Identifying interactions performed by users of an online system with third party content based on information received by the online system from a tracking mechanism

A system, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• receive one or more rules, wherein each of the one or more rules identifies an action performed by a user of an online system on a webpage from a third party system, wherein:
• the webpage from the third party system is presented to the user on a client device, the webpage comprising a tracking mechanism;
• and
• each rule identifying the action performed by the user of the online system on the webpage corresponds to:
• an identifier associated with the webpage;
• information identifying content presented to the user of the online system by the client device prior to presenting the webpage;
• and
• one or more characteristics of the client device, wherein the rule further comprises content to render the tracking mechanism in the webpage;
• receive a request for content to render the tracking mechanism of the webpage, wherein the request is received from the client device;
• receive, from the request for content, the identifier of the webpage, the information identifying content presented to the user of the online system by the client device prior to presenting the webpage from the third party system including the tracking mechanism, and the one or more characteristics of the client device;
• and
• select a rule from the one or more rules, wherein the rule comprises:
• the identifier of the webpage, the information identifying content presented to the user of the online system by the client device prior to presenting the webpage from the third party system including the tracking mechanism;
• and the one or more characteristics of the client device, wherein the selected rule comprises content to render the tracking mechanism in the webpage from the third party system.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

• receive one or more rules, wherein each of the one or more rules identifies an action performed by a user of an online system on a webpage from a third party system, wherein:
• the webpage from the third party system is presented to the user on a client device, the webpage comprising a tracking mechanism;
• and
• each rule identifying the action performed by the user of the online system on the webpage corresponds to:
• an identifier associated with the webpage;
• information identifying content presented to the user of the online system by the client device prior to presenting the webpage;
• and
• one or more characteristics of the client device, wherein the rule further comprises content to render the tracking mechanism in the webpage;
• receive a request for content to render the tracking mechanism of the webpage, wherein the request is received from the client device;
• receive, from the request for content, the identifier of the webpage, the information identifying content presented to the user of the online system by the client device prior to presenting the webpage from the third party system including the tracking mechanism, and the one or more characteristics of the client device;
• and
• select a rule from the one or more rules, wherein the rule comprises:
• the identifier of the webpage, the information identifying content presented to the user of the online system by the client device prior to presenting the webpage from the third party system including the tracking mechanism;
• and the one or more characteristics of the client device, wherein the selected rule comprises content to render the tracking mechanism in the webpage from the third party system.

A system, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
• receive one or more rules, wherein each rule:
• identifies an action performed by a user of an online system on a webpage from a third party system, the webpage from the third party system including a tracking mechanism and presented to the user on a client device, identifies the action performed by the user of the online system on the webpage from the third party system corresponding to a combination of:
• an identifier of the webpage from the third party system, and
• information identifying content presented to the user of the online system on the client device prior to presenting the webpage from the third party system, wherein the rule further comprises content to render the tracking mechanism on the webpage from the third party system;
• receive, from the client device, a request for the content to render the tracking mechanism on the webpage from the third party system;
• receive, from the request for the content, the identifier of the webpage from the third party system and the information identifying the content presented on the client device prior to presenting the webpage from the third party system;
• and
• select, from the one or more rules, a rule that includes the identifier of the webpage from the third party system and the information identifying the content presented on the client device prior to presenting the webpage from the third party system.