| In the late 1990s, something interesting happened. | | | | Web counters showed the number of times a |
| Identifying visitors to a website became more difficult. | | | | particular image was requested. This later evolved into |
| This was mainly due to the development of search | | | | invisible images that used _JavaScript, which passed |
| engine spiders and robots; and web proxies and IP | | | | along certain information about the page and the visitor. |
| addresses for large organizations and Internet service | | | | A web analytics company can process the |
| providers (ISPs). | | | | information, which extracts statistics that are useful to |
| To record visitors, log analyzers began tracking visits | | | | the organization. |
| by cookies and by overlooking requests from known | | | | The web analytics service company is also |
| spiders. | | | | responsible for assigning a cookie to the user. The |
| The use of web caches also became a problem in | | | | cookie identifies a particular visitor from the first visit to |
| logfile analysis. For instance, if a person revisits a page, | | | | the next. |
| the second action or request would most likely be | | | | Most web analytics service companies offer both |
| retrieved from the browser's cache. Thus, the web | | | | logfile analysis programs and page tagging solutions. |
| server will not receive a request. If this happens, the | | | | An organization that seeks the services of a web |
| person's path around a certain website cannot be | | | | analytics service company must know the |
| tracked. Configuring the server can beat caching, but | | | | disadvantages and advantages of the two |
| this could lead to degraded performance and | | | | approaches, in order to determine which one to |
| discourage the visitor. | | | | choose. |
| Eventually, concerns were raised about the accuracy | | | | Mark Rapor is a Web Developer and Internet |
| of logfile analysis, particularly when caching was | | | | Marketer. Visit us at Blue Sky Projects. Blue Sky |
| involved. There was also an intention to outsource | | | | Projects is a full-service, custom web development |
| web analytics. These developments led to page | | | | resource that understands the critical role that an |
| tagging. | | | | effective internet presence can play in the success of |
| More than a decade ago, web counters were often | | | | your organization. |
| observed in web pages. Why was this significant? | | | | |