This article outlines requirements for the generation and daily delivery of an attribution file as an input to the performance of your Connexity campaign.
Links to Installation Options and Other Related Topics
- About Attribution Data
- Implement On Your Own
- Implement Via Analytics Platform
- Additional Reference Information
ABOUT ATTRIBUTION DATA
The attribution file provides Insight into conversions from shopper traffic generated by Connexity generates. Sharing attribution data is critical to driving the success of your campaign. Having a full understanding about how traffic converts, at a granular level, further helps us to optimize placements that maximize incremental growth opportunities.
How Attribution Data Is Used
The attribution data you provide is the most important performance signal Connexity receives. We combined this information with signals from the Connexity Shopping Tag to better align events observed by the Tag with conversions confirmed in your daily file. This alignment minimizes discrepancies in how different attribution models may recognize conversions and the aligned results are applied in two main areas.
Optimization: Validation of traffic conversions helps Connexity optimize pricing within your budget to bid for and win you competitive placements that drive even more traffic at higher conversion rates. It enables us to optimize pricing all the way to the traffic source and product SKU level in order to meet your cost of sale (COS) goals.
Reporting: Validation of conversions helps us communicate about campaign progress from a common understanding of performance. It means Connexity can deliver more accurate performance reporting in our merchant portal and in updates with your Account Manager.
Implementation Overview
There are a few important steps this document will outline to help you successfully implement
daily creation and delivery of an attribution file.
| 1 | Create File | Review file and data requirements. Setup daily creation. |
| 2 | Setup Delivery | Set daily delivery of attribution file to Connexity. |
| 3 | Test & Verify | We need to verify the completeness of your file implementation. |
| 4 | Complete | When attribution data is verified, your campaign can begin. |
Creation and delivery of the attribution file can be accomplished with the help of a site analytics platform such as Google Analytics (GA) or Adobe Analytics. We offer instructions for implementation on-your-own and implementation using an analytics platform, where GA is used as the example.
IMPLEMENT ON YOUR OWN
1. Create Attribution File
An attribution file needs to be created that contains sales data required to identify conversion. The attribution file needs to be generated and sent daily to Connexity. If your engineering resources/team wishes to programmatically generate the attribution file, requirements and field specifications are provided below. You can use an analytics platform to create the attribution file with these instructions.
You can also follow our video instructions to implement this yourself.
File Requirements
- File format must be XSLX or CSV format
- Delimiter must be comma or tab (for CSV files)
- The file must be uncompressed
- File name should include the merchant name and the date in yyyy-MM-dd format
- Suggested file name format: MerchantName_OrderReport_yyyy-MM-dd.csv
Required Fields
This is the data that is required within the attribution file for Connexity to properly analyze the data. This is specifically formatted in a way our system can process the information. This data, once ingested, can be viewed in the merchant platform.
|
Column name |
What it contains/Example |
|
cnxclid |
A unique redirect variable dynamically generated by Connexity and appended to the product URL. Required to associate the sale to the original click.
Note that this value can contain a Google/Bing click ID in case of parallel tracking, which can contain up to 100 alpha-numerical characters
|
|
order_date |
The date on which the transaction was done
|
|
total_price |
The total value of the order
|
|
order_number |
The order number of the retailer
|
If you are able to include additional information such as SKU, manufacturer or category name, and quantity that is ideal, but not mandatory.
2. Setup Daily Delivery
In this step the merchant sets up delivery of the attribution file to Connexity through email or FTP. This file should be sent daily and a new file should be provided every day covering attribution results for the previous day. If you require a delivery method other than email or FTP, please contact your Connexity Account Manager.
- Email: The attribution file is sent automatically from your reporting system to Connexity daily.
- Send your daily file to: CNX_Order_Reports@connexity.com
- Include merchant name and ID for the subject line
Example: MerchantName – 12345 – Connexity Attribution File - FTP: Connexity can work with you to establish a method for you to “push” the daily attribution file you create to a secure Connexity or merchant FTP location you specify. The attribution file is pushed/uploaded to an FTP location daily.
3. Test and Verify
Please contact your Account Manager after you create and set-up a delivery method for your attribution file. During this stage our team will verify the attribution file is valid and that the data is correctly routed into our system and into our merchant portal platform.
Your Account Manager may ask you to place a test order to verify the attribution tracking is working as expected from your FTP/SFTP file transfer or data analytics platform/Google analytics. If this is not something you can do on your end, we can place a test order on your behalf.
4. Complete
Once you and your Account Manager have established that the attribution file data is correct and your delivery method is functioning properly, you are all set to start your campaigns on the Connexity network. Please contact your Account Manager if you have any additional questions.
IMPLEMENT VIA ANALYTICS PLATFORM
1. Create Attribution File
These instructions will direct merchants on how to create an attribution file directly from an analytics platform like Google Analytics (GA) to be automatically delivered to Connexity for processing. With this method a utm parameter is used to pass redirect data into a report. Then a daily Email delivery routine for the report is automated. This is a simple way to track the redirects without needing additional engineering work on your side.
You can also follow our video instructions to implement this through an analytics platform.
1.a. Passing Data via a UTM Parameter
Here we will choose a utm parameter for the data to be passed through to Google Analytics (GA), and setup the required reporting parameters.
- Google Analytics supports five tracking parameters out of the box: utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term, utm_content.
- You’ll need to identify a UTM parameter that is currently not in use. Out of the 5 GA supports, utm_term and utm_content are often not defined/used.
The utm parameter being used and those available depend on your business and how you’ve implemented Google Analytics. Connexity suggests using a UTM that is not currently in-use so that we can use this parameter to pass the required data.
1.b. Creating a Custom Attribution Report
In GA you’ll create a custom report, which will be the attribution report/file that will be sent to Connexity for processing.
- Under Customization > Custom Reports create a New Custom Report.
- Name the report accordingly and complete the fields in the table on the next page. See sample below for reference.
|
Column name |
What it contains/Example |
|
General Title |
Name the report so it’s easily identifiable by you and Connexity Example: MerchantName - MID - Connexity Attribution File |
|
Report Content Name |
Keep the same naming convention here so it’s easy to identify Example: MerchantName - MID - Connexity Attribution File |
|
Type |
Select “Flat Table” |
|
Dimensions |
Add the “Date” and “Transaction ID” dimensions, and associated utm parameter:
|
|
Metrics |
For this section you will choose a metric again based on your utm parameter:
|
|
Filters |
Add filter “Source” and in the drop down box select "Regex" and in the text field enter "connexity|rd.bizrate.com" |
|
Views |
By default you should see “1 view selected” |
- Click Save. Now you have a report that needs a few adjustments for processing by Connexity.
Dimensions and Metrics are unique to the utm parameter you selected. The keyword you setup to identify Connexity’s campaign in your system should be used in the filters section.
1.c. Refining the Attribution Report
In this step, we will set up reporting parameters to hit the proper data set and time range. This is required so our system can properly process the data for analysis.
- You should see results similar to the example below. First, you want to change the number of “Rows” to the largest number available (in GA, that is “5000”). This enables us to ingest all the data at once.
- Second, head to the date range and change it to “Yesterday” and click Apply. This ensures the report has the most recent date (i.e., since the report is daily, it will send yesterday’s completed data).
- Click “Save” and confirm the content in the next screen and your report should be ready to go. The next step will set up the delivery of this report to Connexity.
Sometimes when adjusting settings, selections may be reset to defaults. Anytime you change a setting, double-check that the correct settings are intact (i.e., rows = 5000, date range = yesterday).
2. Setup Daily Delivery
In this last step, we set up the attribution report you created to be automatically sent daily to Connexity via email.
- In the same reporting page as the previous instructions, hit “Share”. You will see a prompt with options like in the example below. Complete the fields as outlined in the table below.
|
Field |
Option/Example |
|
Email to |
CNX_Order_Reports@connexity.com |
|
Subject |
Include merchant name and ID for the subject line Example: MerchantName – 12345 – Connexity Order Report |
|
Attachments |
Select “CSV” |
|
Frequency |
Select “Daily” |
|
Advanced Options |
Select in Active for option “12 months” |
Content is required in the text box below Advanced Options before you can progress to the next step. You can copy and paste the Subject Line into this field.
- Hit the “Send” button and you should see “email successfully scheduled!” banner. At this point you should be ready to run and track campaigns. Contact your Connexity Account Manager to verify this is working and any next steps.
Extending active report delivery
By default Google Analytics will deliver reports for the time frame specified in “Active for” set in the email report delivery settings (refer to Step-3, email delivery, Advanced Options section). There is an option in GA that will allow the active delivery to automatically renew after the selected time range ends. This will prevent you from having to manually renew email delivery after its end date, causing a delay in attribution analysis.
- In GA go to Settings > Admin and select “Scheduled emails”
- Under Scheduled Emails you should be able to see all your scheduled emails set up in GA. Locate the report you set up for the attribution file email. On the right side of that email click the Action drop-down menu and select “Extend”
- This will extend the report delivery automatically after the listed “End date” so you will not need to do this manually after it expires.
3. Test and Verify
Please contact your Account Manager after you create and set-up a delivery method for your attribution file. During this stage our team will verify the attribution file is valid and that the data is correctly routed into our system and into the merchant platform.
Your Account Manager may ask you to place a test order to verify the attribution tracking is working as expected from implementation in your analytics platform/Google analytics. If this is not something you can do on your end, we can place a test order on your behalf.
4. Complete
Once you and your Account Manager have established that the attribution file data is correct and your delivery method is functioning properly, you are all set to start your campaigns on the Connexity network. Please contact your Account Manager if you have any additional questions.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE INFORMATION
How Connexity Redirect IDs are Generated and Used
ach time a user clicks on a product, Connexity dynamically creates and appends a unique ID to the product URL. This allows us to allocate the sales order to the original redirect and use this information to optimize the performance of your account.
|
Example product URL |
https://www.merchantname.com/clothing/jeans-slim-fit/?product=ABCXYZ&utm_source=connexity |
|
When a shopper clicks through, we generate a redirect ID |
14061651499390444729810030301008005 |
|
The redirect ID is appended to the URL |
https://www.merchantname.com/clothing/jeans-slim-fit/?product=ABCXYZ&utm_source=connexity&cnxclid=14061651499390444729810030301008005 |
Appending to report
We append the selected parameter to your URL, or you can input CNXCLID into the GA parameter, in order to pick up our redirect ID.
|
Example product URL |
https://testmerchant.com/productlink/product?utm_source=connexity&utm_medium=aff&utm_content=CNXCLID |
You must be able to capture and pass back to Connexity this redirect ID value for all orders in the attribution file. The default setup will pass this value to a variable labeled “cnxclid”.
If you prefer that value be appended to a different variable for tracking purposes please communicate that need back to your Connexity Account Manager. The redirect ID should then be sent back to Connexity in the attribution report in the “cnxclid” field, if there was a transaction.