So You Wanna Track Your Ads?
by Lisa Reddell
Part Two in a Three Part Series
In Part One of this series, I discussed the need for ad tracking,
whether your ads are paid or free. In part two, I'll be
discussing the different ways available to track your ads.
Now, the way I see it, there are 3 options available to track
ads.
1. Email Tracking
2. URL Domain Tracking
3. Online Tracking Services
Email: Did you know you can track ads with email? Yep, it's true!
Email tracking is very simple. First thing you need to do is
figure out how you wish your ad codes set up. By that I mean, do
you want to use:
mailto:lisa@lisareddell.com?subject=tlht1 where
the tlht1 code tells me that this tracking email link was used in
The Left Handed Times, ad number 1. Or do you want to assign each
ezine, safelist or message board with an individual code? It's
totally up to you.
After you figure out how, then there's just one thing you need to
remember, and that is the format that must be used for the email
tracker to work. The format looks like so:
mailto:lisa@lisareddell.com?subject=tlht1 mailto:lisa@lisareddell.com?subject=ezine1 Notice AFTER the equals sign the tlht1 and ezine1? These are
simply codes that you keep track of, so you know where your hits
came from, tlht1 or ezine1. Of course you will make notes as to
what ezine is ezine1 and which ad you used for the link. Simple
huh!
Lemme ask you this? Have you ever requested, say a free report
from an email address that looked like any of these?
mailto:reports051@lisareddell.com mailto:reportab@lisareddell.com mailto:lisareddell@getresponse.com?subject=REF051 If you have, you have reached an autoresponder, which could have
been set up to track hits. The first two address's are from a
Domain Name, meaning that (reports051/reportab) are tied to the
Domain Name of lisareddell.com. The 3rd email address is an
Autoresponder address, where the user has pre-determined the code
REF051 goes with a specific ad. So, the REF051 is a tracking
code, utilized through an Autoresponder.
[[Side Bar]] Autoresponders are nothing more than a fancy email
address. Did you know that? It's a fact! There are many
autoresponder services that are both fr*ee and pa*id. Since
autoresponders are just fancy email addresses, you would pretty
much set up the same way. Each individual responser has their way
of how the tracking codes are set up. (Note: In article three of
this series, I will provide you with a list of all the services I
cover.)
URL Domain Tracking: CGI Scripts are programs that can be
purchased to track your ads. You must own your own site and the
program has to be installed on your website. Perl, PHP or MySql
are some of the software requirements needed to run the script,
so most likely, free sites won't qualify.
Online Tracking Services: There are many online tracking services
available. Unlike Scripts, utilizing an online service, there is
nothing to install. But, instead of a one-time fee, there is
either a monthly or yearly rental fee. These fees can vary from
free, $7.97/month to $29.95 per year. It depends on the
individual services. One service, that I know of, applies extra
charges for over a certain amount of clicks.
Features vary from service to service. You would of course want
to choose a service that will meet your tracking needs.
All three options for tracking have their own pro's and con's.
One needs to consider these pro's and con's carefully before
making a final decision.
In conclusion, email tracking is simple and will cost only your
time. The major drawback being it doesn't provide any statistics
about your clicks. Although CGI Scripts require a one-time
expenditure, unless you know how to install them on your site,
paying someone to do it for you is your only option. Also, your
site will need to provide system resources (like disk space for
the program itself and the actual tracking files.) Online
services require no installation and your own website is not
required. but, there are monthly/yearly fees involved and if your
tracking service has server troubles, you are dead in the water.
If their site is down, any clicks on your tracking codes would
most likely send the click into la-la land.
Well that's it for today. It is my most sincere desire that you
will finish this article and say, "Hey, I didn't know that!". In
the final article of this series, I will provide resources
discussed in Part 1 and Part 2. Thanks for reading.
*****************About the Author*******************
Lisa A. Reddell is a Free-Lance writer, a domestic
engineer, a busy mother of three, a partner in
LOGON's Galleria of E-Publisher's and Co- op
Owners and publishes the weekly Ezine, The Left
Handed Times. Lisa has started achieving dreams
of online success & You can TOO! Visit Lisa's Site:
http://www.lisareddell.com OR email Lisa:
mailto:lisa@lisareddell.com | DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
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