Understanding the nuances of mobile web tracking is now a need for digital marketers. In today’s fast-paced industry, staying ahead of the curve is essential. Because of this, in Part 4 of our blog series based on Ezeeurl’s Ultimate Guide to Mobile Partner Marketing, we explore mobile web tracking.

Part 1 of this article presented the guide and discussed how affiliate marketing and mobile user acquisition are related. Part 2 contrasted partner marketing platforms with mobile measurement partners. We looked at the importance of mobile apps for a program’s success in Part 3 of this article.

In this most recent part, we’re discussing how to track conversions on mobile web. After all, you must be able to measure a partner marketing program before you can successfully manage it. then let’s get going!

How to Monitor Conversions on Mobile Websites

Third-party cookies have been the standard technique for tracking conversions on the web for many years. However, recent changes to browser technology have rendered third-party cookies useless, forcing advertisers to switch to cookieless tracking strategies. With this change, campaigns in the mobile app ecosystem, where cookieless tracking is necessary, are more closely aligned with desktop and mobile web measurement.

Server-side postbacks and JavaScript SDK are the two main techniques for cookie-less tracking on mobile web. Below, we’ll cover the fundamentals of how these both function.

Tracking of Server-Side Postbacks

For tracking campaigns on mobile web, the server postback tracking mechanism is the most dependable. It is a built-in component of the platform and has long been Ezeeurl’s advised method.

Let’s assume that the implementation procedure is finished and that the necessary settings and code are prepared. Postback tracking operates as follows:

• A special alphanumeric ID (Transaction ID) is created by Ezeeurl’s when a user clicks on a tracking link.
• The brand’s landing page receives the Transaction ID from Ezeeurl’s, where it is kept and connected to the user.
• The Transaction ID can be stored in a variety of ways, including first-party cookies, database storage, and transmission via page URLs. The majority of developers ought to be aware of this procedure and capable of putting a fix in place.
• The brand sends the Transaction ID back to Ezeeurl in a postback URL following the conversion of the user (such as a purchase or lead capture).
• To appropriately assign the conversion to the partner who was responsible for driving it, Ezeeurl makes use of the click’s stored information.

How to store the Transaction ID is the first query that many marketers have regarding this procedure, and it is addressed in #2. How can I return the ID to Ezeeurl for Step #3? is the second query. To accomplish this, the brand uses cURL (on the server side) to send an HTTP request to the postback URL, which logs the conversion in Ezeeurl.

SDK for JavaScript Tracking

The JavaScript SDK method avoids the errors associated with third-party cookies by using Local Storage in a web browser. In a manner similar to postback tracking, this technique writes conversions back to Ezeeurl.

Here’s how tracking in the JavaScript SDK operates:

1. When a user clicks, Ezeeurl sends the Transaction ID into the browser’s LocalStorage. Both direct links and redirect links are effective in this.

1. When using the JavaScript SDK, you add a line of identify code to the landing page, a line of convert code to the conversion page, and a snippet of code to the head of the website. This enables The first question that many marketers have about this process is how to save the Transaction ID, and it is answered in #2. How can I give Ezeeurl the ID for Step #3? the second question. To do this, the company sends an HTTP request to the postback URL, which records the conversion in Ezeeurl, using cURL (on the server side).
2. Ezeeurl reads the Transaction ID saved in the browser and transmits it back to the Ezeeurl platform when the user reaches a conversion point (for example, the post-purchase Thank You page).

Since the browser (and not the brand) keeps the Transaction ID, even though this tracking mechanism is set up via postback protocols, it is still regarded as client-side tracking.

The JavaScript SDK method works best for tracking conversion points that occur during a session and does not require the company to keep the Transaction ID on hand. It can track and attribute organic traffic and connects effectively with other platforms, including Google Analytics and Shopify.

Tracking and Privacy on Mobile Web

Methods of tracking that don’t use cookies, like the ones mentioned above, are intended to deliver precise attribution without compromising privacy. It’s a major factor in why Ezeeurl has consistently supported server-side tracking technologies and first-party cookies rather than third-party cookies. However, merely employing these methods is insufficient. It’s still essential to uphold best practices for data security and privacy in every element of your partner program and to abide by all relevant laws and guidelines for data processing.

As tracking technologies develop, always prioritize protecting the privacy of your customers. Every marketer should adhere to a few basic processes, which include:

1. Obtain user approval before monitoring or collecting data.
2. Implement unambiguous tracking practices disclosures in your privacy policies.
   
3. Provide users with ways to opt out of tracking that is specific to them.