Tracking Dynamically-Generated Content with LiveStats
LiveStats can track dynamically-generated content on your web site and
also supports the use of CGI parameters in URL filters for Custom Reports and Content Mapping.
Note: This section is an introduction to tracking dynamically-generated content with
LiveStats. Additional information on this type of content is included within the instructions
for the Content Mapping, Custom Reports, and Dynamic Content settings.
The relative URL of a dynamically-generated page is made up of a URI-Stem and a URI-Query.
The URI-Query (the CGI parameters and values) includes all the characters to the right of the first question mark.
In the example below, the URI-Stem is "/html/details.aspx" and the URI-Query is "rowid=81."
http://www.xyzcorporation.com/html/details.aspx?rowid=81
If you do not configure LiveStats to track dynamically-generated content or use Content Mapping filters, then the Page reports will display statistics for all URLs matching the URI-Stem under one URL such as /html/details.aspx.
You can configure LiveStats to track your dynamically-generated content:
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By using the Dynamic Content setting, you can track pages generated by any CGI application you define and have the statistics for these dynamic web pages displayed in the Pages reports. |
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By using CGI parameters in the Content Mapping setting, you can track specific dynamically-generated pages and have the statistics displayed in the Pages reports. |
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By using CGI parameters in the Custom Reports setting, you can create a Watch to track activity by a specific CGI application. For example, you can watch online store activity, the use of internal search engines, the use of an FAQ section, etc. |
Notes:
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Try to use the least possible CGI parameters needed to identify the dynamic content that you want to track. The more parameters you add, the more specific the content that is returned. |
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If using multiple CGI parameters, ensure that they are listed in the order which they occur in the URI Query. |
Filtering on Dynamically-Generated Content
You can use CGI parameters in URL filters for the Custom Reports and Content Mapping settings.
Because most web servers record the URI-Stem and URI-Query of a URL in separate fields in the log file, it is recommended that you enter the URI-Stem and URI-Query as separate keywords in your filter.
For example, to create a filter that matches the sample URL, http://www.xyzcorporation.com/html/details.aspx?rowid=81 exactly, you would define the filter as "/html/details.aspx AND rowid=81."
Because statistics for a web site are usually limited to a single domain—such as www.xyzcorporation.com—filters are only applied to the relative URL.
Note: If you use only one keyword—or a substring of a keyword—you may get more matches than you want. To ensure you match only the target URL, use keywords or substrings unique to the URL.
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