These products are not for the everyday Web site, however. Accrue counts such large companies as The Seattle Times, JC Penney and Wal-Mart among its clients. In this case, that would mean companies with high traffic volume and a need for highly customizable, real-time tracking and reporting. There are still more agents to enlist in your pursuit of effectiveness. In instances where companies purchase banner ads on other sites in order to drive up their traffic or increase sales, it is helpful to know which ads are more effective.
Cookies are useful agents.
They are electronic tags that identify the ad source and help determine where efforts are being successfully applied. Small pieces of text that are sent by a Web server to a user's browser. They are also used to retain a user's preferences for subsequent visits, thereby increasing the usefulness and friendliness factor. The downside here is that implementing cookies can be costly because programming them is high-priced work. Additionally, cookies can be used for more nefarious reasons, such as tracking the Web sites a person visits.