Channel Code Tracking/Reporting Enhancements

RevResponse has improved our channel tracking. Previously, when using channel codes to track your conversions from various widgets and links, only the first conversion from that source was being tracked. Now, every subscription generated from your channel-coded link or module will be reported.

Before
If you added a channel code to a widget and a user clicked to your co-branded resource library from that widget and signed up for an offer, the Report By Channel would show that one subscription. BUT if that same user continued to subscribe to additional offers from your resource library either from the thank you page or by going back to your TradePub homepage, these subscriptions would not have the channel code associated with them.

Now
When a user visits your resource library through a channel-coded promotion, every qualification form they complete on that visit will be attributed to the channel code. This will allow you to track which links and modules are generating the most total conversions for you.

With the improvements to the channel tracking, you can now also add codes to links to category pages (see below).

What is a Channel Code?
A channel code is a short description that you can enter into your promotions which will allow you to track exactly where your subscriptions are coming from. By coding your promotions we’ll be able to tell you whether the majority of your subs are coming from a newsletter mention, a stand-alone offer, a blog post, a widget, etc.

How do I Use a Channel Code?
There are two ways to add a code to your promotions.

1. The first is to add it when you create a promo in the Ad Wizard.

As you create your module, you’ll see a box called “Channel Code.” Here is where you choose the description for your code. For example, if you’re going to be placing a blue widget that is 250x250 you might name it “blue250.” The code can be up to eight characters long. (This is optional, but if you decide to track your conversions from various modules you’ll want to create a code each promotion).

2. The other way to add channel codes is to do so manually. This allows you to track promotions that you create for yourself like blog posts, direct links, newsletter inclusions, etc. For this tracking, you’ll add a little bit of code into your links.

Here’s how…
Every channel coded link will look like this:
http://BRAND.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=OFFERCODE&ch=CHANNELCODE.

To customize this code to track you need to replace 3 variables.
BRAND: Here you will enter the sitename we provided to you as your co-branded resource library. If the TradePub site we provided to you is http://sitename.tradepub.com, your brand is sitename.

OFFERCODE: The offercode is found at the end of each magazine or white paper’s landing page URL. For Website Magazine, the URL is http://www.tradepub.com/free/webs. The offercode is webs. Similarly, for the white paper How to Boost Your Company's Sales with Marketing, the URL is http://www.tradepub.com/free/w_nl17. The offer code is w_nl17.

CHANNELCODE: You can enter any 8 character code in this space to track your conversions from this link.

For Example…
If you wanted to promote Website Magazine, found at: http://www.tradepub.com/free/webs/, you’ll need to modify the link.

Assuming your co-branded tradepub URL is http://sitename.tradepub.com and you’ve chosen the tracking code to be webslink, your channel coded link would become:
http://sitename.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=webs&ch=webslink.

Of course, you can name these channel codes with any eight character alphanumeric term.

Adding a Channel Code to Links to Your Co-branded Site
If you place links on your homepage sending users to your Co-branded Site, you can track those links as well. Many partners create a navigation link from their homepage to their co-branded site. This would be a great place to add a channel code.

Here’s what a channel-coded link to your co-branded page would look like
http://BRAND.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?ch=CHANNELCODE.

Replace the BRAND and CHANNELCODE variables as described above.

Adding Channel Codes to Category Landing Pages
If you send users to specific category landing pages within your co-branded resource library, you can now track those links as well.

Here’s what a channel-coded category page link looks like:
http://BRAND.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?ct=CATEGORYCODE&ch=CHANNELCODE.

Replace the BRAND and CHANNELCODE variables as described above. To find the CATEGORYCODE, visit your TradePub page and click on any industry listed in the left column.

For example, all information technology offers can be found at http://www.tradepub.com/?pt=cat&page=Info. The CATEGORYCODE is Info.

Where Do See the Tracking?
Once you’ve named all of your promotions, you can check out the “Report by Channel” in the report list. This will show you exactly which of your modules are bringing in the most subs.

If you have any questions about channel codes, don’t hesitate to ask!