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Tracking Code Overview

Updated

eduPostal campaigns can track the online response of each piece of mail by utilizing industry-standard JavaScript tracking code - at no extra cost. The significant part is that you get access to rich online response data without needing to build new landing pages in 3rd party tools, like the old-fashioned pURL/QR systems.

 

The eduPostal tracking code can work with your existing web or landing page system to uniquely track each person's response. 

 

Better yet, you can personalize your landing pages using the pURL/QR and tracking code features. 

Tracking Code Quick Reference Do's and Dont's:

Do:

  • Place the tracking code into the HTML, before the closing </body> tag, of each page that will be tracked OR set up the tracking code in Google Tag Manager as a "Custom HTML" tag to be fired on all of the pages that you want eduPostal to track. 
  • Make sure the tracked pages share the same root domain/are on the same website. For example: 

          Starting URL - www.anywhereuniversity.edu

          Conversion/Goal URL - www.anywhereuniversity.edu/apply

  • Test that the tracking code is correctly placed by validating* the web URL in the Tracking Code section on the Integrations page in your eduPostal account.

*Note: This validation tool is in place to check that the tracking code is installed correctly on your website. 

 

Don't:

  • Re-direct to webpages that cannot have the eduPostal tracking code added.
  • Use a starting web URL and conversion web URL on different websites.
  • Forget to test that the tracking code is placed correctly by validating the web URL in the Tracking Code section on the Integrations page in your eduPostal account.

Where can I find the eduPostal Tracking Code?

You can find (and copy) the Tracking Code in the  app in two places:

  1. From the "Connect" page in the drop-down under your user name
  2. Campaign Dashboards (after the campaign is fully processed and set up - about 15 minutes after you schedule a Smart Send or finish setting up a Triggered Drip).

edupostal-location-tracking-code.png

What is the Tracking Code?

The tracking code is a bit of Javascript code that works much like the Javascript that other advertising tracking tools use.

 

<script type=" text/javascript">

var a;

var rc = new RegExp('_bn_d=([^;]+)');

var rq = new RegExp('_bn_d=([^&#]*)', 'i');

var aq = rq.exec(window.location.href);

if (aq != null) a=aq;

else var ac = rc.exec(document.cookie);

if (ac != null) a=ac;

if (a != null) {

 var _bn_d = a[1]; 

 (function() {

  var pl = document.createElement('script'); pl.type = 'text/javascript'; pl.async = true;

  pl.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://app' : 'http://app') + '.postaladmin.com/plDataEmbed.js';

  var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(pl, s);

 })();

}

</script>

 

When you add this tracking snippet to your website, you send a pageview for each page your user visits to our servers. We process this data and can infer a great deal of information, including:

  • Who is actually on your site
  • How many pages they visited
  • Which unique pages they visited
  • What conversion or goal pages(s) did they get to
  • What links they clicked on
  • The page flow from page to page
  • By page who visited

Adding The Tracking Code To Your HTML

Add the tracking code to the HTML of your page before the closing </body> tag. On a static website, this code will need to go on every page (that you want to be tracked and personalized). 

 

For content management-driven sites, the tracking code may be placed in a single theme or template file that generates the footer.

 

Add The Tracking Code To Google Tag Manager

Setting up the eduPostal Tracking Code in Google Tag Manager is easy. Create a new tag using the "Custom HTML" Tag Type and paste the tracking code. Then, set the triggering to fire the "tag" on all of the pages that you want to have eduPostal tracking on:

 

eduPostal-tag-manager.jpeg

 

How To Test The Tracking Code

The validation tool on the Integration page will test that the tracking code is installed correctly on your website. Type or copy/paste your "Starting URL" landing page (or other pages you want to track with the Tracking Code) and then click "Validate."

 

This validation tool is within the Campaign Wizard for both Smart Send and Triggered Drip Campaigns.

 

How it works

When customers visit a personal URL (pURL) printed on your direct mail piece, they will hit our server briefly. We track the hits and then send them to your website with their unique identifier in the query string.

 

The first time in, a cookie is written that contains just the unique id of the visitor. 

 

Each page load that has the tracking code and detects a eduPostal ID will communicate back to eduPostal with that ID. eduPostal uses that ID and browser info to track the activity, conversions, or goal URLs identified in the campaign.

 

In addition, eduPostal will send back a data object containing info for page personalization. Our unique variable data and logic tools let you use data from your campaign data file to drive personalized online experiences. (Only visitors that have cookies from visiting their PURLs).

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