Web information monitoring: an analysis of Web page updates

The dynamic nature of information content on the Web has posed a serious problem to users who need constantly to keep track of the latest updates on specific information. Traditional search engines enable users to retrieve potentially relevant Web information, but they do not track and monitor Web pages based on users’ interests. On the other hand, Web information monitoring systems are designed specifically to help users track and monitor Web information. However, to make Web monitoring effective, it is necessary to identify and understand typical Web page update characteristics so that useful monitoring features and functions can be designed and built into these systems. In this study, a total of 105 Web pages from the Internet were collected and monitored over a one‐month period. These pages are selected from seven domains under Yahoo!’s directories. The analysis results are presented according to Web site domains, Web page types, Web page attributes and change frequency. Based on this study, different functions and features for a Web monitoring system are identified. These features have been incorporated into a Web monitoring system, WebMon, that has been developed at the School of Computer Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.