Website User Activity Tracking via URL Query String Parameters
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for tracking user activity on websites are inadequate as they often rely on URLs that do not contain all necessary information, especially in cases of dynamic page generation, and third-party cookies are unreliable due to user aversion, leading to incomplete and unreliable web analytics.
Innovation Solution
A system where the data source generates pages with tracking parameters, which are then inserted into the URL query string, allowing for more comprehensive user activity tracking without relying on third-party cookies, by appending these parameters to the URL query string and storing them in a tracking database for analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If page tags with third-party cookies are used to track user activity, then tracking capability is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to user aversion and cookie blocking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a first-party cookie as an intermediary tracking mechanism that avoids the reliability issues of third-party cookies. Instead of using cross-domain third-party cookies that users block, the system uses same-domain first-party cookies that are more trusted by users and browsers, while still achieving comprehensive tracking across multiple pages and domains through the coordinated operation of multiple servers
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the tracking system into multiple independent components: a front-end server that generates pages with embedded tracking codes, a back-end server that processes tracking data, and a database server that stores tracking information. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific tracking functions while maintaining overall system reliability and avoiding the pitfalls of third-party cookie-based approaches
2Ease of manufacture
If URL-based tracking is used to record user activity, then implementation simplicity is improved, but information completeness deteriorates when pages are dynamically generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds tracking parameters directly into the HTML code of pages during the page generation process at the front-end server. This preliminary action ensures that tracking information is captured at the source before the page is served to the user, eliminating the information loss that occurs with dynamic page generation where URLs may not reflect the actual content delivered
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the embedded tracking codes on pages send tracking data back to the back-end server, which then stores this information in the database. This feedback loop ensures that actual user interactions and page deliveries are recorded and can be used to supplement or correct URL-based tracking information
Data Source
AI summary
A data source generates a requested page for an electronic network site to include inserted tracking parameters to aid in tracking the activities of the user at the site. The site receives the generated page with the inserted tracking parameters and returns to a user the received page as the requested page with the inserted tracking parameters removed therefrom. The site appends the removed tracking parameters to the URL associated with the returned page at the query string thereof, and sends to a tracking database the appended URL. The tracking database stores the sent URL for being accessed by one or more analytical tools to analyze the tracking parameters regarding the activities of the user at the site.