Patent ID: 7185085
Filing Date: 2007-02-27
Classification: G06F,H04L,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method for tracking and reporting traffic activity on a web site, comprising: storing a web page on a first server coupled to a network; requesting the web page from a visitor computer; selecting the visitor computer for inclusion or non-inclusion within a sample group, said sample group being a subset of total traffic to the web site; storing on the visitor computer, after the selecting step, a selection indicator associating with the inclusion or non-inclusion; tracking traffic activity to the web site from the visitor computer and/or visitor only if the visitor computer is a member within the sample group, otherwise ignoring the traffic activity from the visitor computer; receiving an image at the visitor computer responsive to the web page request; setting the selection indicator to “true” at the visitor computer responsive to a first type of received image, otherwise setting the selection indicator to “false” responsive to a second type of image, wherein the image type is one selected from the group consisting of size or color; and further including normalizing the traffic activity from the sample group to obtain normalized data reflecting approximate traffic activity from all visitor computers to the web site, wherein the selection indicator is set to “true” at the visitor computer responsive to the received image being 1×1 pixel in size, and wherein the selection indicator is set to “false” responsive to the received image being 1×2 pixels in size.