Chapter 7: Managing Links

  • Article

Content Analyzer lets you track the links that connect the resources in your site. As a Web professional, you probably spend a lot of time making sure your links work properly and are up-to-date. For example, do the links take you to the right place? Did you specify link URLs to default pages correctly? Are there any old links left over from a previous iteration of the site? Are there any resources in the site that no longer have any links to them?

You can use the Link Info window to monitor these and many other kinds of link issues. The Link Info window provides information about all the links associated with a selected object. This chapter covers almost all the information you need to know about links, including:

  • How to use the Link Info window: As with the Search Results window, you can manipulate the Link Info window in a variety of ways. You can rearrange properties and columns, and you can export the information to HTML or to a spreadsheet or database.

  • How to keep track of links: Depending on the task you're trying to accomplish, you'll need to focus on different aspects of links. With Content Analyzer, you can make sure that your links are accurate and consistent, that there are no broken links, that orphaned or changed objects have been updated, and so on.

  • How to monitor your Web presence: Because the Web is constantly changing, you need to be sure that your links to other sites remain valid. You'll also want to keep track of any sites that point to your own site. With Content Analyzer, you can easily find out this kind of information by verifying links or performing certain searches.

  • A listing of link properties: Brief descriptions of all the link properties are given.

Topics in this chapter:

Search Results and Link Info

All about Links in Content Analyzer

The Link Info Window

Keeping Track of Links

Keeping Track of Links to and from Other Sites

Available Link Properties

Managing links with Content Analyzer involves searching for particular objects, and then examining the links in and out of those objects. Throughout this chapter, we'll be showing you various examples that use both the Search Results and Link Info windows.

We assume that you understand how to use the Search Results window, and how to interpret and customize its properties. If you need basic information about searching, see Chapter 6, "Searching Maps and Creating Custom Reports." Also, if you don't find what you're looking for in this chapter, see Chapter 8, Site Management Tips & Techniques, which provides numerous examples of how you can use Content Analyzer to manage your site.

All about Links in Content Analyzer

Each object in the map has associated link information, which Content Analyzer displays in the Link Info window (View|Object Links). You can see all pages in the site that have a link to that object (the object's InLinks) as well as all that object's links to other objects (if the object in question is a page). For each link associated with the object, you can see the link's hyperlink text, link URL, number of hits it has received, and more. For a complete list of all link properties, see "Available Link Properties."

Every link in a Web site can be described in two ways. First, and most commonly, a link can be described as residing on a page, letting you navigate from that page to another page or other resource (such as an audio clip). Links on pages can also be used to incorporate another resource (such as an inline image) into the page itself. Content Analyzer displays links as children of the page on which they reside. As you manage your site, you can quickly see all links on a particular page by right-clicking the page, then choosing Links to view the Link Info window (see "The Link Info Window"). Be sure the Links on Page button is selected.

Second, links can also be described as pointing into the selected object (which is why they're called InLinks). An object might have many such links pointing to it from within the site. To see the InLinks associated with the object, right-click it, then select the InLinks button in the Link Info window.

View an object's InLinks in the Link Info window 

To see a list of links associated with a page or other object, right-click the object, then choose Links. (You can also choose Object Links from the View menu or Main toolbar.) This is particularly useful when some links are not visible because of the current display options (see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps") or because you've hidden objects (see "Showing or Hiding Individual Objects" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques").

Click the buttons at the top of the Link Info window to see different types of links; the total number of links of the selected type appears at the bottom of the window.

  • Links on Page button: For pages only, shows all links on the selected page.

  • InLinks button: Shows all links that point to the selected object from other pages (these links are referred to as InLinks). InLinks may be from pages in the same site, or from another site (if you've imported usage data, or if you've explored other sites in addition to the "home" site).

  • Main Route button: Shows all ancestor links on the main route to the selected object. For instance, if the selected object is a grandchild of the home page, the parent page and the grandparent page (the home page) is shown in the Link Info window.

    The Overview of Hawaiian History page is a great-grandchild of the home page 

This option lets you trace the direct family relationship of the selected object, which is particularly useful if the object is deep in the map and its ancestry is not immediately obvious.

For information on using the Link Info window to follow links in the map, see "Following Links: Where They Go or Where They Come from."

The Link Info window shows the properties of the links associated with the selected object, one property to a column. Link properties include such things as hyperlink text, URL, hits, and location (whether the link is onsite or offsite).

To change the size of a column, click and drag the column boundaries. You can also change which properties are shown in the window. For information, see "Changing the Properties and Column Order in the Link Info Window."

Default Column Settings

Content Analyzer comes with default settings for the properties shown in the Link Info window. Each link type--Links on Page, InLinks, and Main Route--has a different default, as shown in the following tables. For a complete list of all available link properties, and definitions for each, see "Available Link Properties." If you want to change the properties (or the order of the columns), see "Changing the Properties and Column Order in the Link Info Window."

Hyperlink Text

MIME Type

Size

Order

HTTP Status

Location

Route Type

Hits

Link URL

URL

Hyperlink Text

Link URL

Location

Route Type

Hits

Referrer

URL

Label

Level

Hits

Hyperlink Text

URL

When you're examining links, you may want to see only certain properties. For instance, say you're especially interested in usage data for the links on your home page. You can tell Content Analyzer to display only the hit count (Hits), number of referring URLs (Referrals), and hyperlink text. To choose the link properties you want to be displayed in the Link Info window, click the Columns button in the Link Info window. You can also get to the Columns command by right-clicking any column header in the Link Info window.

The properties in the Link Info window are displayed in columns running left to right. You can use the Columns command to rearrange the order of the columns to suit your needs.

Note If you choose to display a property, it's possible that there may sometimes be no value for that property for a particular link. For example, for the Hits property, a particular link might have received no hits. In a case like this, the field is blank. If a property doesn't apply at all to a link type (for example, the Broken property for the Main Route link type), it will not be shown in the Available Properties list.

Warning When you click Done in the Columns dialog box, you overwrite the default column settings for the Link Info window. Content Analyzer always retains the last settings used in the Link Info window.

  1. Right-click any column header in the Link Info window, then choose Columns.

    The properties currently displayed in the Link Info window are shown in the Show These Properties list.

  2. From the Available Properties list, select any other properties you want displayed in the Link Info window, then click Add. (To select several properties at once, Ctrl-Click each property you want displayed.)

  3. If you want to add all the properties in the Available Properties list, click Add All.

    The properties you've chosen move to the Show These Properties list, as shown in the following dialog box.

  4. If you change your mind and want to start with a clean slate, click Remove All.

  5. If you want to remove properties from the Show These Properties list, select properties in that list, then click Remove.

  6. If you want to change the column order, select a property in the Show These Properties list and click Move Up or Move Down. Continue moving properties until they are in the order you want.

  7. If you change your mind and want to leave the dialog box without making any changes, click the Close (X) icon in the upper right corner of the dialog box.

  8. When you've finished arranging columns, click Done. Note: Once you've clicked Done, you'll have overwritten the default column settings for the Link Info window. Content Analyzer always retains the last settings used in the Link Info window.

Changing How Properties are Sorted

You can quickly change how properties are sorted in the Link Info window. Just click the column header for the property you want to sort by.

Numeric and date properties are sorted in descending (largest first) order. For instance, suppose you want to see all the links on a particular page, sorted by hit count. Just click the column header for the Hits property, and the links will be rearranged according to how many hits they've received; links with the most hits are shown first. To reverse the order so that links with the least hits are shown first, click the column header again.

If you want to sort by two properties, click the column header for a second property. For instance, you could sort links first by Hits, then by MIME Type (objects will be shown sorted by MIME type, and within MIME types, by number of hits).

Note The most recently sorted column takes precedence over any other sorted columns; the Link Info window always reflects the results of the most recent sort.

Exporting Link Info to HTML or Tab-delimited Text

You can export the contents of the Link Info window as an HTML table or as a tab-delimited file. The last option is most useful for exporting to a database or spreadsheet.

For tab-delimited files, columns are separated by tabs, and rows are separated by a newline character. (Your database or spreadsheet application might ask you for this information when you try to import the file.)

  1. Make sure the information you want to export appears in the Link Info window.

  2. Choose Export|Link Info from the File menu.

  3. From the Format list, choose the file format you want to export to.

  4. Specify the directory and name for the export file, or accept the defaults Content Analyzer suggests: Links.htm for HTML, or Links.txt for tab-delimited text.

  5. Click OK. Content Analyzer exports the information to the specified file name.

Part of your job as a Web site manager is to make sure that the links between resources in your site are functioning properly. Among other things, you'll need to find out if there are any broken links in the site, fix links to resources that move or change, and make sure that the wording of links (the hyperlink text) is appropriate for the items being pointed to. In fact, as you look at the information available in the Link Info window (View|Object Links), you'll probably come up with your own ideas of link-management tasks you can perform. With this in mind, this section provides some link management tasks that serve as examples of what you can do with Content Analyzer.

Content Analyzer lets you select an object in the map and follow links into and out of the object. For example, if you make changes to a resource in your site, you might need to edit those pages that have links to the changed item. To do so, you can use the Link Info window to display a list of InLinks associated with the changed object and then navigate to the source of each InLink. Once the source object is selected in the map, you can launch the appropriate helper application and edit the file.

  1. In the Link Info window, be sure the Links on Page button is selected.

  2. Select the link you want to follow in the Link Info window.

  3. Click Follow.

    The main-route object to which the link points is selected in the map window. (If you had selected the InLinks button, the main-route object where the link originates would be selected instead.)

    Note You cannot follow offsite referral InLinks (those you imported with usage data). 

  4. Click Back to reselect the original object and link.

    Note After following a link, if you subsequently click other objects in the map, you can't use the Back button.

Using the Link Info window to follow links is particularly handy when objects are hidden in the map. (All objects of a certain type might be hidden because of the current display options, or particular individual objects might be hidden.) In such cases, the children you see in the map window might not be a complete picture.

You can follow links from the selected object even if the links aren't visible in the map 

If you follow a link to a hidden object, Content Analyzer displays and selects the object in the Tree view, but the object is dimmed. (In the Cyberbolic view, the parent object is selected.) You'll still be able to see the object's properties in the Properties dialog box, but it will be re-hidden when you collapse the parent page or close the map.

There are times when Content Analyzer displays objects as unavailable (in red), but the links to them aren't really broken. For example, you might have mapped your site at a time when heavy traffic caused an offsite link to be unavailable. Or, perhaps you had some broken links in your site that you've fixed and now you want to verify that the links are okay. Content Analyzer lets you verify the links in your site by trying again to access either all objects or just the links that were broken the last time you mapped.

  1. Choose Verify Links from the Mapping menu or click the Verify Links button on the Main toolbar.

  2. In the Verify Links dialog box, select the type of links you want to verify.

    Link type

    Description

    Onsite 

    Links that point to an object on the same site as their parent page.

    Offsite 

    Links that point to an object on a different site from the page on which the link resides.

    All Links 

    All links, whether they are okay or broken.

    Broken Links Only 

    Links that returned 402, 403, 404, 151, 152, or other errors the last time you mapped. (For more information about HTTP error codes, see "Determining Why a Link Is Broken.")

  3. Click Verify. Any objects that remain displayed in red are either still unavailable, or the links to them are broken. (See "Locating and Fixing Broken Links" for more information.) When Content Analyzer successfully accesses an object, the object is displayed in one of three colors:

    Black, if the link is the main route. 

    Green, if the link is an alternate route. 

    Blue, if the link points to an object on a different site than the link's parent page. 

Note that in all three cases, the object still has a question mark icon; even though Content Analyzer has verified that the object exists, it hasn't yet explored the object.

As you work on your Web site--editing HTML files, moving files around, and so on--links can break. Maybe the object a link points to has moved or been renamed. Maybe there's a typing error in an HREF attribute. Or maybe a site being pointed to is unavailable due to heavy traffic or network problems. Broken links are displayed in red in the WebMap. Using Content Analyzer, you can quickly find the broken links in your site and start up the applications you need to edit the source files.

There are two ways to search for broken links: you can search for all links that are broken, or you can search for objects that couldn't be reached. The method you use depends on what you're trying to accomplish at the time.

In the first case (searching for all broken links), an individual object could be reported multiple times: once for each occurrence of a link to it.

In a broken links search, the results window shows that the LIVING object has two broken links pointing to it 

In the second case (searching for broken objects or objects with a particular HTTP status code), any given object is reported only once, regardless of how many links point to it.

In an unavailable object search, each object that couldn't be reached is reported only once 

To search for unavailable objects

The fastest way to find all unavailable objects is to choose Quick Search|Unavailable Objects from the Tools menu. When you do this, Content Analyzer displays a Search Results window showing all unavailable objects it has found.

If you want to limit or expand the search, use the Custom Search command to specify another object characteristic in the Secondary Search Criteria area. For example, you can search for unavailable objects that have an HTTP status code of 152 (which usually means the server is down). Alternatively, you could search for all objects with a status code that's greater than 400. (See "Determining Why a Link Is Broken" for definitions of these status codes.) For example:

  1. Choose Custom Search from the Tools menu or click the Search button on the Main toolbar.

  2. Set up the Search dialog box as follows:

    Object Type: All Objects 

    Field: HTTP Status 

    Modifiers: Equals 

    Value: 152 

  3. Click Search. The Search Results window displays the objects that couldn't be reached because Content Analyzer couldn't connect with the server.

To search for broken links, set up the Custom Search dialog box as follows:

Object Type: Links

Field: Broken

Modifiers: Equals

Value: True

Content Analyzer displays a Search Results window showing all broken links it has found. If several broken links point to the same object, those links appear in the results once for each time the object is pointed to.

If you want to limit or expand the search further, you can specify another link characteristic in the Advanced Search Criteria area. For example, you can search for broken offsite or onsite links by specifying Offsite Equals TRUE or Offsite Equals FALSE, respectively. For more information on using the Search dialog box, see Chapter 6, "Searching Maps and Creating Custom Reports."

  1. Select a link in the Search Results window. The object to which the link points is automatically selected in the map.

  2. Select the parent page of the object (the parent page is the page containing the incorrect link).

  3. Start up the helper application you want to use to edit the source file. To start up an application, use the Launch Helper App command on the Tools menu or on the right-click menu.

Objects might be unavailable (shown in red in the WebMap) for several different reasons. Often, it's because the object was not found on the server, the server was busy or having other technical difficulties, or because you don't have rights to view the object.

In most instances (with the exception of error codes 403 and 404), you can often use the Mapping|Verify Links command to reach the object later. For error code 401 (password-protected objects), you may be able to tell Content Analyzer what the password is for the object; see "If Your Site Has Password-Protected Areas" in Appendix , "Appendix A: Content Analyzer Setup," for details.

An unavailable object has a particular HTTP status code associated with it, as described in the following table. To determine exactly why an object is unavailable, you can use the Properties dialog box (View|Object Properties) to see the status code. Or, if you've searched for broken links, make sure that HTTP Status is one of the properties shown in the Search Results window. (For more information about configuring columns, see "Determining which Properties Appear in the Search Results Window" in Chapter 6, "Searching Maps and Creating Custom Reports.")

The following table describes some of the more common status codes you'll see; some of the codes are Content Analyzer-specific, while others are standard HTTP status codes. You can find descriptions of the standard HTTP status codes on the Web at the following URL:

https://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Protocols/HTTP/1.1/spec.html#Status-Codes 

HTTP Status

Meaning

Description

151

DNS Hostname Lookup Failure
 

Content Analyzer couldn't find the network address associated with the object's URL.

152

Unable to Connect

Content Analyzer resolved the address, but was unable to connect to the server.

153

Incomplete HTTP Header Response

The server did not retrieve the full HTTP header in the first "packet." This error code typically occurs only with N.E.T Web Server 1.0.

401

Password Protected

You need a password or some other security code to gain access to the site or the specific object.

403

Forbidden

Content Analyzer's request to access the object was denied for a reason other than a password requirement.

404

Not Found

This represents a truly "broken" link. Content Analyzer was able to connect to the server, but the page or other resource either wasn't on the server, or it existed at a different URL than is specified in the link URL on the object's parent page. Until the broken link is fixed, you won't be able to reach this object.

500

Internal Server Error

Content Analyzer connected to the server, but the server was unable to process the request. The server was down or having other technical difficulties, or there was some problem with Internet traffic or connections. In this case, you might want try to reach the object again later, since such technical problems are often temporary.

Sometimes, when you change a resource in your site, links to that resource (InLinks) no longer make sense. For example, suppose you change the name of your "What's New" page. You'll need to change all links to that page so that they refer to the new file name. Or, perhaps you've changed the contents of your download directory. You'll want to make sure that links to the download directory are still appropriate. Content Analyzer lets you locate all links to a particular object and quickly fix them if necessary.

If you've made many changes to the resources in your site, you might want to remap the site and compare the new map to the old map. See "Keeping Maps Current" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques" for information.

  1. Select the object (in the map or results window) that changed.

  2. Display the Link Info window.

  3. Click the InLinks button. All links to the selected object (InLinks) appear in the list.

    Link Info window showing InLinks to a changed resource 

    Note that if the map contains explored offsite links, the Link(s) list could include links from those other sites.

  4. If you want to see if the hyperlink wordings still make sense considering the changes you made to the object, make sure that Hyperlink Text is one of the properties shown in the Link Info window.

  5. Select a link that you want to check further, and click Follow. The page where the link originates is selected in the map.

  6. To display the newly selected page in your Web browser, double-click the object in the map. Now you can inspect the source page and locate the link in question.

  7. If you need to change or delete the link because it's no longer appropriate, launch your helper application to edit the source page. See "Using Helper Applications to Edit or View Source Files" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques," for complete information about using helper applications with Content Analyzer.

As your site changes over time, resources can become obsolete if the referencing pages change. To keep your site from becoming cluttered with resources that aren't needed anymore, you can compare a new map of your site to the old map and produce a report on orphans. Then you can identify the pages that have links to the orphaned objects.

To produce a report on orphaned objects

For details on how to compare maps and produce an orphaned-objects report, see "Comparing and Updating WebMaps" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques."

  1. Select the object in the Orphaned Objects window.

  2. Display the Link Info window.

  3. Select the InLinks button. All links to the selected object appear in the Links list.

    The pages shown in the Link Info window have links to the orphaned More than Surfing page 

    Note that if the map contains explored offsite links, the Link(s) list could include links from those other sites (shown in blue). 

  4. To inspect the orphaned page to see if it's really a resource that doesn't belong in the site anymore, simply double-click the object in the results window to display it in your browser.

Checking the Accuracy of Hyperlink Text

In a large Web site, it's easy to lose track of how you worded the hyperlink text of links to a particular object. Did you capitalize a particular word? Did you use the same form of a particular verb? Did you rename a product and forget to fix a link to the page that describes the product? With Content Analyzer, you can quickly check the hyperlink text of all InLinks to a particular object.

To check hyperlink text

  1. Select the object that has InLinks you want to check.

  2. Display the Link Info window.

  3. Select the InLinks button.

  4. Make sure that Hyperlink Text is one of the properties shown.

  5. Click down through the list of InLinks, checking the hyperlink text for each one. Do the links have appropriately worded hyperlink text for the selected object? Are they consistently worded and capitalized?

  6. To change a link, select it and click Follow. The parent page of the link is selected in the map. Now you can launch the appropriate helper application to edit this page.

Many Web sites contain links whose URLs end with default HTML pages, such as index.htm, welcome.htm, or default.htm. For example:

<A HREF="/index.html"></A> 

Using a specific default file name creates a problem if you should move the site to a server that uses a different default name; all of those links will break when you change the name of the default file. The preferred method is to specify link URLs without a specific default name. The server will know to look for whatever the URL's default name happens to be. So, you could change the previous URL to:

<A HREF="/"></A> 

Regardless of which method you choose, it's important to be consistent. To make your site more portable, it's especially important to use consistent capitalization for all link URLs to a particular object. On a case-insensitive server (such as Windows NT), it doesn't matter how you capitalize a file name. But if your site gets moved to a case-sensitive server (such as UNIX), some of your links might be broken if you used inconsistent capitalization.

  1. Choose Custom Search from the Tools menu or click the Search button on the Main toolbar.

  2. Set up the Search dialog box as follows, then click Search:

    Search: Entire Map 

    Object Type: Links 

    Field: Link URL 

    Modifiers: Contains 

    Text String: index 

  3. In the Search Results window, make sure the Link URL property is shown.

  4. Launch the appropriate helper application to edit the page containing the link.

  5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 to locate and fix link URLs containing other default names, such as default.htm.

The more offsite links your site contains, the more you'll want to keep track of where these links are pointing and make sure they're still valid. For example, an offsite link might become invalid if the other site deletes the page your site points to, or if the content of a page your site points to changes so that the link is no longer relevant. For a discussion about offsite links, see "Offsite Objects (Blue Labels)," in "Object and Route Label Colors" in Chapter 2, "Anatomy of a WebMap."

Content Analyzer considers a link between any two different sites to be an offsite link. If you have links to other sites, they're shown in blue in the map and in the Link Info and results windows. And, if there are links from other sites back to your site, or between any two different sites, they are also shown in blue. So be aware when you search for or work with offsite links, the list may include links back to your home site, or between two other sites.

If you want to see a list of all objects on your home site, use the Home Site Objects Quick Search. Conversely, to see all objects not on your home site, use the Non-Home Site Objects Quick Search.

  1. Choose Custom Search from the Tools menu, or click the Custom Search button on the Main toolbar.

  2. Set up the Search dialog box as follows:

    Search: Entire Map 

    Object Type: Links 

    Field: Offsite 

    Modifiers: Equals 

    Value: TRUE 

  3. Click Search. The Search Results window reports all links that point between different Web sites.

Verifying an offsite link means that Content Analyzer checks to see if the offsite object exists; it doesn't explore it (scan the object for links to other objects). When Content Analyzer explores a site, it does not automatically try to verify objects on other sites because this process might make the exploration take too long (unless you've extended the area to be mapped with the Extensions tab; see "The Extensions Tab" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps"). You can choose to verify (look up the URLs) of offsite links either when you first create a map (by changing the mapping options) or during later exploration. Or, you can explore (and thereby verify) them "by hand" by clicking question marks.

If Content Analyzer can't access an offsite object, the object changes to red in the map. You can then use the Properties dialog box (View|Object Properties) to check the HTTP status of the object to find out why the object is unavailable.

  1. When you create a new map or when you use the Explore command on an existing map, click the Options button that appears on the New Map or Explore dialog boxes.

  2. Select Verify Offsite Links on the General tab of the Mapping Options dialog box.

  3. Click OK. As it explores the site, Content Analyzer checks to see if the object to which each offsite link points exists and is reachable. If an object is unavailable, all links to it in the map are displayed in red.

  1. Choose Verify Links from the Mapping menu or click the Verify Links button on the Main toolbar.

  2. Select the Offsite Links checkbox.

  3. Specify the links you want to verify: If you want verify all offsite links, click the All Links button. If you want to re-verify only those offsite links that were broken the last time you verified them, click the Broken Links Only button.

  4. Click Verify. Any offsite links that are displayed in red are either unavailable or the links to them are truly broken.

Note that newly verified objects still have a question mark icon; even though Content Analyzer has verified that these objects exist, it hasn't explored them yet.

Making the Most of Usage Data

If you're like most Webmasters, you'll probably be most interested in three things when you import usage data into your map:

  • The busiest links in your site

  • The number of times a particular page has been hit

  • For pages with a significant number of hits, where do people tend to go next in your site?

Content Analyzer lets you discover this information, and more, as described in the following sections.

Before you start looking at hits to your site on a page-by-page or link-by-link basis, you'll probably want to get an overall idea of how your site is being used. You can do that by setting routes by hit counts, and then using the Cyberbolic view to see the busiest links in your site.

After you set routes by hit counts, your map will be organized according to the most-hit objects. In the Tree view, this may change the hierarchical arrangement of pages and other resources. In the Cyberbolic view, you'll see magenta lines representing the busiest link between any two objects. So you can now see how people are typically clicking their way through your site.

What you can't readily see from this information is exactly how many hits have been received by each page and by all the links on that page. You also can't see the referrer (offsite) pages pointing into your site, since those pages usually aren't part of your map.

So let's move on to taking a closer look at the pages and links that are being hit, perhaps analyzing the hyperlink text, as well as the context of the busiest links.

You can use Content Analyzer's Search Results and Link Info windows to pinpoint information about particular pages and links in your map. First, you'll want to find pages with the greatest number of hits. Then, for those pages, you can analyze the links going out of them to see how people are traveling through your site, and you can analyze the referrer links coming into the busiest pages to see how people are finding their way to those pages.

Getting Info about Hit Counts and External Referrals

If you've imported usage data into your map, you can see how many hits each link in your site has received and examine the URLs from which those hits originated.

The Hits property is included in the default column arrangement for all three link types--Links on Page, InLinks, and Main Route. For external InLinks, you'll also be interested in the URL property, which shows where the links came from.

It's worth noting that the number of hits on links is not necessarily the same as hits on objects. If you have multiple links pointing to the same object in your site, each of those links can have a separate hit count. Also, the hit count for the object will not necessarily be equivalent to the total number of hits on all links pointing to it. That's because not all hits come from clicking hyperlinks; people can also hit an object by explicitly giving its URL to their browser. Or, they may have bookmarked your site and accessed it from their bookmark list.

To analyze usage data

  1. Use the Custom Search command to search for all pages in your site. (You'll usually be interested in hits on pages. Hits on most other site objects--such as inline images--are a side-effect of hits on pages.)

  2. In the Search Results window, click the column header for the Hits property to sort the pages by number of hits. Pages with the greatest number of hits are shown first.

  3. Right-click a page and choose Links to display the Link Info window. (You might want to right-click a page with a large number of hits.)

  4. In the Link Info window, select the InLinks button to display all the InLinks pointing to the selected page.

  5. Click the column header for the Hits property to sort links by the greatest number of hits.

  6. Look at the referring URLs for the external InLinks (shown in blue).

  7. If want to take a look at the external page where an InLink originated, click the View button.

  8. If you like, you can use the Mapping|Set Routes command to set routes in your map according to the busiest links. Once you've done that, you can select the Main Route button in the Link Info window to see the direct ancestors of pages with the busiest links. See "Different Ways to Set Routes" in Chapter 5, "All About Routes," for more information.

To Find the Most Common Way (Busiest Link) in or Out of a Page

Usage data gives you information about how other sites are accessing your site; it also shows you how people are clicking their way through the various pages in your own site.

Once you've imported usage data into your map, the busiest links between any two site objects is shown with a magenta line in the Cyberbolic view. If your site is large, though, you may not be able to easily see all the links at once. In that case, you can use the Search Results and Link Info windows together:

  1. Choose Home Site Objects from the Quick Search menu.

  2. In the Search Results window, select an object.

  3. Display the Link Info window for the object.

  4. Select the Links on Page button.

  5. Make sure the MIME Type and Hits properties are shown. If they aren't, right-click any column header and choose Columns. See "Changing the Properties and Column Order in the Link Info Window" for details on using this command.

  6. Click the Hits column header, then the MIME type header to sort by both properties. The first link in the list is the busiest route out of the selected page. HTML pages are grouped together.

  7. To find the busiest link in to the selected object, click the InLinks button.

  8. Click the Hits column header to sort by hit count. The first link in the list is the busiest link into the selected object.

  9. To check the hyperlink text of these busiest links (to see what is motivating people to click these links), make sure the Hyperlink Text property is shown in the Link Info window.

To find the entry points into your site

You can quickly find all the referrer links pointing into your site. Once you've done that, you can view the offsite pages in your browser.

  1. Choose Quick Search from the Tools menu.

  2. Choose Objects With Referrals. This will find all referrer links that have been imported with usage data.

  3. In the Search Results window, make sure the Referrals property is showing. If it isn't, right-click any column header and choose Columns. See "Changing the Properties and Column Order in the Link Info Window" for details on using this command.

  4. Click the Referrals column header to sort by the number of referrals for each object.

  5. Right-click an object with a large number of referrals, then choose Links.

  6. In the Link Info window, sort by Referrer. Those with a value of True are offsite links that were imported as usage data. (Those with a value of False are offsite InLinks that have been mapped, but were not imported as usage data.)

  7. If you want to see how the referring page refers to your own site, select a link and click the View button. The page will appear in your browser window.

Usage Data: Some Tips and Caveats

If you maintain usage logs for your site, you'll want to be sure that you get the most accurate and up-to-date information when you import the data into your WebMap for analysis. To that end, here are a few pointers:

  • Before importing usage data, create a map of your entire site. If the Explore Entire Site checkbox was selected when you first created your map, then your site is now fully mapped. If not, choose Mapping|Remap now, and select the Re-explore Entire Site checkbox. If you don't explore your entire site, you may import usage data that applies to pages that aren't currently mapped, and you won't be able to make use of the usage information.

  • Don't map other domains. That is, don't enter any offsite domains into the Options|Extensions tab when you map your site, and don't click question marks for offsite pages. If you extend the mapping area, the map may include links back to your site from other sites. When assessing hit count, Content Analyzer doesn't distinguish between an offsite link in the map and an offsite link that's imported as usage data (a referrer). This can lead to duplicate "counts" of the same link, which causes the hit count to be inaccurate. (Of course, if you're certain that these offsite domains aren't pointing back to your site, you don't have to concern yourself with this caveat.)

  • If the total hits to a page is greater than the total number of InLinks pointing to the page, don't worry. It probably means that some hits to the page result from bookmarking or someone manually entering the page's URL in their browser. Content Analyzer can only track referrer links that come from someone clicking a hyperlink on another Web page. So you may see a hit to a page that has no referrer URL.

  • If you make changes to your site, some hits may no longer be relevant. For instance, if you delete a page or remove links to a page, you might still import usage data showing hits on that page. Usage data analysis isn't an exact science; a hit count shows trends in how people are using your site, but it can't always be precise. (But as a Webmaster, you're aware that the Web constantly changes, so you knew that already!)

  • If you search for all links in your site, referrer links will not be shown in the Search Results window. You'll only see the links that were discovered when Content Analyzer mapped your site initially. Referrer links were imported as usage data, and can only be found in the Link Info window as a property of the selected page. Referrers are not map objects themselves (unless you happen to have mapped the referring site using the Extensions tab on the New Map dialog box). So if you want to see the total number of hits, use the Link Info window rather than doing a search for links.

The following table presents an alphabetical list of all the link properties that can appear in the Link Info window. Properties that are shown by default in the Link Info window have bold numbers in parentheses; these numbers indicate the property's column order. (The defaults and available choices differ for each link type.)

If you choose to display a property, it's possible that there may sometimes be no value for that property for a particular link. In that case, the field will be blank. For example, for the Hits property, a particular link may have received no hits. If a property doesn't apply at all to a link type (or if it applies, but the value is patently obvious), it will not be available in the Columns dialog box. Such properties are indicated as "not applicable" in the following table.

Author

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

Author (if any) of the object the link points to (as shown in the Author field in the Annotations tab).

 

InLinks:

Author (if any) of the page the link comes from (as shown in the Author field in the Annotations tab).

 

Main Route:

Author (if any) of the ancestor page (as shown in the Author field in the Annotations tab).

Broken

Value:

True or False

 

Links on Page:

Whether or not the link is broken.

 

InLinks:

Whether or not the InLink is broken.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Date

Value:

Date

 

Links on Page:

Date of the object the link points to (as shown in the Date field in the Annotations tab).

 

InLinks:

Date of the page the link comes from (as shown in the Date field in the Annotations tab).

 

Main Route:

Date of the ancestor page (as shown in the Date field in the Annotations tab).

Explore Status

Value:

Explored, Verified, Unavailable, Unverified, or Blocked by Robot.

 

Links on Page:

Whether or not the object the link points to is explored, verified, unavailable, unverified, or can't be accessed due to robot exclusion protocol.

 

InLinks:

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

File name
 

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

File name of the object the link points to.

 

InLinks:

File name of the page where the InLink originates.

 

Main Route:

File name of the ancestor page.

Hidden

Value:

True or False

 

Links on Page:

Whether or not the object the link points to is currently hidden. For more information about showing/hiding objects, see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps," and "Showing or Hiding Individual Objects" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques."

 

InLinks:

Whether or not the page where the link comes from is currently hidden.

 

Main Route:

Whether or not the ancestor page is currently hidden.

Hidden Alt

Value:

True or False

 

Links on Page:

Whether or not the object the link points to has its alternate routes hidden. For more information, see "Showing or Hiding Types of Objects" in Chapter 3, "Creating and Customizing WebMaps."

 

InLinks:

Whether or not the page where the link comes from has its alternate routes hidden.

 

Main Route:

Whether or not the ancestor page has its alternate routes hidden.

Hits

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page: (8)

If you've imported usage data, the number of times this link was clicked (hit) by people who visited the site. For more about hit counts, see "Importing Usage Data" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques."

 

InLinks: (5)

If you've imported usage data, the number of times this InLink was clicked (hit) by people who visited the site.

 

Main Route: (3)

If you've imported usage data, the number of times the link between the adjacent ancestor objects was hit.

HTTP Status

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page: (5)

HTTP status code of the object the link points to, indicating whether the object is OK (200), broken (404), or unavailable for some other reason. For a list of HTTP status codes, see "Determining Why a Link Is Broken."

 

InLinks:

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Hyperlink Text

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page: (1)

Text the user clicks to activate the link on a page. Or, if the link points to an image, the ALT string text, if any.

 

InLinks: (1)

Text the user clicks to active the InLink. Or, if the link points to an image, the ALT string text, if any.

 

Main Route: (4)

Text the user clicks on the link's ancestor page to move down to the next level on the route. Or, if the link points to an image, the ALT string text, if any.

InLinks

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page:

Number of links pointing into the object this link points to (of which this link is one).

 

InLinks:

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

InLinks-Offsite
 

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page:

Number of offsite InLinks pointing to the object this link points to.

 

InLinks:

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

InLinks-Onsite

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page:

Number of onsite InLinks pointing to the object this link points to.

 

InLinks:

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

InLinks- Referral

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page:

Number of distinct offsite InLinks (that were imported with usage data) pointing to the page this link points to.

 

InLinks: (6)

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Label

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

The label of the object the link points to. This can be a variety of things, including the hyperlink text.

 

InLinks:

The label of the page where the link comes from. This can be a variety of things, including the hypertext link.

 

Main Route: (1)

The label of the ancestor page.

Level

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page:

Site level of the object the link points to.

 

InLinks:

Site level of the page where the link comes from.

 

Main Route: (2)

Site level of the ancestor page.

Link URL

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page: (9)

URL of the object the link points to, as specified in the HTML tag (anchor, IMG, etc.).

 

InLinks: (2)

URL of the selected object, as specified in the HTML tag (anchor, IMG, etc.) on its parent page.

 

Main Route:

URL of the ancestor of the selected object, as specified in the HTML tag on its parent page.

Local Path

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

Local path (if any) of the object the link points to. This property is available only if you have mapped from the filesystem, or done a site copy.

 

InLinks:

Local path (if any) of the page where the link comes from. This property is available only if you mapped from a file system (not a URL), or did a site copy.

 

Main Route

Not applicable.

Location

Value:

Offsite, Onsite, or OnPage.

 

Links on Page: (6)

Whether the link points to an object on the same site as the page containing the link (Onsite), points to a destination on the same page (OnPage), or originates on another site (Offsite).

 

InLinks: (3)

Whether the InLink points to an object on the same site as the page containing the link (Onsite), points to a destination on the same page (OnPage), or originates on another site (Offsite).

 

Main Route:

Whether the ancestor page of the link is on the same site (Onsite), points to a destination on the same page (OnPage), or originates on another site (Offsite).

MIME Type

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page: (2)

MIME type of the object the link points to.

 

InLinks:

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Modified Date

Value:

Date

 

Links on Page:

Last modified date of the object the link points to.

 

InLinks:

Last modified date of the page where the InLink comes from.

 

Main Route:

Last modified date of the ancestor page.

Name

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

Name of the object the link points to. (By default, Name is the value of the HTML TITLE tag for pages; there is no default for other objects.)

 

InLinks:

Name of the page the link comes from (by default, the HTML TITLE tag value).

 

Main Route:

Name of the ancestor page.

Notes

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

Notes for the object the link points to (as shown in the Notes field in the Annotations tab).

 

InLinks:

Notes for the page the link comes from (as shown in the Notes field in the Annotations tab).

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Order on Page

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page: (4)

Position (relative to other links) in which the link appears on the page.

 

InLinks:

Not applicable.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Private Notes

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

Private notes for the object the link points to (as shown in the Private Notes field in the Annotations tab).

 

InLinks:

Private notes for the page the link comes from (as shown in the Private Notes field in the Annotations tab).

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Referrer

Value:

True or False

 

Links on Page:

Not applicable.

 

InLinks: (6)

Whether or not this link is an offsite InLink that was imported with usage data. For more details, see "Importing Usage Data" in Chapter 8, "Site Management Tips & Techniques."

 

Main Route

Not applicable.

Route Type

Value:

Main or Alternate

 

Links on Page: (7)

Whether the link is on a main or alternate route.

 

InLinks: (4)

Whether the page the InLink comes from is on a main or alternate route.

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

Size

Value:

Number

 

Links on Page: (3)

Size of the object the link points to.

 

InLinks:

Size of the page where the InLink comes from.

 

Main Route:

Size of the ancestor page.

Source Path

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

Source path for the object the link points to (as shown in the Source Path field in the Annotations tab).

 

InLinks:

Source path for the page the link comes from (as shown in the Source Path field in the Annotations tab).

 

Main Route:

Not applicable.

URL

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page: (10)

Full URL of the object the link points to.

 

InLinks: (7)

Full URL of the page where the InLink comes from.

 

Main Route: (4)

Full URL of the ancestor page.

URL Path

Value:

Text

 

Links on Page:

Full path (without the domain) of the object the link points to.

 

InLinks:

Full path of the page where the InLink comes from.

 

Main Route:

Full path of the ancestor page.