Traffic sources

The MixCommander module is set up by the consultant in charge of your account.

The articles in this section explain the configuration process for your site to generate the attribution reports you can access through the interface.

The Setup consists of two–steps:

• Identification of sources of traffic on your site.

• Data collection on your site.

We also explain what data is collected on the Commanders Act servers when you install the MixCommander product.

The first stage of the configuration process consists in identifying sources of visitor traffic. Commanders Act can track two elements:

Clicks on links and banners: clicks are tracked by means of the Commanders Act redirect URL.

Banner impression: impressions are tracked thanks to a tracking pixel integrated into your banners.

Click tracking

Commanders Act offers you redirect URLs to track clicks and banner impressions.

This method allows you to capture very detailed information, as the click is tracked by the Commanders Act servers when the web users click a link or banner, and before they reach your site, as the following diagram shows:

The redirect URL can be enriched with numerous parameters to capture as much information as possible about your campaigns (e.g.: channel, source, campaign, format, keyword, affiliate ID, etc.). So tracking your campaigns with Commanders Act redirection lets you access a great deal of information and analyses besides the channel and the source.

TagCommander redirections should be set up on all your campaigns by your traffic manager, agency or the person in charge of campaign trafficking.

Two elements are at your disposal to help you construct Commanders Act redirection URLs:

• An Excel deliverable provided by the consultant in charge of setup, which lists all the redirect URLs needed for each of your channels.

• A URL builder, available in the MixCommander interface.

Structure of the click redirection URL

This is Commanders Act’s redirection URL and its structure:

• $subdomain$.commander1.com: this part of the URL is your sub-domain + the Commanders Act domain name. This sends a hit to the Commanders Act servers. The sub-domain is configured and communicated by the Commanders Act consultant at the beginning of the project. It is usually your brand or site name.

• c3: this ID tells Commanders Act that the user action was a click (“c” for “click”). Conversely, impressions are identified with the v3 parameter (“v” for “view”).

• $siteID$: $siteID$ must be completed with your customer site ID at Commanders Act’s (this parameter is communicated by the Commanders Act consultant).

• $channel$ and $source$: “chn” lets you specify the Channel (= marketing lever) and “src” the Source (= partner). These 2 parameters must be provided for all implemented campaigns.

You can add other parameters of your choice in the redirect URL: these parameters are important because they let you track more information and analyze more elaborate elements than merely the “channel” and “source” (e.g.: keyword, campaign, etc.). If you want to add more parameters to your campaigns, seek advice from the consultant in charge of your account or from the Commanders Act support agents.

Parameters should be added in the following format: “&param=value”.

E.g.:

No accents or special characters can be used in these parameter values.

• $URL$: the landing page URL must always be included to enable Commanders Act to redirect web users to the right page when the click is logged on our servers.

Impression tracking

Impressions can be tracked by inserting a Commanders Act impression pixel in your banners. This lets you capture the fact that a visitor has viewed the banner of one of your campaigns without necessarily clicking on it and therefore without visiting your site there and then, as the following diagram shows:

The Commanders Act impression pixel can be enriched with numerous parameters enabling you to capture as much information as possible about your campaigns (e.g.: channel, source, campaign, format, keyword, affiliate ID, etc.). Tracking your campaigns with a Commanders Act impression pixel lets you access a great deal of information and analyses (besides the channel and the source) concerning banner impressions.

TagCommander impression pixels should be set up on all your campaigns by your traffic manager, agency or the person in charge of campaign trafficking.

Two elements are at your disposal to help you construct Commanders Act impression pixels:

• An Excel deliverable provided by the consultant in charge of setup, which lists all the redirect URLs needed for each of your channels.

• A URL builder, available in the MixCommander interface.

Impression pixel structure

• $subdomain$.commander1.com: this part of the URL is your sub-domain + the TagCommander domain name. This sends a hit to the TagCommander servers.The sub-domain is configured and communicated by the TagCommander consultant at the beginning of the project. It is usually your brand or site name.

• v3: this ID tells TagCommander that the user action was an impression (“v” for “view”). Conversely, clicks are identified with the c3 parameter (“c” for “click”).

• $siteID$: $siteID$ must be completed with your customer site ID at TagCommander (this parameter is communicated by the TagCommander consultant).

• $channel$ and $source$: “chn” lets you specify the Channel (= marketing lever) and “src” the Source (= partner). These 2 parameters must be provided for all implemented campaigns.

You can add other parameters of your choice in the redirect: these parameters are important because they let you track more information and analyze more elaborate elements than merely the “channel” and “source” (e.g.: keyword, campaign, etc.). If you want to add more parameters to your campaigns, seek advice from the consultant in charge of your account or from TagCommander support. Parameters should be added in the following format: “&param=value”.

E.g.:

No accents or special characters can be used in these parameter values.

• $CACHEBUSTER$: a random number or timestamp is required to avoid caching and to log the precise number of banner views.