Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
the information was transferred freely over the internet as part of the check-
out process. remember that just by looking at the figure in your browser, it has been
sent from the web server to the client. However, there might be situations where your
revenue is not public knowledge. imagine a shopping comparison site, such as kelkoo
(shown in Figures 2.12), which provides a free service for all its users to compare prices
on a given product.
50
Figure 2.12
Kelkoo comparison price listing for laptops
Figure 2.12 shows prices for sony laptops, but that does not mean that kelkoo
sells any of these products. their business model, like any other shopping comparison
site, is to charge on the click-out to the retailer, quite similar to a paid search. there-
fore, the revenue kelkoo generates by having a visitor click a retailer and go to their
site is indeed confidential information. it's the same as if i go to google and search
for digital cameras—i would not know what the true cost per click is on any of the
text ads.
this is not the only scenario. Many businesses offer a free service to consum-
ers, and revenue is generated as a business-to-business activity. Here you would simply
not want to pass the revenue figures in plain text through the Yahoo! Web analytics
tracking code. this technique will also prevent robots and spiders alike from gathering
competitive intelligence on your website's revenue, margins, or general agreements with
affiliates.
