Configuring Link Tracking for Adobe Analytics configuring-link-tracking-for-adobe-analytics

Last update: Fri Apr 19 2024 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

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When users click links on pages of your website you can capture related information in Adobe Analytics. For example, use link tracking to learn how users interact with your site, track file downloads, and track exit links.

Configuring Link Tracking for an Adobe Analytics Framework configuring-link-tracking-for-an-adobe-analytics-framework

Using Navigation, go via Deployment, Cloud Services to the Adobe Analytics section.
Using Show Configurations, open the required Adobe Analytics framework.
Expand the Link Tracking Configuration section and configure as required (this page provides further details):

Tracking File Downloads tracking-file-downloads

Configure the Adobe Analytics framework so that files downloaded from associated pages are automatically tracked as downloads in Adobe Analytics. When you enable the tracking of downloads, only the file types that you specify are tracked.

Downloads of the following file types are tracked by default:

So for example, with download tracking enabled for PDF files, whenever users click links to PDF files, the download of the PDF is tracked.

The download tracking properties of the framework are implemented as code in the analytics.sitecatalyst.js file that is generated for a page. The following code sample represents the default download tracking configuration:

s.trackDownloadLinks= true;
s.linkDownloadFileTypes= 'exe,zip,wav,mp3,mov,mpg,avi,wmv,doc,pdf,xls';

To enable download tracking for your Adobe Analytics framework:

Open the Adobe Analytics framework and expand the Link Tracking Configuration section.
Enable Track Downloads.
In the Download File Types box, type the filename extensions for the types of files that you want tracked.

Tracking external links tracking-external-links

You can track the clicking of external links (exit links) on your pages.

To track external links for your Adobe Analytics framework:

Open the Adobe Analytics framework and expand the Link Tracking Configuration section.
Configure the following properties according to your requirements.

Properties for tracking when external links are clicked:

Track External
Enables external link tracking.
External Filters
(Optional) Defines filters for matching the external URLs of the link targets. When the link targets match the filter, the link is tracked. External filters are useful for tracking only some of the external links on your pages.

To specify the external links to track, type all or part of the URL of the link target. Separate multiple filters with a comma. Enclose string literals within single quotation marks. No value (the default value of '', two single quotes) causes all external links to be tracked.
Internal Filters
Defines filters for matching the URLs of internal links. When the link targets URLs that match this filter, the link is not tracked. The default value is a javascript command that returns the hostname of the URL for the current window address.

To specify the internal links that are not tracked, type all or part of the internal URL of the link target. Separate multiple filters with a comma. Enclose string literals within single quotation marks.

The default value is 'javascript:,'+window.location.hostname
Leave Query String
Includes URL parameters when evaluating matches with internal and external filters.

Enable if you want to include URL parameters when evaluating link target URLs against external and internal filters.

The external link tracking properties are implemented as code in the analytics.sitecatalyst.js file that is generated for a page. The following example code is generated for a page that is associated with a framework that has enabled external link tracking with the following configuration:

External filter is 'google.com'
Internal filter is the default value of 'javascript:,'+window.location.hostname
Query strings are not included when evaluating the link target against filters.

s.trackExternalLinks= false;
s.linkExternalFilters= 'google.com';
s.linkInternalFilters= 'javascript:,'+window.location.hostname;
s.linkLeaveQueryString= false;

Sending Variable Data with Link Clicks sending-variable-data-with-link-clicks

You can configure AEM to send event and variable data to Adobe Analytics when a user clicks a link. The Link Tracking Configuration properties enable you to specify the Adobe Analytics events and variables to track when link clicks occur.

The framework mappings determine the event and variable values. You can map Adobe Analytics variables to the variables of your content components that store the data you want tracked when links are clicked.

To send variable data with link clicks:

Open the Adobe Analytics framework and expand the Link Tracking Configuration section.
Configure the following properties according to your requirements.

Properties for sending variable data with link clicks:

Link Track Events
Enter the Adobe Analytics event variables that you want to use for counting link clicks.

Separate multiple variable names with a comma.

The default value of None causes no event tracking.
Link Track Vars
Enter the Adobe Analytics variables that you want to send to Adobe Analytics when links are clicked. Separate multiple variable names with a comma.

The default value of None causes no variable data to be sent.

When you specify the events and variables to send, the configuration is implemented as code in the analytics.sitecatalyst.js file that is generated for a page. The following example code is generated for a page when the framework tracks the event10 event and the prop4 property:

s.linkTrackEvents= 'event10';
s.linkTrackVars= 'prop4';

Example Link Tracking Configuration example-link-tracking-configuration

Perform the following procedures to explore the link tracking behavior of the Adobe Analytics integration. The procedures show results from Adobe Marketing Cloud Debugger.

General configuration general-configuration

This example illustrates how the mapping works in the context of tracking and the debugger:

Open the framework that has been associated with a web page.

Drag the Page component to the mappings area of the framework. The Page component belongs to the General component group in Sidekick.

note note
NOTE
The component that you should use in a real-life scenario depends on the component inherited from (if at all).
If not you should have your own component exposed there (by defining an analytics subnode in its page component).

Configure the mapping according to the following table, by dragging the Analytics (SiteCatalyst) variable from the left side-panel:

CQ Variable

Entry in Variables Browser

Adobe Analytics Variable

pagedata.title

Custom eVar 1 (eVar1)

eVar1

eventdata.events.pageView

Custom 1 (event1)

event1

Drag the Search component to the mappings area of the framework. The Search component belongs to the General component group in Sidekick. Configure the mapping according to the following table, by dragging the Analytics (SiteCatalyst) variable from the left side-panel:

CQ Variable

Entry in Variables Browser

Adobe Analytics Variable

eventdata.keyword

Custom eVar 2 (eVar2)

eVar2

eventdata.results

Custom eVar 3 (eVar3)

eVar3

eventdata.events.search

Custom 2 (event2)

event2

Configure external link tracking configure-external-link-tracking

In your framework, expand the Link tracking Configuration area.
Deselect Track Downloads.
Select Track External.
Deselect Leave Query String.
Use the following value for the External Filters list to identify it as an external URL:

'yahoo.com'

Add the following value to the Link Track Events field:

code language-none
`event1,event2`

Add the following value to the Link track vars field:

code language-none
`eVar1,eVar2`

On the page that is associated with the framework, add a Text component. Inside the Text component, add a hyperlink pointing to the following address:

https://search.yahoo.com/?p=this
Switch to Preview mode and click the link.

The call made will look like this when viewed with the Adobe Marketing Cloud Debugger:

Adobe Marketing Cloud Debugger

NOTE

The URL does not contain the Query string: ?p=this

Include the URL parameter include-the-url-parameter

In the framework, expand the Link Tracking Configuration area.
Enable Leave Query String.
Reload the page preview, and click the link.

The call details that appear in Adobe Marketing Cloud Debugger are similar to the following example:

Adobe Marketing Cloud Debugger again

NOTE

This time the URL does contain the Query string: ?p=this

Ad-Hoc Link Tracking ad-hoc-link-tracking

Ad-hoc link tracking allows content authors to configure link tracking for a component. The configuration of the component overrides the Link Tracking Configuration of the framework, so on pages that are associated with the framework, Text components can be configured for link tracking of URLs.

Ad-hoc link tracking enables you to track download links, external links, together with event and variables data.

To enable ad-hoc link tracking you need to:

Associate the page that contains the Text component with the framework.
Configure the Adobe Analytics framework to enable ad-hoc link tracking.
Configure Link Tracking for a Text component.

Enabling Ad-hoc Link Tracking enabling-ad-hoc-link-tracking

Configure your Adobe Analytics framework to enable ad-hoc link tracking.

Open the Adobe Analytics framework and expand the Link Tracking Configuration section.

Enable Ad-hoc Link Tracking.

note note
NOTE
Not all user types have access to this checkbox. Contact your site administrator if you need access.

NOTE

The XSS Antisamy configuration is now in SLING under path /libs/sling/xss.config.xml and the following rules need to be added to ad-hoc so that linking works:

Anchor tag rule extension anchor-tag-rule-extension

<attribute name="onclick">
    <literal-list>
        <literal value="CQ_Analytics.Sitecatalyst.customTrack(this)"/>
    </literal-list>
</attribute>
<attribute name="adhocenable">
    <literal-list>
        <literal value="true"/>
        <literal value="false"/>
    </literal-list>
</attribute>
<attribute name="adhocevents">
    <regexp-list>
        <regexp name="anything"/>
    </regexp-list>
</attribute>
<attribute name="adhocevars">
    <regexp-list>
        <regexp name="anything"/>
    </regexp-list>
</attribute>

Configuring Link Tracking for a Text Component configuring-link-tracking-for-a-text-component

Before you can configure ad-hoc link tracking for Text components themselves, the following configurations must have already been implemented:

Use the following procedure to configure link tracking for a Text component:

Open the page in edit mode and edit the Text component.
Select the text that you want to use as hypertext and click the Hyperlink button.

Add the target URL in the Link To box, then expand the Link Tracking area.

note note
NOTE
Custom link tracking is visible as a separate action, beside the Link/Unlink action (Analytics Icon).
It will only be enabled when you have selected a valid Link in the RTE.

Enabling link tracking

Enable Custom Link Tracking to override the link tracking configuration of the Adobe Analytics framework and to enable link tracking for the current link.
(Optional) To track events with the link click, add Adobe Analytics event names in the Include Adobe Analytics Variables field. Separate multiple event name with commas, for example

event1, event22.
(Optional) To track variable data with the link click, add Adobe Analytics variables in the Include Adobe Analytics Variables field. Use either of the following formats:
- <Variable-name>: <Dynamic Value>
- <Variable-name>: 'CONSTANT'
The following examples illustrate each format:
- eVar10:pagedata.title
- prop1: 'Aubergine'
Separate multiple values with a comma.
Select OK.

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