Wireless Station ID Matching for Anonymous Conversion Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web-based searching systems lack effective methods to determine if users actually utilize the provided information, as metrics like click-through rate only offer rough estimates, and require location history permissions, which are not universally applicable.
Innovation Solution
A system that provides wireless station information with search results, allowing client devices to match observed WiFi IDs with stored IDs, anonymously tracking conversions without requiring individual location data collection, using minimal computational power and no additional power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If click-through rate is used to estimate user utilization, then implementation is simple, but measurement precision is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces wireless station identifiers as an intermediary element that bridges the gap between simple tracking and precise measurement. The server provides wireless station IDs to client devices, which then detect these IDs when users visit physical locations. This intermediary mechanism enables accurate conversion tracking without requiring complex user permission systems, thus improving measurement precision while maintaining implementation simplicity.
2Measurement precision
If location history permissions are required for tracking, then measurement precision improves, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service tracking by having client devices automatically detect and report wireless station identifiers without requiring user intervention or permission grants. The client device autonomously performs the detection and communication functions, eliminating the need for users to enable location history permissions while maintaining accurate conversion tracking.
3Measurement precision
If individual location data is collected, then measurement precision improves, but loss of information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential information needed for tracking - wireless station identifiers - while leaving out sensitive user data. Instead of collecting individual location histories or user identities, the system only captures and transmits anonymous wireless station IDs that users encounter. This extraction approach maintains measurement precision by tracking conversions while minimizing privacy loss by excluding unnecessary personal information.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the technology evaluate whether a response to a client device search query results in the client device traveling to a location associated with the response (FIG. 1). One or more wireless stations are selected based on the location associated with the search query (604, 606). Wireless station identifiers are sent, along with the search results, to the client device (504, 610). The client device compares the received identifiers against the identifiers of one or more observed wireless stations with which the mobile device is in communication or are otherwise visible (508). Log information is generated by the client device as a result of the comparison (510). The log information is transmitted to the network without user ID or other client-identifiable information included in the log (512). The received log information is then used to accurately evaluate conversions and evaluate search quality, which enhances the user experience and provides for a more efficient search result process (612, 614).