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Missing clicks in an advertising campaign

Content
Review of campaign tracking Supported campaign parameters Common sources of error and their solutions Tracking code and third-party provider settings Campaign tracking with iFrames Conclusion

Accurate measurement of the success of advertising campaigns is essential. In this article, we will show you how you can quickly diagnose possible sources of error in campaign tracking in your etracker account and provide you with solutions to avoid common mistakes.

Links marked with [App .] will take you directly to the relevant settings if you are logged into your etracker account.

Review of campaign tracking

After launching your campaign, the first data should be available in the campaign report within an hour. You can use the “Last visitors” real-time report to check live whether the campaign is being recorded correctly.

This is how you proceed:

  • Find the IP address: Determine the IPv4 address of your end device and shorten it by the last block of numbers (the last octet).
  • Search in the report: Enter the shortened IP address in the search field of the “Last visitors ” report [App .]. Please note that you may have to generate a new page view for many visitors in order to appear in the list.
  • Checking the campaign information: Entries with campaign links are highlighted by a small megaphone symbol. Check here whether the campaign name and medium are correct. Not all campaign information is displayed.

Supported campaign parameters

In addition to its own parameters, etracker also supports parameters that are used in Google Analytics, Matomo or Piwik Pro. Make sure you only use the supported parameters, as not all campaign parameters are compatible.

Common sources of error and their solutions

There are some typical mistakes that occur when using campaign parameters. Here are the most common problems and how you can avoid them:

Incorrect naming

Different spellings of campaign names, e.g. by using “-” instead of “_”, or capitalization, can lead to campaigns not being recorded correctly. Ensure that campaigns are named consistently in order to obtain consistent data.

Parameter structure

  • Forget the & character: Parameters must be separated by an & character.
Example 
Falsch: www.etracker.com/?etcc_cmp=Kampagnennameetcc_med=Medium
Richtig: www.etracker.com/?etcc_cmp=Kampagnenname&etcc_med=Medium
  • Spaces in the URL: A space can result in the URL not being read correctly. Instead of spaces, use the underscore (_) or the minus sign (-).
Example 
Falsch: www.etracker.com/?etcc_cmp=Kampagnenname &etcc_med=Medium
Richtig: www.etracker.com/?etcc_cmp=Kampagnenname&etcc_med=Medium
  • Special characters: Some special characters, such as “&”, must be coded correctly, otherwise they will be interpreted as separators between parameters.
Example 
Falsch: www.etracker.com/?etcc_par=Pomp&Circumstances
Richtig: www.etracker.com/?etcc_par=Pomp%26Circumstances

Incorrect placement of the parameters

  • ? in the URL If the target link already contains a GET parameter, no further campaign parameters with an additional “?” may be appended. Instead, an “&” must be used.
Example 
Falsch: www.etracker.com/?test=1?etcc_cmp=Kampagnenname
Richtig: www.etracker.com/?test=1&etcc_cmp=Kampagnenname
  • Jump labels (#): If the target URL contains a jump marker, the campaign parameters must precede it.
Example 
Falsch: www.etracker.com/#test?etcc_cmp=Kampagnenname
Richtig: www.etracker.com/?etcc_cmp=Kampagnenname#test

Tracking code and third-party provider settings

No etracker tracking code on the landing page

The etracker tracking code [App .] must be integrated on all pages in the <head> area so that the campaign parameters can be recorded.

Blocking through Consent Management Platforms (CMP)

Make sure that the tracking code in your Consent Management Platform (CMP) is correctly integrated. The use of the etracker Consent Manager automatically ensures smooth interaction.

Truncating or changing the parameters by the web server

Some web servers are configured to truncate URL parameters. This can result in the tracking code not capturing the parameters. In this case, the server settings must be adjusted.

Redirects and URL shorteners

If your URL is redirected or URL shortening services are used, make sure that the campaign parameters are applied correctly after the redirect.

Campaign tracking with iFrames

If the tracking code is integrated into an iFrame, the campaign parameters cannot be recorded correctly. The tracking code must be integrated directly on the target page in order to record the data correctly.

Conclusion

Many of the problems mentioned above can be avoided by using the etracker campaign link configurator [App .]. This helps you to create error-free links and also provides documentation for your campaign links. This ensures that your campaigns are tracked correctly and that you can make optimum use of the data.