# Tracking Best Practices

Optimally configured and effective tracking is the cornerstone of a successful marketing strategy. This document is designed to help you optimize your tracking setup, ensuring that every user interaction is accurately captured and attributed, which leads to increased trust in partnerships.

#### Tracking criteria applicable to mobile & desktop web browsers

The following tracking criteria apply to web pages that can be browsed via any browser on desktop or mobile.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Custom tracking domain\*" %}

* **Importance:** This is essential for accurately attributing credit when the user switches devices.
  * Enhances trust and recognition by aligning the tracking URL with your brand.
  * Reduces the risk of being blocked by ad blockers, which often target common 3rd-party tracking domains.
  * You can improve cookie reliability for Safari by aligning the tracking domain with their IP range when selecting *Custom Proxy Configuration*.
* **Recommendation:** Implement a 1st-party tracking domain like goto.brand.com to improve tracking reliability and brand consistency.
* **Learn more:** [Set Up a Custom Tracking Domain](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/tracking/set-up-tracking/set-up-a-custom-tracking-domain).
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Landing page tracking" %}

* **Importance:**
  * Allows the measurement of first-party tracking quality.
  * Enables user identifiers to be sent when users log in, enabling increased attribution opportunities through cross-device tracking.
  * Required for direct tracking for partners, which is needed when working with Google Ads partners.
* **Recommendation:** Implement landing page tracking either via our Universal Tracking Tag solution or our Page Load API. Page Load API is recommended as a server-side integration method.
* **Learn more:** [PageLoad API](https://integrations.impact.com/impact-brand/reference/the-pageload-object).

See [app open tracking](#section-idm73489443259702) for the in-app tracking equivalent.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Verified first-party tracking efficacy" %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** This tracking criterion requires landing page integration.
{% endhint %}

* **Importance:**
  * It serves as a metric to assess the effectiveness of your implemented tracking setup if you’re using our UTT or PageLoad API for page event tracking.
  * Achieving a high score represents minimised tracking loss and maximised attribution opportunities.
* **Recommendation:** Aim for a tracking efficacy rate of over 70%.
* **Learn more:** [Tracking Efficacy Report](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/tracking/tracking-efficacy/tracking-efficacy-report).
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Persistent first-party identifier\*" %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** This tracking criterion requires landing page integration.
{% endhint %}

* **Importance:**
  * Ensures improved tracking stability as browsers phase out 3rd-party cookies to track beyond the 7-day limit in Safari.
  * It also helps maintain consistent tracking across sessions directly controlled by the domain owner.
  * This is the default for server-side integrations, but where the landing page implementation tracks via our Universal Tracking Tag, this maximises the first-party tracking window.
* **Recommendation:** Use the `CustomProfileId` to pass an anonymous 1st-party identifier. This identifier should be stored on the site’s domain and set as *httpOnly* and secure.
* **Learn more:** [The conversion object](https://integrations.impact.com/impact-brand/reference/the-conversion-object#attributes).
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Server-side conversion integration method\*" %}

* **Importance:**
  * With JavaScript or pixel-based tracking, tracking loss can occur due to slow loading, quick navigation from the confirmation page, or ad blockers.
  * Server-side integrations mitigate the tracking loss and have the benefit of requiring authentication, so they are more secure and can’t be spoofed.
* **Recommendation:**
  * Transition to server-side tracking to mitigate tracking loss due to ad blockers and user navigation away from the page.
  * Sending events from the server ensures that conversion events aren’t missed.
* **Learn more:** [Conversions API](https://integrations.impact.com/impact-brand/reference/the-conversion-object).
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Comprehensive conversion tracking\*" %}

* **Importance:**
  * impact.com can attribute a conversion to a click based on several user identifiers, not just the `clickId`, e.g., in cross-device tracking scenarios.
  * Sending all events ensures every opportunity to track by identifying users with valid referrers using common identifiers that may have been missed using traditional tracking methods.
* **Recommendation:** Record all potential referrer-based conversions, including cross-device activities.
* **Learn more:** [Submit Conversion Data via FTP or Email](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/submit-and-modify-conversion-data/submit-conversion-data/submit-conversion-data-via-ftp-or-email).
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Cross-device tracking\*" %}

* **Importance:** This is essential for accurately attributing credit when a user switches devices.
* **Recommendation:** Send `CustomerId` and `CustomerEmail` when available on both page and conversion events. If it is *not* possible to log in to your website, only `CustomerEmail` is required for conversion events.
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Cross-domain and cross-program tracking" %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** This criterion applies to brands with multiple programs of website domains.
{% endhint %}

* **Importance:**
  * Understand user behavior across multiple properties, ensuring every interaction is correctly attributed.
  * Offer credit to partners if the user navigates across different domains, e.g., `brand.co.uk` and `brand.com`.
* **Recommendation:**
  * Ensure the user identity is linked as the user navigates across different domains. This can be accomplished using the UTT’s cross-domain feature or a custom configuration.
  * Ensure cross-program tracking is configured when there are multiple related programs. One common scenario is different programs per region.
    {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Consent mode (Beta)" %}
{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** This tracking criterion is only relevant if your brand has a presence in the European Economic Area, the UK, or Switzerland.
{% endhint %}

* **Importance:**
  * A proper consent management setup ensures that user interactions are tracked correctly when consent is required in certain jurisdictions.
  * Loyalty and rewards partners use *legitimate interest* as the legal basis for tracking instead of consent. Consent Mode handles consent-exempt scenarios automatically. Offer credit to partners if the user navigates across different domains, e.g., `brand.co.uk` and `brand.com`.
* **Recommendation:**
  * Preserve attribution parameters past the initial navigation (built into the UTT’s Consent Mode).
  * Track [loyalty and reward clicks](https://app.gitbook.com/s/b2rE79d9UhOKZQLgzSqx/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/tracking/tracking-links/link-parameters/implement-tracking-for-rewards-programs) (as designated by the `im_rewards=1` flag) as strictly necessary for delivering a service to users (built into the UTT’s Consent Mode).
  * Reach out to your CSM for more information.
    {% endtab %}
    {% endtabs %}

\*Also applicable to in-app tracking.

#### Tracking criteria applicable to mobile apps

{% hint style="info" %}
**Note:** If you don’t own a mobile app, this section is not relevant to you.
{% endhint %}

When a mobile app is installed, you can redirect users directly to the app. When a mobile app is configured to track through impact.com, partners get credit for re-engaging users who have the app installed. Our recommended app implementation is via [TrueLink](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/tracking/mobile-app-tracking/mobile-app-tracking-explained).

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="App open tracking" %}

* **Importance:**
  * Required for ‘direct tracking’ for partners, which is required when working with Google Ads.
  * Enables user identifiers to be sent when users log in, enabling increased attribution opportunities through cross-device tracking.
  * Required for social media tracking via URI schemes.
* **Recommendation:** Implement TrueLink with Page Load API for a robust deeplinking solution with app open measurement.
  {% endtab %}

{% tab title="Mobile app deep linking for in-app browsers" %}

* **Importance:**
  * Improve user experience by directing users to your mobile app from social media websites.
  * Preserve tracking identifiers and improve conversion rates by directing users to your app.
  * Increase conversion rates 2-3 times for social media interactions.
* **Recommendation:** Configure a Mobile Deep Linking action to use URI Schemes to launch the app from social media in-app browsers.
* **Learn more:** [Configure Deep Linking Logic with URI Schemes](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/tracking/mobile-app-tracking/configure-deep-linking-logic-with-uri-schemes).
  {% endtab %}
  {% endtabs %}
