Hybrid internet traffic measurement using site-centric and panel data

• US 8,954,580 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2013
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: comScore, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Compete, Inc. (comScore, Inc.)
• Inventors: Landa, Alon H., Novick, Jonathan, Gelin, Scott E., Phansalkar, Amit, Montroy, Thomas E., Moores, Lauren S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M
• Application Number:
  US13/741,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20130198376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 709200-203, 709217-227
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level

Abstract

This disclosure concerns a hybrid method for estimating Internet traffic including determining a fraction of a target population consisting of users displaying an identified characteristic by analysis of a census-based measurement of internet traffic for at least one website and receiving their clickstream data. The method also includes identifying a fraction of the group of participants that share the one or more characteristics, determining a behavioral composition by scaling the fraction of the group of participants by the fraction of the target population, and producing, at the host processing facility, an estimate of the target population'"'"'s activity with respect to at least a part of the Internet that includes the at least one website by scaling the clickstream data for the subset of the group of participants by applying a weight based on the behavioral composition and the relative size of the target population.

Claims

1. A method of estimating Internet traffic, the method comprising:

identifying one or more characteristics related to which it is desired to estimate Internet traffic;

determining a fraction of a target population consisting of users displaying the one or more characteristics by analysis of a census-based measurement of internet traffic for at least one website;

receiving clickstream data at a host processing facility from a group of participants that connotes Internet activity of individual members of the group of participants, the Internet activity relating to at least one website;

identifying a fraction of the group of participants that share the one or more characteristics;

determining a behavioral composition by scaling the fraction of the group of participants by the fraction of the target population; and

producing, at the host processing facility, an estimate of the target population'"'"'s activity with respect to at least a part of the Internet that includes the at least one website by scaling the clickstream data for the fraction of the group of participants by applying a weight based on the behavioral composition and the relative size of the target population.

2. The method of claim 1, refining the estimate of the target population'"'"'s Internet activity by applying a global inflation factor to the estimate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more characteristics relate to at least one of an internet browsing behavior, a demographic characteristic, and a geographic characteristic.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the weight is used to scale the clickstream data for the fraction of the group of participants with respect to a plurality of websites.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising, refining the estimate by iteratively applying a weight based on one or more of a demographic composition and a geographic composition of the target population to the estimate.

6. A computer-implemented system for estimating Internet traffic, comprising:

an analysis facility, operating on at least one processor, that determines a fraction of a target population consisting of users displaying one or more characteristics related to which it is desired to estimate Internet traffic by analysis of a census-based measurement of internet traffic for at least one website;

a host processing facility that receives clickstream data from a group of participants that connotes Internet activity of individual members of the group of participants, the Internet activity relating to at least one website; and

an analysis facility, operating on at least one processor, that determines a behavioral composition by scaling the fraction of the group of participants that share the one or more characteristics by the fraction of the target population;

wherein an estimate of the target population'"'"'s activity with respect to at least a part of the Internet that includes the at least one website is produced at the host processing facility by scaling the clickstream data for the fraction of the group of participants by applying a weight based on the behavioral composition and the relative size of the target population.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the estimate of the target population'"'"'s Internet activity is refined by applying a global inflation factor to the estimate.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more characteristics relate to at least one of an internet browsing behavior, a demographic characteristic, and a geographic characteristic.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the weight is used to scale the clickstream data for the fraction of the group of participants with respect to a plurality of websites.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the estimate is refined by iteratively applying a weight based on one or more of a demographic composition and a geographic composition of the target population to the estimate.