Opting Into Adobe Analytics and Adobe Target

Last update: April 11, 2024

CREATED FOR:

  • Admin

AEM has an opt-in procedure to help you integrate with Adobe Analytics and Adobe Target. This is available out-of-the-box, as a pre-loaded task assigned to the administrator user group.

When you log in as an administrator this task (Configuring Analytics & Targeting) is available from the Inbox. Based on the credentials you supply, it helps you configure and integrate these services.

You have the following options for configuring the integration:

  • Configure the integration via the task.

    This can be done either immediately or later, the task will remain in the Inbox until some action is taken. In either case the configuration can be done directly in the UI, or with the use of a pre-defined .properties file.

  • Opt out of the integration.

    Consider this option if you prefer to manually configure the integration. See also Integrating AEM with Adobe Target and Adobe Analytics using DTM.

  • Configure the set up and provisioning by using a script.

Configuring the Integration

Opt into the integration with:

  • Analytics to enable the use of their page tracking and analysis capabilities.
  • Target to enable the use of their personalization capabilities.

For either option you need to provide the user account information and specify the pages that are tracked.

NOTE
You can optionally provide Analytics and Target account information using a properties file that is read upon server startup. See Providing Account Information Using a Properties File.

When you opt into the integration, AEM performs the following tasks:

  • Creates the cloud configurations that enable the connection to Analytics and Target.
  • Creates the frameworks that determine the data that is tracked.
  • Configures the web pages to use these services.
NOTE
AT.js is the default client library. This is configured under your target cloud services configuration.
Adobe recommends that you use AT.js as the client library.

To opt-in from the pre-loaded, out-of-the-box task:

  1. From your Inbox, select and Open the Configure Analytics & Targeting task.

    optin-01

  2. For Analytics:

    1. Enter the user account information for Analytics, then click the corresponding Add button.
    2. The appropriate credentials are authenticated.
    3. When the Analytics account is authenticated, select the Analytics report suite to use. AEM retrieves those Analytics report suites. The status is updated to Added.

  3. For Target:

    1. Enter the user account information for Target then click the corresponding Add button.
    2. The appropriate credentials are authenticated. The status is updated to Added.

  4. Select Next.

  5. Select the sites for which Analytics and/or Target should be used.

  6. Select Done to complete.

    CAUTION
    After you opt into the configuration, you need to publish the affected site/pages to replicate these changes to your publish instance.

Opting Out of the Integration

Opt out of the integration with Analytics and Target when you either:

To opt out you need to complete the pre-loaded task:

Providing Account Information Using a Properties File

Install a properties file that AEM reads on server startup to configure the account properties for the integration with Analytics and Target. When you use the properties file, the opt-in wizard automatically uses the properties from the file and the cloud configuration is created accordingly.

The properties file is a text file named marketingcloud.properties that you save in the working directory that the AEM process is using (typically the same directory as the JAR file). The file includes the following properties:

  • analytics.server: The URL of the Analytics data center that you use.
  • analytics.company: The company that is associated with your Analytics user account.
  • analytics.username: Your Analytics user name.
  • analytics.secret: The secret that is associated with your Analytics user name.
  • analytics.reportsuite: The name of the Analytics report suite to use.
  • target.clientcode: The client code that is associated with your Target account.
  • target.email: The email address that you use to authenticate your Target account.
  • target.password: The password that is associated with your email address.

Properties and values are separated with equal signs (=). The Analytics properties are prefixed with analytics, and the Target properties are prefixed with target. To configure a service, provide values for all the properties for that service. If you do not want to configure a service, provide no values for that service.

The following example .properties file includes the property values for creating a cloud configuration for Analytics:

analytics.server=https://test.omniture.com/login/
analytics.company=MyCompany
analytics.username=sbroders
analytics.secret=12345678
analytics.reportsuite=myreportsuite
target.clientcode=
target.email=
target.password=

The following procedure describes how to opt into the integration using the properties file.

  1. Create the marketingcloud.properties file in the working directory that the AEM process is using (author instance).

    NOTE
    The working directory is usually the directory that holds the jar or license.properties file.
    However, it can also be defined as an absolute path by the system property:
    mac.provisioning.file.container

  2. Add the property values according to your Analytics and/or Target accounts.

  3. Start or restart the server, and then log in using an administrator account.

  4. Open the Configure Analytics & Targeting task as described in Configuring the Integration. Instead of requesting your account information, the wizard uses the values from the .properties file.

    Select Add for the appropriate service, then continue with the wizard.

    optin-02

About the Cloud Configurations

When you configure the integration with Analytics and Target, AEM automatically creates the required cloud configurations and frameworks. For example, the Analytics cloud configuration is called Provisioned Analytics Account.

You do not need to alter the cloud configurations. However, you can configure the frameworks as needed. (See Mapping Component Data with Adobe Analytics Properties and Add a Target Framework.)

NOTE
By default when you opt into the Adobe Target configuration wizard, Accurate Targeting is enabled.
Accurate targeting means that the cloud service configuration waits for the context to load before loading content. As a result, in terms of performance, accurate targeting may create a few millisecond delay before loading content.
Accurate targeting is always enabled on the author instance. However, on the publish instance you can opt to turn accurate targeting off globally by clearing the check mark next to Accurate Targeting in the cloud service configuration (http://localhost:4502/etc/cloudservices.html). You can also still turn accurate targeting on and off for individual components regardless of your setting in the cloud service configuration.
If you have already created targeted components and you change this setting, your changes do not affect those components. Make any changes to those components directly.
CAUTION
When you opt into the Analytics configuration and a specific reportsuite is selected, then the framework is restricted to the publish run mode. This means that tracking only works on the publish instance.
If tracking is needed on an authoring instance as well the value should be changed to all.

Configuring the Setup and Provisioning via Script

As an administrator, you may want to trigger setup and provisioning with a script rather than manually stepping through the wizard. You can do so by:

  • Sending a POST request to /libs/cq/cloudservicesprovisioning/content/autoprovisioning.json with the required parameters.

Which parameters you send depends on the following:

  • If you want to use the marketingcloud.properties file filled in with all the required credentials, then you must send the following parameters:

    • automaticProvisioning= true
    • servicename= analytics|target
    • path=path to an AEM page to attach the created cloud services configs

    For example, a curl request that creates both Analytics and Target configurations and attachs them to the we.retail page would be:

    curl -v -u admin:admin -X POST -d"automaticProvisioning=true&servicename=target&servicename=analytics&path=/content/we-retail" http://localhost:4502/libs/cq/cloudservicesprovisioning/content/autoprovisioning.json

  • If you do not want to use the marketingcloud.properties file then you must send the credentials and parameters. For example:

    • automaticProvisioning= true
    • servicename= analytics|target
    • path=path to an AEM page to attach the created cloud services configs; multiple paths can be defined
    • analytics.server= https://servername
    • analytics.company= Name of company
    • analytics.username= me
    • analytics.secret= secret
    • analytics.reportsuite= we-retail
    • target.clientcode= mycompany
    • target.email= me@adobe.com
    • target.password= password

    In this case, the curl request that creates both Analytics and Target configurations and attachs them to the we-retail page would be:

    
curl -v -u admin:admin -X POST -d"automaticProvisioning=false&servicename=target&servicename=analytics&path=/content/we-retail&analytics.server=https://servername/&analytics.company=Name of company&analytics.username=me&analytics.secret=secret&analytics.reportsuite=weretail&target.clientcode=mycompany&target.email=me@adobe.com&target.password=password" http://localhost:4502/libs/cq/cloudservicesprovisioning/content/autoprovisioning.json

Experience Manager


Connect with Experience League at Summit!

Get front-row access to top sessions, hands-on activities, and networking—wherever you are!

Learn more

Register now