Associating website clicks with links on a web page

• US 7,441,195 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Issued: 10/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Omniture Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Zinn, Richard, Error, Christopher Reid, Error, Brett M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Ba
• Assistant Examiner(s): WIENER, ERIC A
• Application Number:
  US10/794,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20040254942A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 715/700, 715/229, 715/738
• US Class Current: 715/738
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

Objects on a web page are associated with stored records indicating historical object usage. Associations between objects and records take into account discrepancies in object identifiers resulting from authorial edits and/or differences in browser assignment of object identifiers. An object having an object identifier that differs from that of a stored record by not more than a predetermined tolerance value, and that has other indicia that match the stored record, is considered to match the stored record. Reports are generated quantifying web page object usage, for example by superimposing color shadings or other visual indicia on a representation of a web page.

Claims

1. A method of identifying which of a plurality of user-activatable objects on a web page has been activated by a user, comprising:

receiving a communication indicating user activation of an object in a plurality of objects on a web page, the communication comprising an object identifier and additional identifying indicia for the object, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type;

comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia; and

responsive to the object identifier of the user-activated object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report including statistics for user-activated objects.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report including a representation of the web page, and for superimposing visual indicators quantifying user activations for objects on the web page.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the visual indicators are color-coded.

6. A method of identifying a user-activatable object among a plurality of user-activatable objects, the object having an object identifier and additional identifying indicia, comprising:

comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type;

responsive to the object identifier of the user-activatable object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object;

indicating a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record;

indicating a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the user-activatable object is a component of a web page, the method further comprising generating a report including a representation of the web page, and for superimposing visual indicators thereon quantifying user activations for user-activatable objects on the web page.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the visual indicators are color-coded.

10. A computer program product for identifying which of a plurality of user-activatable objects on a web page has been activated by a user, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

receiving a communication indicating user activation of an object in a plurality of objects on a web page, the communication comprising an object identifier and additional identifying indicia for the object, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type;

comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia; and

responsive to the object identifier of the user-activated object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for generating a report including statistics for user-activated objects.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for generating a report including a representation of the web page, and for superimposing visual indicators quantifying user activations for objects on the web page.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the visual indicators are color-coded.

15. A computer program product of identifying a user-activatable object among a plurality of user-activatable objects, the object having an object identifier and additional identifying indicia, comprising:

a computer-readable medium; and

computer program code, encoded on the medium, for;

comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type;

responsive to the object identifier of the user-activatable object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object;

indicating a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record;

indicating a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the user-activatable object is a component of a web page, the computer program product further comprising computer program code, encoded on the medium, for generating a report including a representation of the web page, and for superimposing visual indicators thereon quantifying user activations for user-activatable objects on the web page.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the visual indicators are color-coded.

19. A system for identifying which of a plurality of user-activatable objects on a web page has been activated by a user, comprising:

a communication device, for receiving a communication indicating user activation of an object in a plurality of objects on a web page, the communication comprising an object identifier and additional identifying indicia for the object, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type;

an object comparator, coupled to the communication device, for comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia; and

a match indicator, coupled to the object comparator, for, responsive to the object identifier of the user-activated object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object;

indicating a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activated object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record, the match indicator indicates a match between the user-activated object and the stored record.

21. The system of claim 19, further comprising a report generator, for generating a report including statistics for user-activated objects.

22. The system of claim 19, further comprising a report generator, for generating a report including a representation of the web page, and for superimposing visual indicators quantifying user activations for objects on the web page.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the visual indicators are color-coded.

24. A system for identifying a user-activatable object among a plurality of user-activatable objects, the object having an object identifier and additional identifying indicia, comprising:

an object comparator, for comparing the object identifier and the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object with records comprising object identifiers and additional identifying indicia, wherein the additional identifying indicia comprises at least one of an action and a type;

a match indicator, coupled to the object comparator, for, responsive to the object identifier of the user-activatable object being within a predetermined tolerance factor with respect to an object identifier of a stored record, and the identifier of the stored record having additional identifying indicia matching the additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object;

indicating a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein:

responsive to the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of the user-activatable object matching the object identifier and additional identifying indicia of a stored record, the match indicator indicates a match between the user-activatable object and the stored record.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the user-activatable object is a component of a web page, the system further comprising a report generator for generating a report including a representation of the web page, and for superimposing visual indicators thereon quantifying user activations for user-activatable objects on the web page.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the visual indicators are color-coded.