System and method for generating personalized short links and monitoring activity
View Patent ↗A computerized method and system to generate individualized shortened URLs and track user activity is disclosed. A method includes generating an individualized shortened URLs for each of a plurality of recipients, sending communications to each of the plurality of recipients, wherein each of the communications includes the individualized shortened URL, receiving a request from at least one of the plurality of recipients for the individualized shortened URL, and referring the request to a destination URL.
1. A computer-implemented method performed by a user activity tracking system based upon shortened Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), the method comprising:
receiving a request for an individualized shortened first URL, the individualized shortened first URL including a unique identifier identifying a first recipient from among a plurality of recipients;
causing a computing device associated with the first recipient to create and store a locally-stored tracking object;
receiving a request for a second URL;
determining that the request for the second URL originated from the first recipient;
associating activity performed at the second URL with the locally-stored tracking object; and
based upon activity associated with the locally-stored tracking object, providing a report describing web activity generated by the first recipient at the second URL.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: based upon activity associated with the locally-stored tracking object, providing a report of web activity generated by the first recipient at a plurality of URLs, the plurality of URLs comprising the second URL.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving web activity information about a user's activity with respect to a first marketing campaign separate and distinct from a second marketing campaign associated with the individualized shortened first URL;
wherein the report indicates the effectiveness of the first marketing campaign with respect to the first recipient.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the report further indicates the relative effectiveness of the first marketing campaign with respect to the first recipient, relative to the second marketing campaign with respect to the first recipient.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
subsequent to a time period for which a marketing campaign associated with a destination URL for the individualized shortened first URL, generating a new destination URL for the individualized shortened first URL; and
associating the new destination URL with the individualized shortened first URL in place of the destination URL.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a request for an individualized shortened third URL, the individualized shortened third URL including the unique identifier; and
associating activity performed at a destination URL associated with the individualized shortened third URL with the locally-stored tracking object;
wherein the report describes web activity generated by the first recipient at the third URL or a destination address associated with the third URL.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
redirecting the request for the individualized shortened first URL to a destination URL associated with the first URL; and
associating activity performed at the destination URL with the locally-stored tracking object;
wherein the report describes web activity generated by the first recipient at the destination URL.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the report comprises a description of web activity generated by the first recipient at a third URL distinct from the first and second URLs.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the third URL is for a web asset controlled by an entity distinct from an entity that controls the first and second URLs.