Web Data

What is Web Data?

Web data is an incredibly broad term. It encompasses a wide range of information which is collected from websites and apps about different users’ browsing habits, online behaviors and preferences. It can also include information about the consumer themselves, such as their details, search and purchase intent or online interests.

How is Web Data collected?

Web data is collected through first and third-party sources which is then combined together by web providers to create accurate web datasets and online consumer profiles.

First-party data - Internal data sources are ways of collecting data that comes from the site you are visiting itself. This included trackers like cookies and website or app analytics. Normally, these sources tell you information such as how long a user spent on the website, which pages they clicked through on the same domain and personal details such as the user’s IP address or location.

Third-party data - External sources of web data collect information about a user as they browse different pages to track their preferences and interests. Third-party data collecters collect details about a user’s online habits to create an accurate consumer profile.

Information from these two data sources is used together to populate the contents of a web dataset.

What are the attributes of Web Data?

Typically, a web dataset will contain various different data points about people’s online habits and preferences. This can be broken down into different types of information including:

Personal user information - This normally includes information about the users themselves, such as their IP address or mobile device ID, but has can also provide more detailed intelligence such as their age bracket, ethnicity and gender.

Browsing preferences - A web dataset will provide detailed insights into a user’s online preferences. By using a combination of third- and first-party sources, data providers can create an accurate user profile including their interests and online shopping behaviors.

Online intent information - Some web datasets may also provide information about users’ online intent. This can include search intent, purchase intent and online category interests.

Website analytics - web data can also provide information about the traffic to a certain website or app. This can be how many people visited the website over a certain period of time, how long they stayed and whether ultimately they clicked through and purchased anything.

What is Web Data used for?

Typically, web dataset is used by marketers and online advertisers. By tracking different users’ intents and preferences, these companies can accurately tailor their adveritising campaigns to suit people’s personal preference and therefore increase ad revenue and generate profits.

Web data is also sometimes used by researchers in order to conduct market research, such as in order to assess the health of an app or website. By using web data they can see the number of visitors to the website and evaluate its performance in comparison to other similar sites.

How can a user assess the quality of Web Data?

The highest quality web datasets will be regularly updated with real-time analytics and website or app visitor information. They will also provide accruate key details about users and their online habits and preferences so that companies can efficiently use this information in their marketing campaigns.

Always make sure to read the data provider’s reviews before you and and ask for a data sample in advance of purchase to ensure that the web data provided matches your personal needs.