Integration

Integrate AEM Sites and Adobe Analytics

NOTE
Adobe Experience Platform Launch has been rebranded as a suite of data collection technologies in Adobe Experience Platform. Several terminology changes have rolled out across the product documentation as a result. Refer to the following document for a consolidated reference of the terminology changes.

Learn how to integrate AEM Sites and Adobe Analytics with Adobe Analytics tags extension, using the built-in features of the Adobe Client Data Layer with AEM Core Components to collect data about a page in Adobe Experience Manager Sites. Tags in Experience Platform and the Adobe Analytics extension are used to create rules to send page data to Adobe Analytics.

What you are going to build what-build

Page Data Tracking

In this tutorial, you are going to trigger a tag rule based on an event from the Adobe Client Data Layer. Also, add conditions for when the rule should be fired, and then send the Page Name and Page Template values of an AEM Page to Adobe Analytics.

Objectives objective

  1. Create an event-driven rule in the tag property that captures changes from the data layer
  2. Map page data layer properties to Data Elements in the tag property
  3. Collect and send page data into Adobe Analytics using the page view beacon

Prerequisites

The following are required:

NOTE
Need help with integrating tag property and AEM site? See this video series.

Switch Tag Environment for WKND Site

The WKND is a public-facing site built based on an open-source project designed as a reference and tutorial for an AEM implementation.

Instead of setting up an AEM environment and installing the WKND code base, you can use the Experience Platform debugger to switch the live WKND Site to your tag property. However, you can use your own AEM site if it already has the Adobe Client Data Layer enabled.

  1. Log in to Experience Platform and create a Tag property (if you haven’t already).

  2. Ensure that an initial tag JavaScript library has been created and promoted to the tag environment.

  3. Copy the JavaScript embed code from the tag environment where your library has been published to.

    Copy Tag Property Embed Code

  4. In your browser, open a new tab and navigate to WKND Site

  5. Open the Experience Platform Debugger browser extension

    Experience Platform Debugger

  6. Navigate to Experience Platform Tags > Configuration and under Injected Embed Codes replace the existing embed code with your embed code copied from step 3.

    Replace Embed Code

  7. Enable Console Logging and Lock the debugger on the WKND tab.

    Console Logging

Verify Adobe Client Data Layer on WKND Site

The WKND reference project is built with AEM Core Components and has the Adobe Client Data Layer enabled by default. Next, verify that the Adobe Client Data Layer is enabled.

  1. Navigate to WKND Site.

  2. Open the browser’s developer tools and navigate to the Console. Run the following command:

    code language-js
    adobeDataLayer.getState();
    

    Above code returns the current state of the Adobe Client Data Layer.

    Adobe Data Layer state

  3. Expand the response and inspect the page entry. You should see a data schema like the following:

    code language-json
    page-2eee4f8914:
        @type: "wknd/components/page"
        dc:description: WKND is a collective of outdoors, music, crafts, adventure sports, and travel enthusiasts that want to share our experiences, connections, and expertise with the world.
        dc:title: "WKND Adventures and Travel"
        repo:modifyDate: "2020-08-31T21:02:21Z"
        repo:path: "/content/wknd/us/en.html"
        xdm:language: "en-US"
        xdm:tags: ["Attract"]
        xdm:template: "/conf/wknd/settings/wcm/templates/landing-page-template"
    

    To send page data to Adobe Analytics let’s use the standard properties like dc:title, xdm:language, and xdm:template of the data layer.

    For more information, review the Page Schema from the Core Components Data Schemas.

    note note
    NOTE
    If you don’t see the adobeDataLayer JavaScript object? Ensure that the Adobe Client Data Layer has been enabled on your site.

Create a Page Loaded rule

The Adobe Client Data Layer is an event-driven data layer. When the AEM Page data layer is loaded, it triggers a cmp:show event. Create a rule that is triggered when the cmp:show event is fired from the page data layer.

  1. Navigate to Experience Platform and into the tag property integrated with the AEM Site.

  2. Navigate to the Rules section in the Tag Property UI and then click Create New Rule.

    Create Rule

  3. Name the rule Page Loaded.

  4. In the Events subsection, click Add to open the Event Configuration wizard.

  5. For Event Type field, select Custom Code.

    Name the rule and add the custom code event

  6. Click Open Editor in the main panel and enter the following code snippet:

    code language-js
    var pageShownEventHandler = function(evt) {
       // defensive coding to avoid a null pointer exception
       if(evt.hasOwnProperty("eventInfo") && evt.eventInfo.hasOwnProperty("path")) {
          //trigger the Tag Rule and pass event
          console.log("cmp:show event: " + evt.eventInfo.path);
          var event = {
             //include the path of the component that triggered the event
             path: evt.eventInfo.path,
             //get the state of the component that triggered the event
             component: window.adobeDataLayer.getState(evt.eventInfo.path)
          };
    
          //Trigger the Tag Rule, passing in the new `event` object
          // the `event` obj can now be referenced by the reserved name `event` by other Tag data elements
          // i.e `event.component['someKey']`
          trigger(event);
       }
    }
    
    //set the namespace to avoid a potential race condition
    window.adobeDataLayer = window.adobeDataLayer || [];
    //push the event listener for cmp:show into the data layer
    window.adobeDataLayer.push(function (dl) {
       //add event listener for `cmp:show` and callback to the `pageShownEventHandler` function
       dl.addEventListener("cmp:show", pageShownEventHandler);
    });
    

    The above code snippet adds an event listener by pushing a function into the data layer. When cmp:show event is triggered the pageShownEventHandler function is called. In this function, a few sanity checks are added and a new event is constructed with the latest state of the data layer for the component that triggered the event.

    Finally the trigger(event) function is called. The trigger() function is a reserved name in the tag property and it triggers the rule. The event object is passed as a parameter which in turn is exposed by another reserved name in the tag property. Data Elements in the tag property can now reference various properties using code snippet like event.component['someKey'].

  7. Save the changes.

  8. Next under Actions click Add to open the Action Configuration wizard.

  9. For Action Type field, choose Custom Code.

    Custom Code Action Type

  10. Click Open Editor in the main panel and enter the following code snippet:

    code language-js
    console.log("Page Loaded ");
    console.log("Page name: " + event.component['dc:title']);
    console.log("Page type: " + event.component['@type']);
    console.log("Page template: " + event.component['xdm:template']);
    

    The event object is passed from the trigger() method called in the custom event. Here, the component is the current page derived from the data layer getState in the custom event.

  11. Save the changes and run a build in the tag property to promote the code to the environment used on your AEM Site.

    note note
    NOTE
    It can be useful to use the Adobe Experience Platform Debugger to switch the embed code to a Development environment.
  12. Navigate to your AEM site and open the developer tools to view the console. Refresh the page and you should see that the console messages have been logged:

Page Loaded Console Messages

Create Data Elements

Next create several Data Elements to capture different values from the Adobe Client Data Layer. As seen in the previous exercise it is possible to access the properties of the data layer directly through custom code. The advantage of using Data Elements is that they can be reused across tag rules.

Data elements are mapped to the @type, dc:title, and xdm:template properties.

Component Resource Type

  1. Navigate to Experience Platform and into the tag property integrated with the AEM Site.

  2. Navigate to the Data Elements section and click Create New Data Element.

  3. For the Name field, enter the Component Resource Type.

  4. For the Data Element Type field, select Custom Code.

    Component Resource Type

  5. Click Open Editor button and enter the following in the custom code editor:

    code language-js
    if(event && event.component && event.component.hasOwnProperty('@type')) {
        return event.component['@type'];
    }
    
  6. Save the changes.

    note note
    NOTE
    Recall that the event object is made available and scoped based on the event that triggered the Rule in tag property. The value of a Data Element is not set until the Data Element is referenced within a Rule. Therefore it is safe to use this Data Element inside a Rule like the Page Loaded rule created in the previous step but would not be safe to use in other contexts.

Page Name

  1. Click Add Data Element button

  2. For the Name field, enter Page Name.

  3. For the Data Element Type field, select Custom Code.

  4. Click Open Editor button, and enter the following in the custom code editor:

    code language-js
    if(event && event.component && event.component.hasOwnProperty('dc:title')) {
        return event.component['dc:title'];
    }
    
  5. Save the changes.

Page Template

  1. Click the Add Data Element button

  2. For the Name field, enter Page Template.

  3. For the Data Element Type field, select Custom Code.

  4. Click Open Editor button, and enter the following in the custom code editor:

    code language-js
    if(event && event.component && event.component.hasOwnProperty('xdm:template')) {
        return event.component['xdm:template'];
    }
    
  5. Save the changes.

  6. You should now have three data elements as part of your rule:

    Data Elements in Rule

Add the Analytics Extension

Next add the Analytics extension to your tag property to send data into a report suite.

  1. Navigate to Experience Platform and into the tag property integrated with the AEM Site.

  2. Go to Extensions > Catalog

  3. Locate the Adobe Analytics extension and click Install

    Adobe Analytics Extension

  4. Under Library Management > Report Suites, enter the report suite ids you would like to use with each tag environment.

    Enter the report suite ids

    note note
    NOTE
    It’s okay to use one report suite for all environments in this tutorial, but in real life you would want to use separate report suites, as shown in the image below
    note tip
    TIP
    We recommend using the Manage the library for me option as the Library Management setting as it makes it much easier to keep the AppMeasurement.js library up to date.
  5. Check the box to enable Use Activity Map.

    Enable Use Activity Map

  6. Under General > Tracking Server, enter your tracking server, for example, tmd.sc.omtrdc.net. Enter your SSL Tracking Server if your site supports https://

    Enter the tracking servers

  7. Click Save to save the changes.

Add a condition to the Page Loaded rule

Next, update the Page Loaded rule to use the Component Resource Type data element to ensure that the rule only fires when the cmp:show event is for the Page. Other components can fire the cmp:show event, for example, the Carousel component fires it when the slides change. Therefore it is important to add a condition for this rule.

  1. In the Tag Property UI, navigate to the Page Loaded rule created earlier.

  2. Under Conditions click Add to open the Condition Configuration wizard.

  3. For Condition Type field, select Value Comparison option.

  4. Set the first value in the form field to %Component Resource Type%. You can use the Data Element Icon data-element icon to select the Component Resource Type data element. Leave the comparator set to Equals.

  5. Set the second value to wknd/components/page.

    Condition Configuration for Page Loaded Rule

    note note
    NOTE
    It is possible to add this condition within the custom code function that listens for the cmp:show event created earlier in the tutorial. However, adding it within the UI gives more visibility to additional users that might need to make changes to the rule. Plus we get to use our data element!
  6. Save the changes.

Set Analytics Variables and trigger Page View Beacon

Currently the Page Loaded rule simply outputs a console statement. Next, use the data elements and the Analytics extension to set Analytics variables as an action in the Page Loaded rule. We also set an extra action to trigger the Page View Beacon and send the collected data to Adobe Analytics.

  1. In the Page Loaded rule, remove the Core - Custom Code action (the console statements):

    Remove custom code action

  2. Under Actions subsection, click Add to add a new action.

  3. Set the Extension type to Adobe Analytics and set the Action Type to Set Variables

    Set Action Extension to Analytics Set Variables

  4. In the main panel, select an available eVar and set as the value of the Data Element Page Template. Use the Data Elements icon Data elements icon to select the Page Template element.

    Set as eVar Page Template

  5. Scroll down, under Additional Settings set Page Name to the data element Page Name:

    Page Name Environment Variable set

  6. Save the changes.

  7. Next, add an extra Action to the right of the Adobe Analytics - Set Variables by tapping the plus icon:

    Add an additional Tag Rule Action

  8. Set the Extension type to Adobe Analytics and set the Action Type to Send Beacon. Since this action is considered a page view, leave the default tracking set to s.t().

    Send Beacon Adobe Analytics action

  9. Save the changes. The Page Loaded rule should now have the following configuration:

    Final Tag Rule Configuration

    • 1. Listen for the cmp:show event.
    • 2. Check that the event was triggered by a page.
    • 3. Set Analytics variables for Page Name and Page Template
    • 4. Send the Analytics Page View Beacon
  10. Save all the changes and build your tag library, promoting to the appropriate Environment.

Validate the Page View Beacon and Analytics call

Now that the Page Loaded rule sends the Analytics beacon, you should be able to see the Analytics tracking variables using the Experience Platform Debugger.

  1. Open the WKND Site in your browser.

  2. Click the Debugger icon Experience platform Debugger icon to open the Experience Platform Debugger.

  3. Make sure that the Debugger is mapping the tag property to your Development environment, as described earlier and Console Logging is checked.

  4. Open the Analytics menu and verify that the report suite is set to your report suite. The Page Name should also be populated:

    Analytics tab debugger

  5. Scroll down and expand Network Requests. You should be able to find the evar set for the Page Template:

    Evar and Page Name set

  6. Return to the browser and open up the developer console. Click through the Carousel at the top of the page.

    Click through carousel page

  7. Observe in the browser console the console statement:

    Condition not met

    This is because the Carousel does trigger a cmp:show event but because of our check of the Component Resource Type, no event is fired.

    note note
    NOTE
    If you don’t see any console logs, ensure that Console Logging is checked under Experience Platform Tags in the Experience Platform Debugger.
  8. Navigate to an article page like Western Australia. Observe that Page Name, and Template Type change.

Congratulations!

You just used the event-driven Adobe Client Data Layer and Tags in Experience Platform to collect data page data from an AEM Site and send it to Adobe Analytics.

Next Steps

Check out the following tutorial to learn how to use the event-driven Adobe Client Data layer to track clicks of specific components on an Adobe Experience Manager site.

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