counting clicks using onclick

[n8w]

I currently keep track of external click throughs on my site using a POST form that goes to a php script that looks up the id and then sends the user to the url and counts them as a click if they haven't already been to that link. (based on their ip and user-agent)

 

Is this the best way to approach this? I am sure there is a better way.

I am thinking it might be better to use the onclick event so seach engines can follow the links on my site

 

example

 

instead of using a form like this

<form action="go.php" method="post" name="frmMyForm8037" target="_blank">
<a href="JavaScript:document.frmMyForm8037.submit();"> <img src="../../images/illustrators/8037.jpg" alt="Matte Stephens" width="190" height="190" border="0" /></a><br />
<input type="hidden"  value="8037" name="user_id" />
<input type="hidden"  value="ae1c65bbc4e2eb5bcd269273bc80ff4c" name="token" />
</form>

 

use onclick like this

 

<a href="http://www.mattestephens.com" onclick="go.php?user_id=8037&token= ae1c65bbc4e2eb5bcd269273bc80ff4c"> <img src="../../images/illustrators/8037.jpg" alt="Matte Stephens" width="190" height="190" border="0" /></a>

 

How would you approach this with the following things in mind_

• seach engines can follow my links
  
• clean/simple
  
• people can't cheat by clicking a billion times on one link to make it rank higher
  

 

 

 

 

 

[piyushsharmajec]

search engine will obviously follow up id by get method.

 

It is quite simple and neat to use & understand.

 

It is easiest way by anyone to cheat from get method so use post and

 

also check id by conditions.

[Bauer418]

The GET method works fine for this approach.  The id in the URL is not sensitive data at all.  You don't even need an onclick.  Simply

 

<a href="/go.php?user_id=8037&token=ae1c65bbc4e2eb5bcd269273bc80ff4c">Text</a>

 

The onclick method would work better for search engines, but then you won't get links counted from anyone that has javascript disabled.