WebSideStory, Inc. (later Visual Sciences), was founded by Blaise Barrelet in 1996 as

web analytics Web analytics is the measurement, data collection, collection, analysis, and reporting of web Data (computing), data to understand and optimize web usage. Web analytics is not just a process for measuring web traffic but can be used as a tool for ...

tool and link directory; its products were Hitbox and HBX. The company went public on September 28, 2004 (NASDAQ: WSSI). In 2006, WebSideStory acquired high-end private data analysis and visualization software company Visual Sciences for $57 million. A year after the acquisition, WebSideStory rebranded itself as Visual Sciences, Inc.Dignan, Larry (May 9, 2007)
"WebSideStory becomes Visual Sciences; bolsters enterprise focus"
''ZDNet''. In January 2008 Visual Sciences, Inc. was acquired by Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR) for $394 million.Omniture Press Detail: Omniture to Acquire Visual Sciences
/ref> WebSideStory was founded and headquartered in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

Business model evolution

WebSideStory originally launched with a

SaaS Software as a service (SaaS ) is a cloud computing service model where the provider offers use of application software to a client and manages all needed physical and software resources. SaaS is usually accessed via a web application. Unlike oth ...

business model, charging customers a monthly fee for web analytics, but finding customers willing to pay for web analytics proved difficult. WebSideStory then pivoted to offer a limited version of the analytics product for free in exchange for a small advertising banner on each website. Users who clicked the banners were directed to a list of top sites owned by WebSideStory, creating an advertising revenue opportunity. Unlike many late '90s Internet startups, WebSideStory did not raise angel funding or

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

, but became profitable through customers and by displaying banners on their top site list. In late 1999, WebSideStory opted to target larger brick-and-mortar businesses as customers for their Hitbox product. Customers opted to pay for more in-depth statistics in exchange for removing the traditional Hitbox banner from their websites, giving birth to the "HBX" product line. Once WebSideStory was financially sound, it shuttered the free version of Hitbox and its associated advertising revenues. The company went public in 2004 and eventually purchased Visual Sciences, adopting their name. Visual Sciences was in turn acquired by Omniture in 2008, and then in October 2009 Omniture was acquired again by

Adobe Systems Adobe Inc. ( ), formerly Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American software, computer software company based in San Jose, California. It offers a wide range of programs from web design tools, photo manipulation and vector creation, through to ...

, and integrated into the

Adobe Marketing Cloud Adobe Experience Cloud (AEC), formerly Adobe Marketing Cloud (AMC), is a collection of integrated online marketing and web analytics products by Adobe. History Adobe Experience Cloud is a comprehensive suite that encompasses analytics, social ...

."Adobe acquires Omniture Software"
(October 23, 2009)

References

{{reflist Companies established in 1996 Web analytics Companies based in San Diego