Conversion Variables (eVars)

Element

Description

Status

Determines whether the eVar is active:

• Enabled: The eVar is active.
• Disabled: Disables the eVar and removes it from the conversion variable list.

Description

An optional description of the eVar. Use it to document what the eVar captures and how it is implemented.

Name

The friendly dimension name of the conversion variable. It is how the eVar is referred to in general reporting.

Allocation

Determines how Analytics assigns credit for a success event if a variable receives multiple values before the event. Supported values include:

• Most Recent (Last): The last eVar value always receives credit for success events until that eVar expires.
• Original Value (First): The first eVar always receives credit for success events until that eVar expires.
• Linear: Allocates success events equally across all eVar values. Since Linear allocation distributes values only within a visit, use Linear allocation with an eVar expiration of Visit or shorter. This option is not available for merchandising eVars.

Important: Adobe advises against switching to or from Linear allocation, as it hides historical data in reporting until you switch back. To change allocation on an eVar with significant history, Adobe recommends using a new eVar instead.

Expire After

Specifies when the eVar value expires (no longer receives credit for success events). If a success event occurs after eVar expiration, the None value receives credit for the event (no eVar was active). Supported values include:

• Visit: The value expires at the end of the visit.

• Hit: The value applies only to the hit on which it is set.

• Minute, Hour, Day, Week, Month, Quarter, or Year: The value expires a fixed amount of time after it was set, to the second:

  • Minute = 60 seconds
  • Hour = 3600 seconds (60 minutes)
  • Day = 86400 seconds (24 hours)
  • Week = 604800 seconds (7 days)
  • Month = 2678400 seconds (31 days)
  • Quarter = 8035200 seconds (93 days - 3 months of 31 days)
  • Year = 31536000 seconds (365 days)

  For example, if an eVar is set at 7:15 AM on Monday, Day expiration ends at 7:15 AM on Tuesday, Week expiration ends at 7:15 AM the following Monday, and Month expiration ends 31 days later at 7:15 AM.

• Custom: The value expires after the number of days that you enter (86400 seconds per day).

• An event (Purchase, Product View, Cart Open, Cart Checkout, Cart Add, Cart Remove, Cart View, or a custom event): The value expires when the selected event occurs. If the event never occurs, the value never expires.

• Never: As long as a visitor uses the same identifier, any amount of time can pass between the eVar and event.

Type

The type of variable value:

• Text String: Captures text values. It is the most common type of eVar, and the default setting. It acts similar to other variables, where the value within it is a static text string. If you track things such as internal campaigns or internal search keywords, this setting is recommended.
• Counter: Counts the number of times an action occurs before the success event. For example, you can count the number of searches made, regardless of search terms used, prior to a success event.

Reset

On save, immediately expires all server-side persisted values for this variable across all visitors, including merchandising product bindings. Use Reset when repurposing an eVar so you do not mix an old value into a new report. Resetting does not erase historical data.

Enable Merchandising

Supported values include:

• Disabled: The eVar credits success events to the value that persists for the visitor.
• Enabled: The eVar becomes a merchandising eVar, which binds values to individual products. Success events for each product are credited to the value bound to that product. Enabling merchandising shows the Merchandising and Merchandising Binding Event settings, and removes Linear allocation.

Enable merchandising only for eVars that describe how products are found or bought. A merchandising eVar no longer credits success events that aren’t tied to a product. See eVar (Merchandising).

Merchandising

Determines where the value to bind to products comes from:

• Product Syntax: The value is set on each product in the products variable, and binds to that product on that hit. Each product can have a different value. Binding events are not used, so Merchandising Binding Event is disabled.
• Conversion Variable Syntax: The value is set in the eVar itself and persists as a staged value, always reflecting the most recent value sent regardless of Allocation. The value binds to the products on a hit only if that hit contains a selected Merchandising Binding Event. Every product on that hit receives the same value.

Changing this setting without updating your implementation accordingly causes lost data. See eVar (Merchandising variable) for implementation details.

Merchandising Binding Event

Available only when Merchandising is set to Conversion Variable Syntax. Determines which events or eVars bind the eVar’s staged value to the products on the same hit. If you don’t select a binding event, All is used. Supported values include:

• All: Any other event or eVar on the hit triggers binding. This setting is the default.
• Purchase Event, Product View Event, Cart Open Event, Cart Checkout Event, Cart Add Event, Cart Remove Event, or Cart View Event: Binding occurs on hits that contain the selected event.
• Campaign Event: Binding occurs on hits that contain an instance of the Tracking code dimension (campaign variable).
• A custom event: Binding occurs on hits that contain the selected custom event.
• A custom eVar: Binding occurs on hits that set the selected eVar.

Props cannot trigger binding. Select multiple values by holding down ctrl (Windows) or cmd (Mac) and clicking multiple items in the list. When a specific product that is already bound to an eVar receives another binding with that same eVar, Allocation determines which value is kept.