Personalized Short Link Tracking via Intermediary Mediator

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current URL shortening services fail to provide individualized statistics on consumer engagement and cannot link user activity with marketing campaigns, relying on locally stored tracking objects that are vulnerable to deletion and regulatory restrictions.

Innovation Solution

A method and system generating individualized shortened URLs that track user activity by associating each recipient with a unique shortened URL, redirecting users to a destination URL with tracking information, enabling enterprises to monitor clicks, sales, and campaign effectiveness without relying on locally stored objects.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Length of moving object

If current URL shortening services are used, then URLs are shortened for mobile and social media, but individualized statistics on consumer engagement cannot be provided

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveURL lengthVSAvoidconsumer engagement statistics

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of moving objectVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary tracking system between the URL shortening service and the destination website. This intermediary captures and stores consumer engagement data (clicks, demographics, device information) when users access shortened URLs, then provides this data to enterprises through APIs or webhooks. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining short URLs while preventing loss of engagement statistics through the intermediary tracking layer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the URL shortening functionality into distinct components: the shortening service itself, the tracking system, and the analytics platform. Each component handles specific tasks - the shortening service maintains short URLs, the tracking system captures engagement data separately, and the analytics platform processes and delivers individualized statistics. This segmentation allows URL shortening to continue while engagement tracking is performed independently without interfering with URL length.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If locally stored tracking objects (cookies) are used, then user activity can be tracked, but these objects may be defeated by user deletion or browser configurations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetracking reliabilityVSAvoiduser control over tracking

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of relying on cookies stored on the user's device (client-side tracking), the patent inverts the approach by implementing server-side tracking. The tracking system operates on the enterprise's servers rather than depending on user browsers to maintain and report cookie data. This inversion makes tracking reliable regardless of user cookie deletion or browser settings, as the tracking data is captured and stored server-side when the shortened URL is accessed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Reliability

If persistent tracking objects are stored on user's computer, then tracking can be maintained, but trending regulations require opt-in consent from users

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetracking consistencyVSAvoidregulatory compliance issues

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary tracking system that operates between the user and the enterprise servers. This intermediary captures tracking data in a compliant manner and provides it to enterprises through controlled interfaces (APIs, webhooks). The system includes features for obtaining user consent and managing opt-out requests, ensuring regulatory compliance while maintaining tracking consistency. The intermediary acts as a buffer that reconciles the need for reliable tracking with regulatory requirements for user consent.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Loss of information

If current tracking methods (cookies, web beacons, script blocks) are used, then user activity can be identified, but it cannot be determined which user is associated with the activity

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser identification informationVSAvoidtracking system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary tracking system that captures and stores user identification information (email addresses, device identifiers, demographic data) when users access shortened URLs. This intermediary maintains a database linking users to their activity and provides this information to enterprises through controlled interfaces. The system reconciles the need for user identification with regulatory requirements by implementing consent management and opt-out mechanisms, reducing legal risks while enabling accurate user association with tracked activity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS9906602B1System and method for generating personalized short links and monitoring activity

Publication Date: 2018.02.27 SALESFORCE INC

AI summary

A computerized method and system to generate individualized shortened URLs and track user activity is disclosed. A method includes generating an individualized shortened URLs for each of a plurality of recipients, sending communications to each of the plurality of recipients, wherein each of the communications includes the individualized shortened URL, receiving a request from at least one of the plurality of recipients for the individualized shortened URL, and referring the request to a destination URL.