Tracking Links and URL Parameters
Overview
You can use links for tracking on two levels:
- Tracking links for registering clicks by recipients and using this information in Optimizely Campaign.
- URL parameters for transmitting information about a message's recipient to the link target website, which can then process that information (e.g for personalizing the content). This happens outside of Optimizely Campaign.
Tracking links
About tracking links
Tracking links are handled by Optimizely Campaign. When tracking is active for a link in a message draft, that link's target is automatically changed to a tracking address in each sent message. When a recipient clicks the link, this is registered by Optimizely Campaign and then the recipient is forwarded to the actual link target. The registered information about the click can be used to create click profiles for use in future campaigns.
Activating or deactivating tracking per link
Context: You can activate tracking for each link individually.
Prerequisites: You see a message draft in the design editor for emails. The message draft contains at least one link.
- Click More Options > Tracking. → The menu Tracking is displayed.
- Go to the tab Tracking Links.
- Select a link from the list.
- Below the list, click on Edit Link.
- In the column Track in HTML, select the desired setting for the link.
- In the list, click Submit.
- If required, repeat the above steps for other links.
- Below the list, click Apply.
Setting a default behavior for HTML link tracking
Context: You can choose a default tracking behavior for all links in a message draft. This setting controls if links are tracked or not. It can be overridden by differing settings for individual links.
Prerequisites: You see a message draft in the design editor for emails. The message draft contains at least one link.
- Click More Options > Tracking. → The menu Tracking is displayed.
- Go to the tab Tracking Options.
- In the section Default Tracking Settings, activate or deactivate the field Track HTML links.
- Go to the tab Tracking Links.
- In the column Track in HTML, check if the value Default setting is used as desired for the individual links.
- Click Apply. → The menu Tracking closes and the default value for the message draft is saved.
Assigning click profiles to links
Context: Click profiles help you recognize, which users have clicked related links and might be interested in similar topics (see Click Profiles).
Prerequisites: You see a message draft in the design editor. The message draft contains at least one link.
- Click More Options > Tracking. → The menu Tracking is displayed.
- Go to the tab Tracking Links.
- Select a link from the list.
- Below the list, click on Edit Link.
- In the column Click Profiles, select the desired setting for the link.
- In the list, click Submit.
- If required, repeat the above steps for other links.
- Below the list, click Apply.
URL parameters
About URL parameters
Links can be extended with URL Parameters. Usually these serve to provide information about the recipient from the recipient list. This information can then be processed by the target site for personalizing the site's content for each visitor. This processing happens on your own website, not in Optimizely Campaign.
URL parameters can be defined on three levels:
- Client level: Parameters for all links in all messages sent from one client.
- Message draft level: Parameters for all links in all messages based on one message draft (messages from the same message node within one campaign).
- Link level: Parameters for one specific link in all messages based on one message draft.
If different keys for URL parameters are used on different levels, the keys and values from all levels will be applied to the resulting links in a message. If the same key is used on different levels with different values, more specific definitions overwrite less specific definitions. Client level values are overwritten by message draft level values and message draft level values are overwritten by link level values.
Field functions in URL parameters
When editing URL parameters, you can use field functions in curly brackets {}. This works just as in other parts of your message drafts (see Introduction to field functions).
Defining client level URL parameters
To define client level URL parameters, please contact customer support.
Defining message draft level URL parameters
Context: Such parameters apply to all links in all messages created from the same message draft (same message node), unless overwritten by link level parameters.
Prerequisites: You see a message draft in the design editor for emails. The message draft contains at least one link.
- Click More Options > Tracking. → The menu Tracking is displayed.
- Make sure that you see the tab URL Parameters.
- If you see any parameters that you no longer want to use, click on (Delete Parameter) in the respective line to delete them.
- If you want to define a new parameter, select or type a name in the field Key and enter a value in the field Value.
- Click Apply. → The parameters will be used in future messages based on this message draft.
Defining link level URL parameters
Prerequisites: You see a message draft in the design editor. The message draft contains at least one link.
- In the editor, click on the link. → A pop-up menu is displayed.
- In the menu, click on (insert/edit link).
- Add the desired parameters to the link URL.
- Click OK.