NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Logging/Tracking Referring URLs
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Logging/Tracking Referring URLs
Walter Soldierer (Walter.Soldierer_at_t-online.de)
Mon, 04 Aug 1997 12:53:37 +0200
On Fri, 1 Aug 97 17:10:52 -0700 Steve Roth <sroth_at_thunderlizard.com> wrote:
>Date: Fri, 1 Aug 97 17:10:52 -0700
>To: online-ads_at_o-a.com
>From: Steve Roth <sroth_at_thunderlizard.com>
>Subject: ONLINE-ADS>> Logging/Tracking Referring URLs
>
[...]
>If you're like us, you're also frustrated that a large percentage of page
>requests have no referring URLs. There are solutions for tracking paid
>banner insertions (CGI-based, etc.), but for all those other visits, it's
>a problem.
>
>Based on our log analysis, our best guess is that the high percentage is
>a result of proxies and gateways, which don't "populate" the referring
>URL field in the HTTP request.
>
>But the percentages are awfully high. Can't reveal ours, but four other
>sites are reporting *very* high percentages: 50-70% unknown.
>Do others have this problem? Does anyone have an explanation?
[...]
Hello,
we used to identify web sites that registered our service by checking the
referring URL (HTTP_REFERER) that comes with a request. Therefore the
HTTP_REFERER is essential information for us and since a few months we run
a cgi program to log all visits that don't send one with their request. I'd
like to share the results:
(1)
There is (of course) no HTTP_REFERER if a page's URL was entered into the
browsers location bar directly.
(2)
Some browsers don't send referers. We compiled a list of such browsers.
Here are the "winners":
977 x Mozilla/2.0 (Compatible; AOL-IWENG 3.0; Win16)
713 x aolbrowser/1.1 InterCon-Web-Library/1.2 (Macintosh; 68K)
549 x PRODIGY-WB/3.2b
220 x anonymous browsers
153 x PRODIGY-WB/3.1d
113 x IBM WebExplorer DLL /v1.03
112 x Mozilla/2.0 (compatible; MSIE 3.0; Windows 3.1)
103 x NetCruiser/V2.1.1
I uploaded the complete list of 208 different browsers to
http://www.all-yours.net/noreferer.html for your convenience.
More than 1/4 of those were AOL browsers. Up to now we logged 4.268
visits which is less than 1% of total visits from registered web
sites during the logging period. 220 didn't even send the browser's
name (HTTP_USER_AGENT).
(3)
Some of the browsers logged actually HAVE the ability to send an
HTTP_REFERER (see MSIE 3.0 above). So there must be another reason for not
having sent it. Some proxies and firewalls seem to simply remove it from
the
headers.
So we have less than 1% unknown. If you have 50-70% I would guess your page
either gets lots of direct visits (1) or your server wasn't set up to
handle HTTP_REFERER.
Sorry for this rather technical stuff. Hope it helps anyway.
regards,
--Walter
-- ------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Walter Soldierer hermes_at_all-yours.net
All-Yours Internet Solutions http://www.all-yours.net/
The Digital Postcard autoresponder response_at_all-yours.net
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