Merchant Tracking Code Guide

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Meryl Hicks
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1 Merchant Tracking Code Guide October 2008

2 Contents 1. Introduction Data Protection Act Activation All pages Which tracking code should I use? Standard Tracking Integration Explanation of the Parameter Values Commission Groups Integration Recording Product Groups Referencing Product Groups Transmitting Product Groups Click Append Test your setup Tracking code to put on confirmation of sale page Examples

3 1. Introduction The Affiliate Window tracking technology works by the use of persistant cookies (these are text files that contain small pieces of information) that are stored on the visitor s computer. When a visitor clicks on an affiliate link, they are redirected through to the merchant's site. The cookie stores information about the click such as the time of the click and which affiliate referred the visitor. In addition to this third party cookie the javascript code attempts to set a first party cookie which is less likely to be blocked. These cookies remain active until they expire. To record transaction data we require a small amount of code to be implemented onto your sale confirmation page. This code sends transaction data back to Affiliate Window and using the cookie data we assign the correct affiliate commissions. 3

4 2. Data Protection Act AWin Analytics will enable you to understand much more about your Affiliate Window Programme and will help us both to identify and implement improvements. You are aware we capture a great deal of data about affiliate and consumer visits to your site (notwithstanding that the data is anonymous). AWin Analytics will enable you to use this data in a sophisticated manner, key analysis features include Find affiliate traffic hot spots Determine the time spent on each page Identify successful and unsuccessful customer journeys Discover fall out and exit pages Know the strengths of your programme Pinpoint areas in need of improvement Providing this information will enable you to streamline your website and increase sales from the visits generated by your affiliate programme. Our statutory responsibilities as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998 are taken very seriously. All the data obtained will be processed in accordance with the principles of data protection. We are also conscious of the commercial sensitivity of this data and (in addition to our statutory duties under the Data Protection Act) we undertake only to share this data with you and to destroy or delete the data as soon as it is no longer needed. We will make internal use of the data that the Affiliate Window Analytics Solution makes available to us. The data will allow us to learn more about programme performance and in particular make sector by sector comparisons. Merchant data is identified by code and not by name and is only processed with your permission. If, at anytime, you wish to stop analysing your affiliate programme through the Awin Analytics Solution please let us know in writing. Yours faithfully, Adam Ross Client Services Director 4

5 3. Activation At this stage, you will have to be specifically enabled for the tracking code to work, so please contact Technical Services before trying to implement it. After being enabled, all the redirects from AWIN to your site will contain the additional awc parameter. If you are using URL rewriting on your site, you will need to ensure that your rewrite rules are compatible with the new tracking. We find this is commonly used for custom landing pages where you might provide the affiliate with a URL similar in format to the following This redirects to You will need to ensure that the query string is passed through the redirection, so Will redirect to 8c0e40 4. All pages Insert the following line just before the closing </BODY> tag, on each page of your site: (Please keep as a single line) Replace the MERCHANT_ID placeholder, with your own AWIN merchant id. <script src=" type="text/javascript" defer="defer"></script> 5

6 5. Which tracking code should I use? If you wish to pay your affiliates a set amount for every transaction then see the Standard Tracking Integration section. If you wish to pay your affiliates a percentage of the transaction amount then see the Standard Tracking Integration section. If you wish to pay your affiliates a set amount of commission and you would like that set amount to be different depending on which group of products have been bought then see the Commission Groups Integration section. If you wish to pay your affiliates a percentage of the transaction value and you would like that percentage to be different depending on which group of products have been bought then see the Commission Groups Integration section. In addition you can see clear visibility over the products which are being bought through your affiliate programme by implementing the Product-level Tracking. 6

7 6. Standard Tracking Integration The standard tracking code needs to be added to the thank you or confirmation of sale page on your site. Passed in to this code are your merchant ID and other variables. Note: The tracking code must send Affiliate Window the sale amount in Pounds Sterling and not include the Pound symbol ( ). For example: Sale= On the final page of this document you will find the full JavaScript tracking code example. Below are excerpts from this code that you will need to add information to. These are the only parts of the code that you need to parse in values. Noscript Tracking Code (back-up to the JavaScript): <img src= R_REF&parts=COMMISSION_GROUP:SALE_AMOUNT&vc=VOUCHER_CODE&testmode=1 /> Product Level Tracking Code (optional): <form style="display:none;" name="aw_basket_form"> <textarea wrap="physical" id="aw_basket"> AW:P [merchant_id] [order_ref] [product_id] [product_name] [unit_price] [quantity] [sku_data] [cg] [category] AW:P [merchant_id] [order_ref] [product_id] [product_name] [unit_price] [quantity] [sku_data] [cg] [category] AW:P [merchant_id] [order_ref] [product_id] [product_name] [unit_price] [quantity] [sku_data] [cg] [category] </textarea> </form> JavaScript Tracking Code: <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ /*** Do not change ***/ var AWIN = {}; AWIN.Tracking = {}; AWIN.Tracking.Sale = {}; /*** Set your transaction parameters ***/ AWIN.Tracking.Sale.amount = 'SALE_AMOUNT'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.currency = 'GBP'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.orderRef = 'ORDER_REF'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.parts = 'COMMISSION_GROUP:SALE_AMOUNT'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.voucher = 'VOUCHER_CODE'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.test = '1'; //]]> </script> <script src=" type="text/javascript" defer="defer"></script> 7

8 7. Explanation of the Parameter Values Tracking Variables MERCHANT Replace this with your Affiliate Window merchant id. SALE_AMOUNT Replace this with the transaction value (without sign). This should be the variable in your shopping cart software representing the order amount. Our software will calculate the commission based on this amount. If you are paying a set amount per transaction then you can pass us sale=1.00. ORDER_REF Replace this with the order reference for the transaction from your system. This will help identify that the commission is legitimate. Make sure this is a unique reference, for instance an order number or a registration number. This should be the variable in your shopping cart representing the order reference number. COMMISSION_GROUP:SALE_AMOUNT The parts information is used when offering commission groups/structure. If you are not using commission groups then pass us in the parts parameter 'default:amount' where 'amount' is the value of the transaction in the 'sale' parameter. TEST_MODE Add 1 if you are testing the tracking code alongside other Affiliate Window tracking code. When you are happy that the code is correct and tracking correctly this can be changed to 0. VOUCHER_CODE The voucher or discount code used at purchase can be parsed in to the tracking code. This allows you to see the voucher codes that affiliates are using to promote. CURRENCY For the moment we only accept GBP within the currency variable, we will for future development be extending this to other currencies and we ll be in touch when this variable active to use. If you do you other currencies please ensure the sale value is converted to GBP to ensure that affiliates are paid the correct commissions. 8

9 Product Level Tracking Variables PRODUCT_ID The merchant s unique ID for this specific product PRODUCT_NAME The merchant s product name for this specific product UNIT_PRICE The merchant s price of that product QUANTITY This is the quantity of this product that has been ordered within this transaction SKU_DATA this is optional Add in the SKU/MPN or EAN of this product into this area of the product level tracking. CG Add the Commission group in which this ties into for AW system. This could be DEFAULT/CDs or DVDs depending on how you ve setup the commission groups here at AW. CATEGORY this is optional This is the category in which the product is categorised on the merchant site. 9

10 8. Commission Groups Integration The Commission Groups feature offers extra functionality to merchants who wish to have precise control over their commission levels. Allows a merchant to offer variable rates of commission on different groups of products in their product range. Allows the introduction of performance-based criteria per product, to give an incentive to affiliates to promote a certain sector of your business. The ability to add recurring bonuses for affiliates. Ability to add private commissions for top performing affiliates. Ability for the system to automatically increase affiliates daily, to the next level when they achieve the set target Recording Product Groups Depending on how you define your groups, your database will need to be amended so that it holds a record of the mappings between your products or categories and the product groups you have defined within our system. If there is a direct correlation between your product categories and product groups then this process will be fairly simple. Once product groups have been decided upon, these need to be added to your systems and mappings applied Referencing Product Groups Your sales confirmation page will need to be able to determine the product group for each product contained in the customers shopping cart (if one has been assigned). This information can either be retrieved from your database by your sales confirmation page or retrieved as the customer shops, and stored in the cart. The important thing here is that the confirmation page has access to this product group information. 10

11 8.4. Transmitting Product Groups Please refer to section 3 of this document for instructions on adding the tracking code. In addition to section 3 the following must be added in to the tracking code. Your sales confirmation page will need to calculate totals for each group that has contributed to the shopping cart. This data will then need to be concatenated to form the value to be sent in the parts parameter, i.e.: 'DEFAULT:9.75 CD:22.34 DVD:46.98' If the sale comprises of more than one group, then the group/value pairs must be separated by a pipe character. The parts value then needs to be placed in the JavaScript tracking code and the pixel tracking code like below: JavaScript Tracking Code: AWIN.Tracking.Sale.parts = 'DEFAULT:9.75 CD:22.34 DVD:46.98'; Noscript Tracking Code: <img src= R_REF&parts=DEFAULT:9.75 CD:22.34 DVD:46.98&vc=VOUCHER_CODE&testmode=1 /> The value of the parts parameter is specified as the group code followed by a colon : followed by the value of the goods sold in that group. For example, if a customer has purchased 100 of goods comprising of 50 of DVDs and 50 of Videos then the following would be used to call the logging script image; JavaScript tracking code: AWIN.Tracking.Sale.parts = 'dvd:50.00 video:50.00'; Noscript tracking code: <img src= ;ref=order_ref&parts=dvd:50.00 VIDIO:50.00&vc=VOUCHER_CODE&testmode=1 /> For commission to be calculated correctly for this transaction the Commission Group codes dvd and video, must have been created within your merchant account. 11

12 The total sale amount being parsed in the sale variable should add up to the total of the parts. If it is not, the commission group sales will be ignored and commission will be applied at the default rate. Note: The tracking code must send Affiliate Window the sale amount in Pounds Sterling. Note: This section is a brief guide to integrating commission structure. If you need information on the functionality and how to use the system then please request the Commission Structure Guide from the support team, your contact or documentation available in your merchant account. Please see the examples pages at the end of this document for an example of the full tracking code for a commission group sale. 12

13 9. Click Append Note: Enabling the tracking code to only display when the visitor has been referred by an AW affiliate. Affiliate Window has the technology to pass a value to the end of any URL an affiliate uses to send traffic through to a merchants website. This is called a Click Append. The Click Append can be used by the merchant in several different ways. For example: To track that a sale has come through from Affiliate Window and tag it so the merchant knows where the sale has come from. To enable the AW tracking code to only display when an AW affiliate has referrer the customer. This is useful if a merchant is using multiple Affiliate Networks. This system will reduce the possibility of sales being tracked by the other networks involved as well as AW. This is dependent on the other networks putting a similar solution in place. If you wish to use this functionality then please request the Click Append guide from the Technical Services team or your personal contact. 10. Test your setup Once you have the confirmation page code setup on the site and you want to test that all is working correctly, please contact the Technical Services team and ask them to put you in to test mode. 13

14 11. Tracking code to put on confirmation of sale page See sections 3 and 4 on how and what information to parse in to this code. <img src=" ER_REF&parts=COMMISSION_GROUP:SALE_AMOUNT&vc=VOUCHER_CODE&testmode=1" /> <form style="display:none;" name="aw_basket_form"> <textarea wrap="physical" id="aw_basket"> AW:P [merchant_id] [order_ref] [product_id] [product_name] [unit_price] [quantity] [sku_data] [cg] [category] AW:P [merchant_id] [order_ref] [product_id] [product_name] [unit_price] [quantity] [sku_data] [cg] [category] AW:P [merchant_id] [order_ref] [product_id] [product_name] [unit_price] [quantity] [sku_data] [cg] [category] </textarea> </form> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ /*** Do not change ***/ var AWIN = {}; AWIN.Tracking = {}; AWIN.Tracking.Sale = {}; /*** Set your transaction parameters ***/ AWIN.Tracking.Sale.amount = 'SALE_AMOUNT'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.currency = 'GBP'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.orderRef = 'ORDER_REF'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.parts = 'COMMISSION_GROUP:SALE_AMOUNT'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.voucher = 'VOUCHER_CODE'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.test = '1'; //]]> </script> <script src=" type="text/javascript" defer="defer"></script> 14

15 8.1. Examples Standard Tracking Code: See below an example of the standard integration tracking code for a sale value of for merchant number 1234 with an order number of and a voucher code of AW1234. <img src=" s=default:10.00&vc=discount1&testmode=1" /> <form style="display:none;" name="aw_basket_form"> <textarea wrap="physical" id="aw_basket"> AW:P 1234 ref T-SHIRT SKU: DEFAULT SHIRT </textarea> </form> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ /*** Do not change ***/ var AWIN = {}; AWIN.Tracking = {}; AWIN.Tracking.Sale = {}; /*** Set your transaction parameters ***/ AWIN.Tracking.Sale.amount = '10.00'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.currency = 'GBP'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.orderRef = 'ref1111'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.parts = 'DEFAULT:10.00'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.voucher = 'DISCOUNT1'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.test = '1'; //]]> </script> <script src=" type="text/javascript" defer="defer"></script> 15

16 Commission Group Tracking Code: See below an example of the commission group tracking code for a sale value of for merchant number 1234 with an order number of The order contains products in 4 groups: DVD, Video, CD & Books and the customer spent 25 on products from each group. A voucher code of AW1234 was also used in this example. <img src=" s= DVD:25.00 video:25.00 CD:25.00 books:25.00&vc=aw1234&testmode=1" /> <form style="display:none;" name="aw_basket_form"> <textarea wrap="physical" id="aw_basket"> AW:P PRODUCT1 DVD sku:11111 DVD KIDS DVDS AW:P PRODUCT2 VIDEO sku:11111 VIDEO KIDS VIDEO AW:P PRODUCT3 CD sku:11111 CD ROCK CD AW:P PRODUCT4 BOOK sku:11111 BOOKS ROMANCE BOOK </textarea> </form> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ /*** Do not change ***/ var AWIN = {}; AWIN.Tracking = {}; AWIN.Tracking.Sale = {}; /*** Set your transaction parameters ***/ AWIN.Tracking.Sale.amount = '100.00'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.currency = 'GBP'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.orderRef = '123456'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.parts = 'DVD:25.00 video:25.00 CD:25.00 books:25.00'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.voucher = 'AW1234'; AWIN.Tracking.Sale.test = '1'; //]]> </script> <script src=" type="text/javascript" defer="defer"></script>  16

Purchase Tracking Web Service. Technical Documentation. Document Version 1.6

Purchase Tracking Web Service. Technical Documentation. Document Version 1.6 Purchase Tracking Web Service Technical Documentation Document Version 1.6 Revision date 02/28/2014 2 1 Overview The PriceSpider Where-to-Buy (WTB) is an online and local retailer locator. Manufacturers