Task 3: Embed the Tracking Code within Landing Page Links
Tracking codes are typically appended to landing pages in the query-string parameter section of the URL. Any time you click on a sponsored ad anywhere on the internet, you’ll see not just your destination’s domain in the URL, but usually a question mark, and a long, unintelligible character string. Somewhere in that morass you’ll find the tracking code, but its placement is something that companies configure independently of one another.
Say you choose the wrong external campaign parameter for your client. For instance, suppose your particular website is looking for tracking codes signalled with the parameter “csref”, but you tagged all 8,472 links with the parameter “src” (true story). In this case, the campaign visitors will work their way into and across your site without ever having their visit data attributed to the campaign that brought them.
But again, the point is not that “csref” is right and “src” is wrong—it all depends upon the configurations made by each individual analytics client. Just like we said for Tasks #1 and #2: the only rule is that you abide by your own company’s standards. And once you set down your company’s chosen parameter for a specific report or pattern, Tracking First will dutifully assemble the tracking code for each and every future link the same way.
Task 4: Ensure that Codes are being Captured Correctly
The last task is the most important. Pristine codes, perfectly classified and placed within links, will never do anything if they are never received by the reporting system. A single typo in any URL will most likely send your link and its attendant tracking code into oblivion. But even a flawless link will not ensure capture. Think of it as the baton in a relay race; for the handoff to be successful, another runner must be waiting in the right place to receive it. That receiver is already in place wherever your analytics vendor’s machinery has been included. Unfortunately, the requirement to include this machinery (usually a Javascript library), is often forgotten when a marketing team creates a special landing page, or an agency creates a new microsite. The runner yells “Stick!” yet no outstretched hand receives the tracking code to take the victory lap home.
Tracking First tests every landing page our users provide, not only for the obvious mistakes listed above, but for the more subtle issues that might occur. First we check to see if the page exists; then we verify that the page is equipped with the analytics machinery required to capture it. But then we keep going. We use a best-in-class technology that fully audits the tag, making sure that the code you just created is being captured into the destination report you just classified. With a green light from our system, you can now deploy the campaign with full confidence, knowing that the consistency standards have all been met, and that each data point will be sent and received without interruption from the first campaign click to the last.
Tracking First is the solution. By shoring up every possible gap in the process, from the way codes are assembled and then classified, to the way links are built, and finally to the way this data will all finally find their way to your analytics reports, Tracking First ensures that your reports mean exactly what they say. Use it faithfully, and it will restore your confidence in the reports you’ve long wished you could trust.
[Author’s note: This is part three of an in-depth look at the four essential tasks teams must implement consistently for accurate campaign tracking. Click here for Part 1, Code Composition, here for Part 2, Code Classification]
Source: B2C
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