Transmitting a click id by means of a URL

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for transmitting a click ID (32) depending on the selection of a URL (33) provided by a first server (24) by means of a client (24) assigned to a user (23), wherein the URL (33) refers to a target server (26), characterised in that the click ID (32) is integrated in the URL (33) in a form corresponding to a subdirectory of the target server (26).

Description

[0001] Applicant: hurra Communications GmbH Our reference: 10041WO Date: November 4, 2024 hurra Communications GmbH Lautenschlagerstraße 23a 70173 Stuttgart

[0002] Transmission of a click ID via a URL

[0003] The present invention relates to a method for transmitting a click ID via a URL depending on the selection of the URL provided by a first server by a client assigned to a user, wherein the URL refers to a target server. Selecting the URL provided by the first server enables the retrieval of information provided by the target server.

[0004] The invention also relates to a client-server system that can be connected to a communication network and comprises at least a first server, a target server and a client assigned to a user.

[0005] A client-server system comprises clients and servers, which can be implemented in software and hardware and exchange information over one or more communications networks. A server, for example, is configured to provide specific information or resources, so-called services. These services are typically used by one or more clients by sending requests to the server over the communications network. The server evaluates the incoming request, checks whether the client is authorized to make the request if necessary, and transmits the relevant information or makes the requested resources available. The server can be configured to, in turn, send requests to other servers, for example to obtain information, which it then processes if necessary and makes available to the requesting clients.In this function, the server itself acts as a client. Likewise, a client can provide information to other clients and thus act as a server. A server can be configured, for example, as a search engine or a web shop. A client can be implemented as software executable on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, such as an internet browser.

[0006] A click ID can be a string associated with the client and / or a user of the client.

[0007] In principle, any information displayed on a website can be assigned a selectable URL (so-called "Uniform Resource Locator"), and when this URL is selected, a so-called click ID can be transmitted in the form of a character string. A click ID can be a character string assigned to the client and / or a user of the client, and thus enables a more or less unambiguous assignment to a specific user or group of users. Internet search engines or social media platforms often generate click IDs when a user selects information provided by the respective server via a client, for example, by "clicking."

[0008] According to a known method, a user submits a search query to an Internet search engine operated by a first server. The search engine then generates a dynamic web page on which the search results are displayed together with further information. The further information can, for example, be associated with advertised products, with the selection of advertising information being dependent on the search query and / or a profile assigned to the user. The user can often be identified by the search engine using suitable cookies - small character strings that are stored on the client and transmitted to the search engine when a search query is sent - so that the search engine can access profile information that it has collected from previous queries by the user.Often, the user already has an account with the search engine in order to be able to use additional, personalized services offered by the search engine, so that the search engine has particularly detailed information about the user at its disposal.

[0009] The web page dynamically generated by the search engine is transmitted to the user's client in response to the information request. If the user then clicks on a link on the web page sent by the search engine, this causes an information request to be sent to a target server, such as an online store, which is associated with the link using the associated URL. This URL includes the click ID previously generated by the search engine, received via a cookie, or read from a database, in the form of an appended parameter.

[0010] Such parameters have, for example, the following form:

[0011] “clid=EREkla Qid_re THuieB Oklrde”, where “clid” is the name of the parameter and the value

[0012] “EREklaQd_reTHuieBOklrde” is a character string that can be used to identify the user or the user’s client. This in turn allows the target server to determine which user or user groups are particularly interested in a specific offer. If the target server is assigned to an online shop, it can be determined in this way whether a specific product was requested or purchased as a result of a reference being placed on the web page generated by the search engine, and the offer or advertising can be optimized accordingly in the future. Particularly if the link selected by the user was displayed on the website of the search engine or another information server as part of an advertising campaign, it is often important for the online shop to know which user or user groups are particularly interested in a specific offer.which group of users to whom the user selecting the link is assigned ultimately purchased the advertised product, requested further information about the product, purchased another product offered by the web shop, opened a user account, registered for a newsletter and / or carried out another action related to the purpose of the web shop (so-called conversion), in order to optimise the presentation of advertising information in a known manner, for example by choosing a different presentation or by presenting this advertising to other users or other user groups or via other platforms in the future.

[0013] Different internet search engines and social media platforms typically have different parameter names for click IDs, e.g. gdid- for Google, fbclid- for Facebook, msclid- for Microsoft Bing.

[0014] A disadvantage of this known method is that the click ID can be easily removed from the URL, making it difficult to optimize the presentation of information and, in particular, to optimize advertising campaigns. Since the click ID is appended to the URL as a parameter in this known method, it can be accidentally or intentionally removed by intermediate servers or an Internet browser, for example, by simply "truncating" it. This still allows forwarding an information request to a target server, but makes it more difficult to evaluate the conversion or worsens the results.

[0015] The object of the present invention is to propose a method and a client-server system that enables a more robust transmission of a click ID to the target server when selecting a link displayed on a website, so that the click ID cannot be removed from a URL by simply 'truncating' parameters.

[0016] The problem is solved using a method mentioned above by integrating the click ID into the URL in a syntax corresponding to a subdirectory of the target server. The click ID is thus included in the URL as part of the so-called directory path in the form of a virtual (sub)directory. Since the directory path in a URL is crucial for locating information requested by the target server, these parts of the URL cannot be easily modified. In particular, processes that automatically optimize a URL according to various criteria, such as data protection, virus protection, or the removal of spam information, cannot change parts of the directory path without the consent of the target server.

[0017] This ensures that the click ID is not lost for further use and, for example, an advertising campaign that has been booked by the target server on the first server can be sufficiently accurately assessed and optimized for its effectiveness by evaluating the click ID.

[0018] According to one possible embodiment, the click ID is extracted from the URL on the target server and stored for further optimization and evaluation. For example, internal user profiles can be created or updated using the click ID. If, for example, the target server is a web shop and the first server is an internet search engine, one possible internal processing option is that the user who has been redirected to the web shop by selecting the URL from the search engine and has subsequently purchased a product or service is preferentially shown another URL of the web shop for another product as part of the search results or as additional advertising when making a further search query on the internet search engine.

[0019] Preferably, at least in the case of a conversion, the extracted click ID is transmitted to the first server for further processing. This allows advertising campaigns or paid optimizations to be evaluated particularly well and reliably when displaying information from the target server in the first server's results list, thus optimizing them for future requests.

[0020] In order to reliably locate the desired information when selecting the URL displayed as a link on the first server, according to one possible embodiment of the invention, the click ID integrated into the directory path is not taken into account when locating the requested information. This takes into account the fact that a directory corresponding to the click ID usually does not exist on the target server. Preferably, the click ID is removed from the directory path before further processing, so that from then on, the requested information can be located according to the usual procedures and with the processes installed on the target server.

[0021] Often, a second server is connected upstream of a target server, so that clicking on a link displayed on the first server initially results in a redirection to the second server, which then initiates a redirection to the target server. The second server can, for example, be configured as a special tracking server that, on behalf of the target server, collects and evaluates data on information requests from the target server and, based on this data, can suggest optimizations, such as optimizing advertising campaigns or optimizing search engine rankings.

[0022] According to an advantageous embodiment, in which selecting the URL initially triggers a redirection to a second server, which then initiates the redirection to the target server, the click ID integrated in the form of a subdirectory is extracted by the second server, saved, and used by the second server, for example, for potential optimizations. The second server can remove the click ID integrated into the URL in the form of a subdirectory from the URL and use this modified URL to initiate a redirection to the target server. This has the advantage that no changes need to be made on the target server during the further processing of the information query initiated using the received URL.

[0023] According to one possible embodiment, the second server makes the extracted click ID available directly to the target server, for example, by storing this click ID in a database to which the target server also has access, in such a way that an assignment to the information request is possible and, in particular in the case of a conversion, it remains ascertainable that the user's selection of a URL displayed on the first server led to the conversion. The object underlying the invention is also achieved by a client-server system of the type mentioned above in that the client-server system is configured to carry out the method according to the invention.

[0024] Further features and advantages of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the figures. It is emphasized that individual features shown in the figures may also be essential to the invention on their own, even if this is not shown in the figures and not explicitly mentioned in the description. Furthermore, the individual features shown in the figures may be combined with one another, even if this combination is not shown in the figures and not explicitly mentioned in the description. They show:

[0025] Figure 1 shows a client-server system according to a first embodiment;

[0026] Figure 2 shows a block diagram according to a possible embodiment;

[0027] Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a first URL with a known

[0028] Click ID appended as a parameter and a second URL with a click ID integrated according to the invention;

[0029] Figure 4 shows a flowchart according to a possible embodiment;

[0030] Figure 5 shows a flowchart according to another possible embodiment

[0031] Figure 1 shows a client-server system 1, the components of which are connected, for example, by means of a network cable, e.g., an Ethernet cable, or wirelessly, e.g., by means of a WiFi connection, to a communications network, which is preferably embodied as the Internet 2. The client-server system 1 comprises a terminal device 4 assigned to a user 3, e.g., a smartphone, a tablet computer, or a laptop, a first server 5, and a target server 6. The terminal device 4 has a display 7 on which a website 8 can be displayed. The first server 5 is embodied, for example, as a search engine and comprises a functional unit 9 that is programmed to generate a click ID 10. The target server 6 is embodied, for example, as a web shop and comprises a functional unit 11 that is programmed to interpret and process information requests.Such requests for information may in particular be requests for products or services offered by the webshop.

[0032] Figure 2 shows a further embodiment of a client-server system 20 suitable for implementing the method according to the invention. Like client-server system 1, client-server system 20 comprises a terminal 24 assigned to a user 23, a first server configured as an internet search engine 25, and a destination server 26. Terminal 24, search engine 25, and destination server 26 are connected to the internet 22 and can be configured analogously to terminal 4, first server 5, and destination server 6 shown in Figure 1, even if components shown in Figure 1 are not explicitly shown in Figure 2 for reasons of clarity.

[0033] The client-server system 20 comprises a second server 30, which is configured, for example, as a tracking server and includes a functional unit 31 by means of which a click ID 32 can be extracted from a URL 33. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the target server 26 has a functional unit 34 by means of which the click ID 32 can also be read from the URL 33.

[0034] As will be apparent from the following description of further exemplary embodiments, the transmission of the click ID 32 to the target server 26 can also be initiated by the second server 30 in another way. In particular, it is conceivable that the click ID 32 is removed from the URL 33 by the second server 30 and that the information request of the user 23 is forwarded using a modified URL that does not contain a click ID 30. Instead, in this embodiment, the second server 30 takes over the further processing of the click ID 32 and starts a communication with the search engine 25 in order to be able to evaluate, for example, the effectiveness and efficiency (i.e., the so-called traffic) of an advertising campaign launched by the target server 26.

[0035] Possible modes of operation and further components which are advantageous for carrying out the method according to the invention on the client-server systems 1 and 20 shown as examples in Figures 1 and 2 emerge from the following description of two possible embodiments of the method according to the invention.

[0036] Figure 3 shows a simplified example of the structure of a first URL 40, which includes a click ID appended as a parameter in a known manner. The transfer of parameters according to the syntax "parameter name = parameter value" is used by default to transfer parameters to the respective target server 6, 26 when selecting a link displayed on a website via the URL assigned to that link. The URL assigned to the link is used to transfer the parameters.

[0037] In the example shown in Figure 3, a target server 6, 26 can be reached at the address "www.zielserver.com." When selecting a link on a website 8 to which the URL 40 is assigned, the client 4, 24 requests information from the target server 6, 26 that is associated with a specific product, which is referred to internally on the target server 6, 26 as "articleOOl." Selecting the link displayed on the website 8 causes the URL 40 to be transmitted to the target server 6, 26. The target server 6, 26 will then interpret the information stored there based on the directory path " / products / articleOOl" contained in the URL 40 and respond to the request accordingly. If the target server 6, 26 is implemented as a web shop, a web page may be stored in the directory path or a web page may be dynamically generated and sent to the client 4, 24 in response to the request.

[0038] Along with the URL 40, the target server 6, 26 also receives the parameters attached there and thus receives the click ID 10, 32, which can then be used in the target server 6, 26 to assign the request to user 3. If the request from user 3 leads to a conversion on the target server 6, 26, the click ID 10, 32 is regularly transmitted to the first server 5 or the search engine 25, for example, in order to evaluate the success of an advertising campaign booked on the first server 5 or the search engine 25 and, if necessary, to optimize it. However, it cannot currently be guaranteed that the parameters attached to a URL 33, 40 will be reliably transmitted.If, for example, the character string specifying the value of a parameter is too long or if an Internet browser is configured for other reasons to truncate one or more parameters from a URL 33, 40, the target server 6, 26 will no longer be able to design, for example, information campaigns or advertising campaigns for individual products effectively and efficiently.

[0039] To ensure that the click ID 10, 32 is made available to the target server 6, 26 for further evaluation, according to the invention, as shown by way of example in Figure 3 in a URL 50, it is integrated in the form of a subdirectory into the directory path transmitted via the URL 50. In the exemplary embodiment shown in the URL 50, the click ID "EREklaQd_reTHuieBOklrde" is included as a virtual directory in the directory path and can then be interpreted and further processed in a suitable manner by the target server 6, 26.

[0040] Information that is part of a directory path is currently not regularly modified by Internet browsers or network routers, since directory paths are fundamentally important for a target server 6, 26 to locate or generate the requested information and return it to the requesting client 4, 24. "Hiding" the click ID 10, 32 within the directory path in a URL 50 thus enables a secure transmission of this information to the target server 6, 26.

[0041] Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating individual steps of a possible embodiment of the method according to the invention. The method begins in step 100. In step 101, a user 3, 23 submits an information request to a first server 5, for example, in the form of a search query to an internet search engine 25, and transmits the request to the search engine 25 via a communications network 2, for example, the internet 22.

[0042] In a step 102, the search engine 25 assigns a click ID 10, 32 to the user 3, 23 who submitted the search query in a known manner. This can be done by reading the content of a cookie stored on the client 4, 24 during a previous interaction with the search engine 25, so that the current query can be assigned to this client 4, 24 or the user 3, 23. Another possibility is to use a profile database to which the search engine 25 has access to determine whether the user is already known to the search engine due to previous search queries. For this purpose, information that is automatically sent to the search engine 25 along with the search query by an Internet browser running on the client 4, 24 can be used in a known manner, such as a browser ID, a MAC address and / or an IP address.

[0043] In a step 103, the first server 5 or the internet search engine 25 generates a dynamic web page 8 containing various internet links. The internet links can be visually displayed on the web page 8 in a known manner using descriptive texts, graphic elements, and / or videos. URLs 33, 40, 50 are assigned to the internet links, which contain addresses to further information. At least one of the URLs 33, 50 refers to information provided by a target server 6, 26 according to the invention. The found or generated click ID 10, 32 is added to this URL 50 as part of the directory path, as shown by way of example in Figure 3 and explained in the associated description.

[0044] In a step 104, the web page 8 is transmitted to the client 4, 24 via the Internet 22 and displayed there to the user 3, 23 on the display 7.

[0045] In a step 105, the user 3, 23 selects the link that refers to information on the target server 6, 26. According to the embodiment shown in Figure 4, an information request is then sent to the target server 6, 26 in a step 106, wherein, in particular, the information containing the click ID 10, 32 as a virtual directory is transmitted to the target server 6, 26.

[0046] In a step 107, the target server 6, 26 extracts the click ID 10, 32 from the directory path that it received as URL 33, 50 when transmitting the information request in step 106 and processes the information request in a step 108, for example, by returning a static or dynamically generated web page to the client 4, 24. The extraction of the click ID 10, 32 in the target server 6, 26 can be done, for example, by a so-called proxy rewrite, i.e., an addition or reprogramming of the rules in the server configuration in the target server 6, 26. This can, for example, cause the target server 6, 26 to retrieve information about traffic or the content of a web page 8 from another location.

[0047] In a step 109, the target server 6, 26 further processes the click ID 10, 32 in a known manner, for example by updating internal statistics, optimizing an advertising campaign and / or, in particular in the case of a conversion, sending the click ID 10, 32 to the search engine 25 in order to generate or receive further information about the effectiveness and efficiency of an advertising campaign.

[0048] Figure 5 shows a further possible embodiment of the method according to the invention. This method begins in step 200. In step 201, analogous to the method shown in Figure 4, a user 3, 23 sends an information request to a first server 5 or an Internet search engine 25. In step 202, the search engine 25 assigns the user 3, 23 a click ID 10, 32, in step 203 generates a dynamic web page 8 containing various Internet links, and in step 204 transmits the web page 8 to the client 4, 24 via the Internet 22. In step 205, the user 3, 23 selects the link that refers to information on the target server 6, 26.

[0049] In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the URL 32, 50 is structured such that, in a step 206, selecting the link displayed on the web page 8 corresponding to this URL 32, 50 causes the information request to be forwarded to a second server 30. The second server 30 is designed, for example, as a so-called tracking server, the functionality of which is specialized, among other things, in collecting and analyzing information about activities on websites so that, on this basis, websites can be optimally designed, product portfolios improved, and advertising campaigns optimized. In order to carry out such tasks, the second server 20 according to the embodiment shown in Figure 5 extracts the click ID 10, 32 in a step 207, which, according to the invention, is stored in the URL 32, 50 as part of the directory path of the target server 6, 26.

[0050] In a step 208, the information request is forwarded from the second server 30 to the target server 6, 26.

[0051] In a step 209, the target server 6, 26 processes the information request forwarded by the second server 30, for example by sending a static or dynamically generated web page back to the client 4, 24.

[0052] In a step 210, the click ID 10, 32 is further processed on the second server 30, for example, in that the second server 30 collects and / or evaluates information related to the selection of the link by the user 3, 23 in step 205 in a known manner and, if necessary, also establishes a connection to the search engine 25 in order to retrieve further information regarding the click that has taken place or information provided by the search engine 25 for further analyses.

[0053] In a step 211, the second server 30 and / or the target server 6, 26 further process the click ID 10, 32 in a known manner, for example by updating internal statistics, optimizing an advertising campaign and / or, in particular in the case of a conversion, sending the click ID 10, 32 to the search engine 25 in order to generate or receive further information about the effectiveness and efficiency of an advertising campaign.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Method for transmitting a click ID (10; 32) by means of a URL (33; 50) depending on the selection of the URL (33; 50) provided by a first server (5), in particular an Internet search engine (25), by means of a client (4; 24) assigned to a user (3; 23), wherein the URL (33; 50) refers to a target server (6; 26), characterized in that the click ID (10; 32) is integrated into the URL (33; 50) in a form corresponding to a subdirectory of the target server (6; 26).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the click ID (10; 32) is extracted on the target server (6; 26).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least in the case of a conversion, the extracted click ID (10; 32) is transmitted to the first server (5) for further processing.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in order to find the storage location of the information requested by the target server (6; 26) by means of the URL (33; 50), the click ID (10; 32) integrated in the form of a subdirectory is not taken into account.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the selection of the URL (33; 50) causes a forwarding to a second server (30), characterized in that the second server (30) extracts the click ID (10; 32) integrated in the form of a subdirectory and stores it for further processing.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the second server (5) removes the click ID (10; 32) integrated in the URL (33; 50) in the form of a subdirectory from the URL (33; 50) and uses this modified URL to initiate a forwarding to the target server (6; 26).

7. Client-server system (1; 20), wherein the client-server system (1; 20) is connectable to a communications network (2; 26) and comprises at least a first server (5), a target server (6; 26) and a client (4; 24) assigned to a user (3; 23), characterized in that a method according to one of claims 1 to 6 can be carried out on the client-server system (1; 20).

Images