Tracking Website Visitors in Sitecore Send
Sitecore Send’s website tracking enables marketers to collect data about their visitors and connect these actions with campaigns for personalized experiences. This web analysis service gathers information about user activity on their site and makes it available for reporting, segmentation, and automation in Sitecore Send. Data from Sitecore Send’s website tracking is only available through the platform, and may be used in anonymized and aggregated form for reporting purposes. By tracking visitor actions, your marketing teams will be able able to create highly personalized experiences for every visitor.
The Visitor Tracking Data
The platform uses proprietary, cookie-based technology to track the following data:
- End-user page visits
- Product views
- User shopping carts
- Purchase information (i.e. product quantity and pricing)
Website tracking in Sitecore Send uses these cookies to link the following data to specific visitors by their emails. This functionality is called Identify. It allows for more accurate tracking of end-users by associating their various sessions and devices by the same identification number. This functionality can be turned on or off.
The data specifically stored using Sitecore Send’s cookie-technology is:
A unique identification number to identify a user’s browser session
A unique identification number to identify a browser — although it is not possibly to identify a unique device
A unique identification number to identify the relevant website
Relevant flags to enable/disable library features — including but not limited to the Exit Intent functionality
Note: Sitecore has no control of the data shared through the tracking feature.
Connecting a Website to Sitecore Send
There are a few different ways you can enable the website tracking functionality in Sitecore Send. You can add a website directly in the Sitecore Send platform, connect it using the platform plugin, or by a JSS or PHP tracking library. Follow these steps to connect your website to Sitecore Send.
Step 1: In the top navigation bar, navigate to the Account icon in the top right corner, and click Websites.
Step 2: Click Add website.
Step 3: Enter your domain in the Website domain field, then click Submit.
Step 4: After clicking submit, your Website ID will be displayed on this page. This ID will be used when you’re installing website tracking.
Step 5: To finish connecting your website to Sitecore Send and install website tracking, use one of the following installation methods:
- Install website tracking using supported plugins
- Install website tracking using the JSS tracking library
- Install website tracking using the PHP tracking library
Connect Using Supported Plugins
Sitecore Send supports a wide range of website tracking plugins.
Step 1: Define your website domain on the Connect your website page and copy your Website ID.
Step 2: Click the Install connection script tab in the left menu.
Step 3: Navigate to the plugin that’s compatible with your website, and click Install. Choose from several different plugins to install the website tracking script with just one click. Sitecore Send plugins are available for following websites:
- Segment
- Magneto
- Woocomerce
- OpenCart
- ZenCart
- CSCart
- Prestashop
Step 4: You’ll be asked to enter the Website ID from the previous step when proceeding with the install.
Connect Using a JSS Tracking Library
For websites that require a JSS tracking library, install the tracking code manually by adding the code snippets to the head of your website HTML.
Step 1: Click the Install connection script tab in the left menu on the Connect your website page.
Step 2: Click the Install button next to Custom Installation in the plugin list.
Step 3: Click the </> Copy button and to copy the script.
Step 4: Paste the corresponding code snippets in the <head> tag of your website HTML.
Connect Using a PHP Tracking Library
If your site requires a PHP tracking library, connect your website to Sitecore Send using the following Sitecore documentation. There are different code examples for you to choose from when configuring your website tracking in Sitecore Send.
Check Your Website Connection Verification
To check that your website is connected and verified in our platform, go back to the Websites
page under your account settings. A verified status means that there is a connection between your domain and Sitecore Send’s tracking capabilities.
Note: If your website remains unverified, even though you sent an event, check the tracking code that you added to your website to confirm its correct.
Once your website domain has been verified and Sitecore Send has identified your first user, a new email list will be automatically created. This list contains all the identified subscribers of the domain you successfully connected.
Now that your website is connected to Sitecore Send, you can start tracking visitors actions and use this valuable data to create highly personalized campaigns. If you’re looking to learn more about the different features of Sitecore Send and how it can benefit your MarTech stack, reach out to our team of Sitecore MVPs at [email protected]. We can help your business deliver successful email marketing campaigns to build relationships with customers, increase brand awareness, promote products or services, and drive business growth
Until next time, happy email marketing!
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Meet Theresa Gutierrez
Sitecore Strategist | Sitecore Strategy MVP
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Theresa, aka 'T', is a high-energy marketing creative with 8+ years of experience across various industries. She's passionate about delivering strategy and design, with a focus on Sitecore SaaS technologies. T is an avid golfer and loving dog momma, appeased only by delicious food and a bevy of something bubbly. Cheers!