What are Dynamic Tracking Variables and why are they important to me?
Using HTML pixels or S2S postbacks are a common way to track events performed by users after they see an ad. These conversion records are important because they provide performance insights into the ad beyond just knowing if the user clicked on the ad.
Oftentimes, there are values that are unique to a particular industry or business and these values need to be tracked with each conversion. Some examples include:
eCommerce businesses needing to track SKU code(s)
Affiliate Networks needing to track conversion ID(s) from other tracking platforms
Online services needing to track UserID(s)
With Dynamic Tracking Variables, you can track up to three separate values with each conversion that is stored. These values can then be reviewed in a Conversion Detail export as needed.
How To Configure Dynamic Tracking Variables
HTML Pixel:
Generate an HTML conversion pixel..
Within your tracking pixel, find the section that looks like this: src="https://www.conversionpx.com/?id=1G5B426FG9415G93CEFD34123511&fetch=1&value=0"
At the end of the URL address, add the parameters you wish to track with. Remember, the options are 'c1', 'c2' and 'c3'. You will add one or multiple of these options by appending an "&" symbol, the parameter itself, and then an '=' symbol.
src="https://www.conversionpx.com/?id=1G5B426FG9415G93CEFD34123511&fetch=1&value=0&c1=&c2=&c3="Configure the values that will be passed into OddBytes with each conversion. This step may need to be done by a developer who is familiar with your site or app. If you are firing this pixel from a third party tracking platform, you may be able to use macros from that platform to dynamically append the appropriate information.
Here is an example where we are appending orderID and SKU codes from an eCommerce site using Shopify:
src="https://www.conversionpx.com/?id=1G5B426FG9415G93CEFD34123511&fetch=1&value=0&c1={{ order_number }}&c2=
{% for line_item in line_items %}
{{ forloop.index }}={{ line_item.sku }}^
{% endfor %}"
S2S Postback:
Generate a S2S postback URL..
At the end of the URL address, add the parameters you wish to track with. Remember, the options are 'c1', 'c2' and 'c3'. You will add one or multiple of these options by appending an "&" symbol, the parameter itself, and then an '=' symbol. https://www.conversionpx.com/?id=1G5FDWERTB6FG941AG65746736&value=0&token={token}
Configure the values that will be passed into OddBytes with each conversion. This step may need to be done by a developer who is familiar with your site or app. If you are firing this pixel from a third party tracking platform, you may be able to use macros from that platform to dynamically append the appropriate information.
Here is an example where we are appending orderID from a tracking platform that uses the macro {orderID} to dynamically return the value:
https://www.conversionpx.com/?id=1G5FDWERTB6FG941AG65746736&value=0&token={token}&c1={orderID}
Conversion Detail Report
Once we have all of our pixels/postbacks updated and placed on the proper site(s), we will need a way to query our conversions and utilize the information being tracked. Due to the level of detail and amount of data involved in Conversion level reports, they can only be accessed via export.
To export your Conversion Report:
Navigate to your Tracking Manager by going to Settings in the main navigation menu and then selecting Tracking Pixels.
Select "Export Conversions" from just above the top right corner of the grid.
Select the Conversion Event you wish to export information from the dropdown.
FAQ
What if I am passing multiple SKU values with the conversion?
- This is not a problem. You can use symbols such as "^" to separate the values and pass them all into a single variable. For example, if you have two SKUs to track in the c1 variable, you can write them as: &c1=SKU1^SKU2What is the maximum number of characters that can be passed into each of the variables?
- 255 CharactersI have conversions logged but when I attempt to export, the system is telling me there is nothing to export! Why?
- Only conversions with custom values tracked are available for export. If the conversion did not have a value recorded in c1, c2 or c3, then they will not be available for export.