified by the account identifier.

12. A system, comprising:

an analytics data processing apparatus, the data processing apparatus being one or more computers, and having accesses to a data store storing in a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium;

tracking data communications received for a single property, the single property including a plurality of sub-properties, each sub-property being associated with a respective account identifier identifying a tracking account, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to a sub-property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more coupled event statistics, the coupled event statistics being event statistics for at least two of the sub-properties coupled at a single property level that corresponds to the single property;

a sessionizer engine stored in a tangible computer medium, the sessionizer engine including instructions executable by the analytics data processing apparatus and upon such execution cause the analytics data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

identifying account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering the coupled event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

deriving decoupled event statistics from the coupled event statistics ordered by the event times, the decoupled event statistics including statistics for only the sub-property associated with the account identifier

identifying a plurality of sessions from the decoupled event statistics, each session being an association of decoupled event statistics that meet a session criterion; and

storing associations of the decoupled event statistics and the account identifier and visitor identifier pairs in the data store;

wherein the coupled event statistics include campaign data specifying a campaign in the tracking data communication, and wherein deriving decoupled event statistics comprises;

decoupling campaign data specifying a first campaign in a first tracking data communication for a first visitor identifier and a first account identifier from a subsequent second tracking data communication for the first visitor identifier and a second account identifier having campaign data specifying the first campaign.

13. A system, comprising:

an analytics data processing apparatus, the data processing apparatus being one or more computers, and having accesses to a data store storing in a non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium;

tracking data communications received for a single property, the single property including a plurality of sub-properties, each sub-property being associated with a respective account identifier identifying a tracking account, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to a sub-property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more coupled event statistics, the coupled event statistics being event statistics for at least two of the sub-properties coupled at a single property level that corresponds to the single property;

a sessionizer engine stored in a tangible computer medium, the sessionizer engine including instructions executable by the analytics data processing apparatus and upon such execution cause the analytics data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

identifying account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering the coupled event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

deriving decoupled event statistics from the coupled event statistics ordered by the event times, the decoupled event statistics including statistics for only the sub-property associated with the account identifier

identifying a plurality of sessions from the decoupled event statistics, each session being an association of decoupled event statistics that meet a session criterion; and

storing associations of the decoupled event statistics and the account identifier and visitor identifier pairs in the data store;

defining a plurality of processing time windows, and each processing time window defining a start time, an end time, an intra-processing time that occurs between the start time and end time of the processing time window, and a post-processing time that occurs after the end time of the processing time window; and

for each tracking data communication;

comparing the event time to the processing time windows; and

grouping the tracking data communications in corresponding time windows based on the comparison; and

repeating the ordering of the coupled event statistics, the deriving the decoupled event statistics, and the identifying the plurality of sessions at the occurrence of each intra-processing time, end time, and post-processing time of each time window.

14. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving at an analytics data processing apparatus tracking data communications for properties associated respective account identifiers identifying tracking accounts, and each tracking data communication including;

an account identifier identifying a tracking account;

a visitor identifier identifying a visitor to the property associated with the tracking account;

an event time; and

one or more stateless event statistics, the stateless event statistics being event statistics that are independent of prior event statistics in prior tracking data communications;

identifying at the analytics data processing apparatus account identifier and visitor identifier pairs from the account identifiers and visitor identifiers in the tracking data communications; and

for each account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

ordering at the analytics data processing apparatus the stateless event statistics by the corresponding event times in the tracking data communications corresponding to the account identifier and visitor identifier pair;

deriving state-dependent event statistics from the stateless event statistics ordered by the event times, the state-dependent event statistics including statistics for only the property associated with the account identifier;

identifying a plurality of sessions from the state-dependent event statistics, each session being an association of state-dependent event statistics that meet a session criterion;

wherein the stateless event statistics include referrer data specifying a referrer in the tracking data communication, and wherein deriving state-dependent event statistics comprises propagating referrer data specifying a first referrer in a first tracking data communication for a first visitor identifier and a first account identifier to a subsequent second tracking data communication for the first visitor identifier and the first account identifier associated with a first session; and

wherein propagating the referrer data comprises propagating the referrer data only in response to determining that the subsequent second tracking data includes referrer data specifying a direct referral to the property associated with the first account identifier.