Counting Clicks with PHP and MySQL
Website Automation with PHP and MySQL, Part 11
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Dan Knight - 2002.06.28
Last week we created our database for external links and figured out how to display these links even when fields were empty, as covered in Part 9 and Part 10 of this series. Now we take things a step further.
I've been including external links on the Low End Mac home page since April 1997, the month I began the site. In all these years, I've had no way of knowing how often visitors to the site follow those links or which links have been the most popular.
Working with PHP and MySQL to manage external links, I now have the opportunity to track how many times a link is clicked. I'll be able to use that information to better understand what visitors to the site find interesting.
Counting Clicks
The first step in counting clicks was creating a PHP script that would use the unique ID of each record in our database, increment the count for that record, and then open the desired page. Here's the core of that code:
$array = mysql_fetch_array(mysql_query("SELECT URL,clicks FROM xlinks WHERE ID='$id'"));
$clicks = $array[clicks] + 1;
mysql_query("UPDATE xlinks SET clicks='$clicks' WHERE ID='$id'");
header("Location: $array[URL]");
This finds record X in the xlinks (external links) database, reads the URL and number of clicks, adds one to the click count, and then opens the desired page with the last line of code.
Of course, this means we have to go back and modify our display code so that it calls up this PHP script (portal.php) instead of leading directly to the external page. Where the earlier script contained this line:
<a href=\"$array[URL]\">$array[linktext]</a>, ";
the revised script reads thus:
<a href=\"/scripts/portal.php?id=$array[ID]\">$array[linktext]</a>, ";
When I click on a link, it quickly calls up the portal script, increments the count, and launches the desired page. It happens so fast that you'll probably never notice the difference, but now I'll be able to track how often these external links are followed.
Learned From Tracking Clicks
Since implementing this system, we've posted 60 external links. The most clicked outside article was Crouching Apple, hidden "Jaguar" on Extreme Tech, which received 438 visits due to our link. Right behind it was A battle PC giants should lose on osOpinion at 347.
The least clicked external link was Apache anti-hack patch posted, which was only relevant to those running their own servers on OS X or some other flavor of Unix, with 27 clicks.
Overall, we're typically seeing 60-200 clicks to the articles we link to. After all these year, it's nice to know how often these links are being used.
Recent Online Tech Journal Columns
- Apple's AAUI ethernet connector, 09.04. From 1991 through 1995, Apple used a proprietary ethernet connection. Why they created AAUI and where to find adapters.
- PowerPC G5: Apple's last fling with PowerPC architecture, 05.24. Teaming up with IBM, Apple adopted the PowerPC G5 in 2003 - and phased out the last G5 Power Mac three years later.
- The PowerPC G4: From 350 MHz to 2.0 GHz, 05.24. AltiVec and dual processor support made the G4 a big improvement over the earlier G3 processor.
- The PowerPC G3 story: From 233 MHz to 1.1 GHz, 05.24. The history of the PowerPC 750 family and its use in Apple computers from 1997 through 2004.
- More in the Online Tech Journal index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: iMac G5 (iSight), Oct. 2005 -Apple built an iSight webcam into the last version of the G5 iMac.
- List of the Day: Leopard List Low End Mac's email list covering Mac OS X 10.5.
- October 12 in LEM history: 98: Beyond HFS+ nightmares - 99: iMacs for all - 00: The future of low-end gaming - 01: Tips on buying a new computer - 05: iMac G5 (iSight) - Simple backup strategies - 06: Bring back flexible, easy to upgrade 'Books - 07: Road Apple nominations - PB 150 boots from Compact Flash - Leopard to slow down PowerPC Macs?
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- Economic Crunch May Slow Mac Sales, a Recycled Cube, ToCA Race Driver 3 for Mac, and More, Mac News Review, 10.10. Also don't buy RAM from Apple, customize your Mac's appearance, MacTribe expanding into print, My Apple Space social networking, and more.
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- Best Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 10.09. DVD upgrade from 10.3, $75; upgrade bundle with 10.3, $118; full version, $129; family pack, $200; 10-user Server, $350; unlimited, $400.
- The Power of Older Macs, Why Vista Only Sees 3 GB of RAM, Wangwriter Supplies, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 10.08. Also the end of an era as MIT HyperArchive shuts down and another suggestion for profiling Windows computers.
- Migrating My Law Office from Windows to Macintosh, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 10.08. By switching to Leopard Server, everyone in the office will be able to move to a Mac - but which ones will best meet their needs?
- Low End Mac Needs Help Moving to Joomla, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 10.08. We've settled on Joomla as the content management system that should work very well for Low End Mac, but we're running stuck with templates.
- Will Apple's iPhone/App Store Tornado Blow Away the Competition?, Tim Nash, Taking Back the Market, 10.08. The iPod, iTunes, and the iTunes Store paved the way for the success of the iPhone and the App Store - and nobody can match that.
- More links in our archive.
Go to the Online Tech Journal index.
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