Simplify cookie mapping and link tracking

Sebastiaan Van Dingenen-iODigital

There are some discrepancies when working with link tracking and tracking script implementation.

1. Links are automatically flagged as 'redirect link' in design editor but not flagged as 'redirect link' when using html

Had a case today where the customer always uses design templates and thus never has to look at this. The customer tried to do a more complex campaign and used a dynamic content with many variants and a bunch of hyperlinks. Today he realises the links are not tracked (a zip file and a pdf on external untracked page).

The behavior should be the same everywhere.

2. There is a dangerous discrepancy between tracked and untracked links. If you link to a website where you have the (first party) tracking script installed you will notice different behavior:

• if you 'track' the link it will work and you will see a click and page visit generated by the tracking domain. If the customer navigates to different pages afterwards all the next visits are anonymous, the system does not map the cookie
• if you do not 'track' the link the tracking script on the page will track the click and page visit and it will map the cookie, future visits are logged properly

Due to this the customer always has to be aware what he selects, if the page is external etc. Preferred solution would be a system where cookies get mapped where possible and the customer doesn't have to select or change anything for the tracking to work.

I cannot count anymore the amount of times users have come to me with an email that is sent which is not tracked proprerly. The fact that html and design editor also have a different default makes it even more troublesome.