Abstract: A system compares website visitation data sets in response to receiving user input. The system includes a client for processing the input to define one or more data sets as a query to a network, which returns the requested data. The system calculates, for at least one website visitation metric, a difference between values of the website visitation metric for the data sets, and displays one or more reports. In addition, reports can be further adjusted per additional data input. The results enable users to analyze the effects of combinations of factors.

Abstract: A system and method for defining a segment for filtering website visitation data is disclosed. The method allows for creation and editing of a segment using various rules. The rules are defined using events and containers, which act as criteria by which the data is filtered. The system displays the segments and allows the user to apply them to stored data.

Abstract: A network architecture with load balancing, fault tolerance and distributed querying comprises a plurality of front-end servers, a plurality of back-end servers, and a database. The front-end servers are coupled to a network to receive data requests from client devices. The front-end servers are each coupled to the plurality of back-end servers. The front-end servers handle data requests at a macro level and divide the request into sub-requests that are sent to the plurality of back-end servers. The back-end servers are coupled to the database to retrieve data. Each data request is distributed across the plurality of back-end servers according to workload. The front-end servers are fault tolerant in that they can respond to a request for data without all of the back-end servers being responsive or providing data.

Abstract: A data set containing website traffic data or other data is sampled according to a variable sample rate. A target number of samples per time period is established, and a baseline sample rate is determined. Data items in the data set are sampled according to the baseline sample rate, to obtain a sample set. For time periods where the size of the resulting sample set exceeds the target number of samples, a new sample rate is established and the data items for the time period are resampled. Appropriate sampling capability can thus be provided for website traffic in normal time periods, while maintaining capability for handling spikes and other variations in website traffic as may take place in response to certain periodic or non-periodic events.

Abstract: User behavior on a website, including intra-page interactions, are tracked while avoiding the need to transmit each intra-page interaction to the data collection server via a separate request. Client-side code instructs the client to store intra-page interaction data in a local data store such as a cookie file. The client transmits the accumulated data to the data collection server in response to a triggering event. For example, data may be transmitted when a new page is loaded, or when the web browser application crashes or is terminated, or when the client machine is turned off, or at periodic intervals, or in response to any other type of triggering event.

Abstract: Elements on a website are associated with the business success of the website, such as determined by sales or orders. Contribution of the elements to the business success is accomplished by assignment a fraction of the success value to each element using allocation, participation, and/or allocated participation methods. Reports are generated quantifying website element usage, for example by superimposing color shadings or other visual indicia on a representation of a page of the website.