web analytics

Question 1

Web usage mining

Answer 1

discovering interesting patterns in how visitors use a
web site

Question 2

• Web content mining

Answer 2

– extracting useful information or knowledge from web
page contents

Question 3

• Web structure mining

Answer 3

– mining hyperlink structure of web

Question 4

What is server log analysis?

Answer 4

The process of examining data captured by web servers when users interact with a website.
Every user request (e.g., visiting a page) creates an entry in a log file.

Question 5

What information can be found in server logs?

Answer 5

User information (IP address)
Date and Time
HTTP request method (GET, POST)
Resource requested (page, image, etc.)
HTTP status code (success, error, redirect)
Number of bytes transferred
Referrer (previous webpage)
Browser and platform (user agent)

Question 6

How can server log analysis be useful?

Answer 6

Understand user behavior (popular pages, broken links)
Identify traffic sources (search engines, social media)
Optimize website performance for different devices
Detect suspicious activities (security threats)

Question 7

What are Cookies?

Answer 7

Cookies are small pieces of data that websites store on your computer’s hard drive (or similar storage) through your web browser. They act like a little note that the website leaves behind to remember you.

Question 8

how cookies work ?

Answer 8

A web server sends a cookie to your browser.
Your browser stores the cookie.
Every time you visit the same website again, your browser sends the cookie back to the server.

Question 9

What Information Do Cookies Contain?

Answer 9

A unique user ID (often random letters and numbers)
The website’s domain name (e.g., yoursite.com)
An expiration date (optional)
Additional customized data (optional)

Question 10

Session Cookies vs. Persistent Cookies

Answer 10

Session Cookies: These are temporary and disappear when you close your browser. They’re used to track your activity during a single visit.
Persistent Cookies: These stay on your computer until they expire or you delete them. They’re used to remember you as a returning visitor.

Question 11

First-Party vs. Third-Party Cookies:

Answer 11

First-Party Cookies: These are set by the website you’re directly visiting.
Third-Party Cookies: These are set by a different domain (e.g., an ad network) embedded on the website you’re visiting.

Question 12

Zombie Cookies:

Answer 12

Zombie Cookies: These are cookies that reappear even after deletion, often a security breach.

Question 13

Evercookie:

Answer 13

Evercookie: This is a notorious example of a “zombie cookie” program.

Question 14

What is Page Tagging?

Answer 14

Page tagging is a method for collecting website usage data on the client-side (user’s browser) as opposed to the server-side. This is achieved by embedding a small snippet of JavaScript code into your web pages.

Question 15

Page Views

Answer 15

Number of times page was viewed

Question 16

visits

Answer 16

Identifying and counting visits (sessions)

Question 17

Sessionization

Answer 17

procedure for determining which page
views are part of same visit

Question 18

in sessionizations , visitors tracked by

Answer 18

• IP address + user agent
• cookies
• URI parameters
• combination

Question 19

Why is sessionization based on IP address alone unreliable?

Answer 19

Multiple devices can share the same IP address behind a router or firewall.
ISPs often dynamically assign IP addresses, leading to changes over time.
Some ISPs use web proxies that can alter IP addresses for each request.

Question 21

What’s a better approach to sessionization than relying solely on IP address?

Answer 21

IP + User Agent
* Explicit session identifiers
– held in (transient) cookies
– passed along as URI parameters (e.g., shop/detail.php?
sesID=984533193)
* Vendors often allow combination

Question 22

What additional heuristics are used in sessionization?

Answer 22

Referrer Data: Analyzing the referring website can help determine if a new visit is from a returning user.
Session Timeout:
A period of inactivity beyond a threshold (e.g., 30 minutes) can indicate a new session.
A maximum total session duration can also be imposed.

Question 23

problems with cookies

Answer 23

– counting browsers
* people often share computers
* people own or have access to multiple computers
* people might use different browsers
– cookies get blocked or erased

Question 24

how to solve cookie problem

Answer 24

Most important cookies should be first-party cookies
* Measure cookie rejection rates
* Consider site registration/log in
* Make it worthwhile for visitors to keep cookies
* Do not look at absolute values but at trends

Question 25

type of visitors

Answer 25

new visitors: unique visitors with first-ever visit during period
– repeat visitor: unique visitors that visit multiple times during
period
– return visitors: unique visitors who also visited prior to period

Question 26

new visitors

Answer 26

new visitors: unique visitors with first-ever visit during period

Question 27

repeat visitor

Answer 27

– repeat visitor: unique visitors that visit multiple times during
period

Question 28

– return visitors

Answer 28

– return visitors: unique visitors who also visited prior to period

Question 29

time on Site

Answer 29

timestamp of last (recorded) activity minus
timestamp of first activity in session

Question 30

bounce rate

Answer 30

ratio of visits where visitor left instantly

Question 31

Site Bounce Rate:

Answer 31

(Number of single-page view visits) / (Total number of visits)

Question 32

Page Bounce Rate:

Answer 32

(Number of single-page view visits for a specific page) / (Number of visits where that page was the entry page)

Question 33

bounce rate segmentation

Answer 33

– traffic source
– search engine
– top landing pages
– countries

Question 34

What is a referrer?

Answer 34

A referrer is the web page that directed a visitor to your website.

Question 35

Why might referrers not always be known?

Answer 35

Bookmarks: Visitors might have bookmarked your site.
Direct Typing: The URL might have been typed directly into the browser.
Email Marketing: Traffic might come from an email campaign.
Browser Security Settings: Strict privacy settings can prevent referrer information from being sent.

Question 36

How can you leverage referrer information?

Answer 36

Segmentation: Apply segmentation of other metrics (e.g., bounce rate, time on site) based on the referrer. This helps you understand how visitors from different sources interact with your website.

Question 37

What is a conversion?

Answer 37

A conversion is a visitor performing a specific action that is considered a valuable outcome for a website or app.

Question 38

What is a conversion chain?

Answer 38

A conversion chain is a sequence of steps that a visitor must complete to achieve a conversion.

Question 39

What are different ways to count conversions?

Answer 39

Number of times conversion occurred: Total number of conversions.
Visits where conversion occurred: Number of visits that resulted in a conversion.
Unique visitors that converted: Number of distinct visitors who completed a conversion.

Question 40

A Sankey diagram

Answer 40

A Sankey diagram can be used to perform navigation analysis of users.