Using URL Parameter Analysis

If your web site content is dynamically generated, URL Parameter Analysis helps you understand requests for content more effectively by creating reports that show which parameters are used in page requests.

Understanding URL Parameter Analysis

The following diagram shows the structure of a URL. In addition to the protocol, the domain name, and a path or directory, a URL frequently includes several query parameters that define a dynamically created page request. URL parameters are typically separated by a space or ampersand (&).

Dynamically generated URLs are constructed from multiple query parameters based on the content visitors request as they click through the site. A query parameter consists of a name-value pair. For example, the URL http://www.clothingshopping.com/category.aspx?catId=211&colorId=3&sizeId=6 includes the URL parameters CatId, ColorId, and SizeId. These query parameters can occur in any order. Defining these query parameters in your URL Parameter Analysis definitions enables you to track how many visitors requested particular types and combinations of information. For example, defining CatId, ColorId, and SizeId could allow you to report on the catalog items, colors, and sizes of clothing visitors requested. For more information about setting up URL Parameter Analysis, see “Setting Up URL Parameter Analysis for Full-Featured Analysis.”

Getting Meaningful Parameter Data

Because many parameters are defined using numerical strings or other codes, you may want to use a lookup table to translate parameter values into a more usable format for reports. For example, if you want Webtrends reports to show a product name rather than a product ID number, you can use a lookup table to translate the ID number to a product name.

Setting Up URL Parameter Analysis for Full-Featured Analysis

Each URL Parameter Analysis report can track either one or two specified parameters to show which content visitors requested. To create a URL Parameter Analysis report for Standard or Parent-Child Full-Featured Analysis profiles, you need to specify the parameters you want Webtrends to report on, enable URL Parameter Analysis in your profile, and make sure your template includes URL Parameter Analysis reports. The following steps give an overview of this process.

To create a URL Parameter Analysis Report:

1. In the left pane, click Administration > Web Analysis > Report Configuration > URL Parameters.

2. Click New.

3. In the Description text box, type a name to identify this URL Parameter Analysis definition in Webtrends Administration and in reports. For example, type News.

4. In the Page Name text box, type a page expression to identify the page(s) you want to track, excluding parameters. For example, type /jobs/search.asp. Because page identification can work differently depending on the fields included in your log files, you may want to use wildcards or regular expressions to identify the page URL. Keep in mind that Webtrends strips home pages such as default.htm and index.htm from URLs before analysis. For example, to specify all pages other than a configured home page that end in the string download.asp, regardless of protocol, domain, or directory, type *download.asp (if using wildcards) or .*/download\.asp (if using a regular expression). If download.asp is a configured home page, however, Webtrends strips download.asp from the URL before matching the definition to the URL, so that no pages are matched. Using wildcards, you can match all pages found in the log files, including configured home pages, by specifying */*, or specify all pages in a specific directory by specifying */news/.

   Note

   Home pages are configured in the Home dialog of the profile settings. To access these settings, edit the profile and click Analysis > Home.

5. If you want to use a regular expression to specify the page, select the Regular Expression check box. For more information about specifying regular expressions, see “Regular Expression Syntax Reference.” To test a sample string against your expression, click Test.

6. In the Primary Parameter text box, type the main parameter you want to track. If you are creating a 2-dimensional Parameter Analysis definition, the Secondary Parameter will be tracked in relation to this parameter.

7. In the Name To Display In Reports text box, type the name you want to identify the parameter in reports. If you leave this text box blank, reports show the parameter as specified in the Primary Parameter text box.

8. If you want to use a translation file to make your Primary Parameter values easier to read, select the Translate Primary Parameter values into more meaningful strings check box and type the path or browse to the translation file. For example, if your web server logs job categories as numeric strings, you can use a translation file to provide the name of each job category. A translation file can be either a comma-separated value (CSV) file or a database.

9. If you want to report on a second parameter in relation to the Primary Parameter, type the parameter name in the Secondary Parameter text box. For example, type region.

10. In the Name To Display In Reports text box, type the name you want to identify the parameter in reports. If you leave this text box blank, reports show the parameter as specified in the Secondary Parameter text box.

11. If your parameter values are encoded or hard to understand, you can also assign a lookup table to any parameter so Webtrends will translate it for reports. Save the definition. For more information about lookup tables, see “Using Lookup Tables for Analytics Reports.”

12. If you want to ensure that all profiles enable one or more URL Parameter Analysis reports, including future profiles you create, click Global: Include in all profiles and select the definitions you want to enable.

13. If you want to use a translation file to make your Secondary Parameter values easier to read, select the Translate Secondary Parameter values into more meaningful strings check box and type the path or browse to the translation file.

14. Click Save.

15. If you did not select Global: Include in all profiles to apply this definition to all profiles, edit your profile and enable your URL parameter analysis definition to include it in reports.

    1. In the left pane click Administration > Web Analysis > Reports & Profiles.
    2. Mouse over a profile and click Edit on the Action menu.
    3. Click Advanced > URL Parameter Analysis.
    4. Select the URL parameter analysis definitions to apply to the selected profile.
    5. Click Save.

16. In the left pane, click Web Analysis > Report Designer > Templates and edit the template for each profile. On the Content dialog, make sure that the URL Parameter Analysis and URL 2-D Parameter Analysis folders are included in the template. If they are not, click Add Report and select these folders under Site Design. During analysis, these folders are populated with any URL Parameter Analysis reports you enabled.

    Note

    The Complete View templates include both one-dimensional and two-dimensional URL Parameter Analysis reports by default.

17. After the next analysis cycle for the profile, you can view the results in your reports. In the default Complete View template, URL Parameter Analysis reports are located in the Site Design > Parameter Analysis reports folder.

Setting Up URL Parameter Analysis for Basic Analysis

Each URL Parameter Analysis report can track either one or two specified parameters to show which content visitors requested. To create a URL Parameter Analysis report, you need to specify the parameter(s) you want Webtrends to report for each Basic Analysis profile and make sure your template includes URL Parameter Analysis reports.

To set up URL Parameter Analysis for Parent-Child Basic Analysis:

1. In the left pane, click Administration > Web Analysis > Reports & Profiles.

2. Add or edit a Parent-Child Basic Analysis profile.

3. In the URL Parameters dialog, specify the one or two query parameters and the report settings you want to use.

4. In the left pane, click Web Analysis > Report Designer > Templates and edit the template for each profile. On the Content dialog, make sure that the URL Parameter Analysis and URL 2-D Parameter Analysis folders are included in the template. If they are not, click Add Report and select these folders under Site Design. During analysis, these folders are populated with any URL Parameter Analysis reports you configured.

   Note

   The Basic Analysis Complete View templates include both 1-D and 2-D URL Parameter Analysis reports by default.

5. If your parameter values are encoded or hard to understand, you can create a Webtrends plug-in that translates the parameter into more meaningful text for Webtrends to show in reports.

Using Webtrends Plug-Ins to Extend Parameter Analysis Reporting

You can create a Webtrends plug-in to request log file field data from Webtrends Analytics and append it to the query string. For example, if you want Webtrends to report on referrer data as a query parameter, a programmer could create a plug-in that gets the value of the referrer field for each hit and appends the value to the query string. You can then specify the query parameter that identifies the referrer value in the URL Parameter Analysis settings for your profile to be included in your Parameter Analysis reports. For more information about the log file data you can work with, see “Webtrends C Plug-In Programmer’s Reference” or “Webtrends ActiveX Plug-In Programmer’s Reference” in the Webtrends Programmer’s Reference.

Because many parameters are defined using numerical strings or other codes, you may want to create a Webtrends plug-in that translates parameter values into a more usable format for reports. For example, if you want Webtrends reports to show a product name rather than a product ID number, you can create a plug-in that translates the ID number into a product name.