Tracking URLs are a great tool that allow you to capture data relating to traffic in places like Google Analytics. If your website has been configured with the necessary tracking capabilities, Aimbase will also utilize some of this data. The benefit to employing this tactic is the ability to determine how many leads were generated by various campaigns or marketing methods. If you're also using such features as customer satisfaction, you may even be able to see how many of those leads eventually converted to a sale. 

Website Configuration

To ensure that your website is equipped with these capabilities, two steps must first be taken: 

1. The Aimbase web analytics script has been placed on all pages of your site. The main script needed can be found in step one here. You'll need to ensure the data-client-id for your install is replaced with the dummy one used in the example. To collect this value, reach out to your contact at Rollick. 

2. Once the main script has been placed, you're web provider will also need to implement the scripts in the second half of the instructions for step two found here as well.

Step one allows Aimbase to identify each device/browser that a prospect uses accesses your site and identify where he/she goes while there. Step two allows data from the script (i.e. your tracking URL data) to override certain form fields that are passed to Aimbase. 

Tracking URL Creation

Aimbase will process data from four specific tracking parameters: Source, Campaign, Event and Medium. Each is notated by the use of utm_. In the example below the 'tracking' portion of the URL begins with the ?. This notes the start of what are called parameters. If you are using other parameters to track metrics for other systems be sure to tack any for Aimbase on after those, but not to insert another ? when doing so. Instead you'll want to use an &. The & in these tracking URLs notes the use of a new parameter (i.e. a new utm_ item). After each of the = in each of the sections is the value you're trying to associate for that parameter to the lead. 

https//www.brandwebsite.com?utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=Spring+Into+Savings&utm_event=Stl+Trade+Show&utm_medium=35p+fishing+mbl

In the example, you'll also notice the use of + between words. The + is used to indicate a space in the phrase. In addition to a + the combination %20 also serves this same purpose. The example below shows all fields captured by Aimbase in use, but it is common for only a couple of these to be in use are a time. This same method can be utilized for paid media ads, referral traffic to your brand website from a partner's, organic social media posts and links within emails to your prospects/customers. 

Ensuring Your Tracking URL is Compatible With Aimbase

When building your tracking URL, the values used for the utm_source related to the lead source name you see on the lead. Likewise, the value you use for the utm_campaign relates to the lead campaign name on the lead in Aimbase. Because of this, you'll need to be sure that these values exist within the Lead Sources and Lead Campaigns section of Aimbase prior to using the values within your tracking URL. Read our article about creating these values for instructions and guidance while creating lead sources within your install. You'll find a similar set of instructions about lead campaigns along with other information about how these values are used here. As you're creating each of these values, be mindful that the value you use within your tracking URL must match the value you created within Aimbase exactly (spaces included). 

No additional setup steps are required for the event or medium. Those values can be whatever you'd like them to be without having to configure anything within Aimbase 

Resolving Incompatible Tracking URL Values

You may be wondering, what if I skip this step? Aimbase will still read whatever value you've placed within your tracking URL. However, when it comes time to 'stage' the lead or process it and assign it to a dealer, the lead will fail. This means the lead will not appear on your lead grid and it will not be distributed to anyone within the organization.

If you suspect this is happening, don't panic. It can be easily fixed. To locate leads that have failed, find the Administration menu, hover over Imports, and click View Lead. This page will show you leads that have been sent to Aimbase, and highlight the ones that have failed.

Once you've navigated to this page, you may see data resembling the below. Make note of the row that has a value greater than 0 within the Records in Error column. Click into this row, and find the errored record(s) based on the label of "Error" in the Staging Status Type column. Click into the errored record.

Once on this page, you'll likely see a message on the right window of the page that states something like: the lead errored because the lead source was not found. To resolve errors like these where a missing lead category, lead source or lead campaign is the issue first make sure the value you intend to use exists within the correction section of Aimbase, then click Edit.

Find the field which caused the error in the left panel. Click into the corresponding drop down and select the value that you recently added or that you'd like to use in it's place. Click Save.

Once you've clicked Save, the lead will restage and should complete successfully. If you do not see it appear on the leads grid within 5 minutes of clicking Save, repeat this process. When looking for the lead on the lead grid, be sure you're looking at leads on the date which your failed lead was originally submitted and not the day you restaged/resolved it.

Testing Your Tracking URLs

To begin testing your tracking URL, navigate to your brand website via the tracking URL you built. Ensure that no other tabs with the brand website are open, and that, if you are closing them to do this step, your cache has been cleared.

Once you've navigated to the brand website via your tracking URL, submit a lead form that sends the data to Aimbase. 

Why Didn't My Tracking URL Work?

There are a number of reasons a tracking URL may not have worked as expected. Some of the most common are that you may have had an existing session already started on your website, another may be that the web session component wasn't properly configured. Regardless, the instructions below will give you some insight into where to begin locating the issue. Gathering the information below is a good start and will help to have handy in the event you need to reach out to your Rollick representative

Login to your Aimbase install, locate the Administration navigation, hover over Imports and click View.

Find the row representative of the date on which you entered your lead and that says Service Lead within the Import Type column. Click into this row.

Find your test lead on the list of submitted leads, and click into it. There are a few different fields to make note of while looking at the page. First, if your tracking URL included a lead source and/or a lead campaign name, you should see the values from your URL in these corresponding fields on this page. If you don't, look towards the bottom-right of the page and locate the fields labeled sessionUid and userUid. If there are no values for these fields present, or if you lead source and lead campaign do not appear as you intended, please reach out to your representative at Rollick so that he/she can coordinate efforts with your web provider to resolve this. 

Why Don't I See Medium on the Imports Page?

The medium isn't passed in through the Aimbase lead API with the rest of the data such as lead campaign, lead source, lead category, etc. Medium is held within the session or cookie, which is generated by the Aimbase script placed on each page of your site. Because of this, medium is only available on the lead details page. The medium is collected from the web session data after the lead is staged (processed) by Aimbase. To add the medium to the lead, we look for the SessionUid  and UserUid (visible on the imports page as well) from the API data and then find its match within the session data we're storing. Once a match is found, the medium is appended to the lead details page along with any additional information such as referrer and specific page views. You may notice that it takes this additional data a few extra minutes to appear due to this second step.