The Case for Client-Side Omniture Implementations for Mobile

Any client-side data (details you cannot discern from the HTTP headers of the request to gateway) that you want to capture in the future, like the device’s screen size, color depth, image support, etc. requires development and testing. Any tracking of your own page features, like popup layers or JavaScript controls on a custom video player, require development and testing. There comes a point of diminishing returns where it becomes more cost-effective to switch to the AppMeasurement library because the logic has already been thoroughly thought-through, developed, and tested across devices.

The decision to make that switch depends on your business requirements. Right now your requirements maybe simple and your apps consist of simple pages. If either get more complex you may require client-side code.


Server-side tracking gateway pros:
1) One central code base to upgrade or fix to correct all mweb and mobile app tracking issues at once.
2) Client-side code is minimized to avoid technical differences and limitations across thousands of mobile devices. If you do enhance the client-side code you’ll have to test that it works on all devices.
3) Client-side code is minimized, which reduces page load time.

Server-side tracking gateway cons:
1) Any user interactivity that does not result in them loading the next page is not tracked without installing client-side code to handle that interaction and make a call to the gateway. This means developing server-side logic that has to be tested across all mobile devices.
2) Server-side tracking typically doesn’t account for cookie concepts, like persisting values for use on later pages, or counting the page number of the user’s visit.
3) Testing the data of sever-to-server calls is difficult. Drew and Ajay are discussing exposing details of log files already dedicated to the SiteCatalyst calls. Adam needs this to validate installations and troubleshoot defects.


Data points/features that cannot be obtained/achieved without client-side code:
* You do not need the AppMeasurement libraries for these but the library does handle them out-of-the-box

Device details:
- screen size
- color depth
- audio/video support
- image support

App usage details:
- Installs
- Upgrades
- Launches
- Crashes
- App ID

User interactivity:
- Click map / heat map
- Any clicks that don’t go to a full page, including file downloads and exit links
- Form error details, such as which field contained an error (assuming that you don’t handle form validation server-side).
- Custom video or audio player controls
- Slideshow controls, carousel scrolling
- Cookie-based tracking, like counting the page number (useful for identifying entry pages), or persisting values for later pages.

Omniture ClickMap and Mobile Sites

ClickMap will not function without the JS library (the s_code.js file) running on the page. ClickMap relies on the click detection built into that file and sets and retrieves cookies as the user goes from page to page. Some mweb sites do not include the s_code.js file, but instead rely on the mobile gateway to send calls from the web servers to Adobe's tracking servers.

You may come across other features that don't work with server-side tracking. Some features you can replicate to some degree by recreating the logic in your server-side code. But, some will require JavaScript to capture user interactions. If you are interested in recreating the logic within the mobile gateway, clearly define your business requirements. You may find that you don't need to replicate the visual overlay ClickMap provides. You might just need to know which links are clicked the most.

The AppMeasurement library is the way to go, be it JS, Flash, or for mobile apps. Server-side calls are limited and force you to recreate a lot of functionality.

Thanks to Adobe Consulting for this information!
Adam Berlinger

Authenticated UserID vs. Unique Visitor

Many applications require end-users to login in order to access there content. As such, we decided to pass the Authenticated UserID, e.g. aberlinger, of each visitor via sProp1 in Omniture. EVERY (yes every) user must login to access these sites. We started to notice a significant difference between unique visitors and authenticated userID's. Check out the stats below for March 2007:

• 30,710 unique visitors
• 19,708 authenticated userID's

How is this possible? What are the reasons driving the discrepancies in the data? We first need to understand how our analytics solution determines unique visitors as each package has its own proprietary method to calculate unique visitors:

SiteCatalyst determines unique visitor information using several technologies. The primary method of calculating unique visitors is by setting a persistent cookie on the visitor’s browser to uniquely identify the visitor. Cookie technology helps to avoid common pitfalls, for example, IP Pooling, caching, or tracking visitors behind a firewall, when counting unique visitors. If the visitor has disabled cookies on their browser, or if the visitor’s browser does not support persistent cookies, Omniture uses a combination of the IP address and the user agent string to determine if a visitor is unique or not. SiteCatalyst reports a small percentage (usually 1-2%) of visitors who do not support cookies.

Did you notice "cookies" in Omniture's definition above? Perhaps we should research cookies and their impact on analytics data. ComScore and many industry experts have found that cookie deletion can be as high as 40%! Have I totally ruined your day? Are you questioning the sanctity of your reports, especially the ones that end up on your CEO's desk? Wait, it gets worse. I ran some reports which illustrated users logging into our sites from multiple machines, IP addresses and with different browsers, yikes!!! Not to worry, there is a solution!

What we did was implement what Omniture refers to as "Visitor Optimization" where Omniture's proprietary/cookie-dependent visitor ID is replaced with our unique authenticated UserID. Once a visitor logs into the site, their authenticated userID gets recorded as a unique visitor. This takes IP addresses, cookies, and user-agent strings out of the equation, woo-hoo! The trick is to make sure that the authenticated UserID's are passed to each page viewed by each visitor. Guess what? It's working! The numbers match!

Ask your analytics vendor if they can implement the same type of solution. However, the fact that your tool might indicate that your site attracted 1,000,000 visitors when it was actually 750,000 should not matter. Why? Because the percentages of your KPI's will not change. Remember, KPI's are a ratio of visitors to success events/conversion rates over a period of time. In other words, if 3% of your visitors purchase a product, generate a lead or apply for a job...the 3% is what you should be focused on improving in context of the total visitors. While 3% of 750,000 is obviously less than 3% of 1,000,000...the patterns you notice on your site remain the same. I hope this helps, Adam.

Web Analytics Solutions

For my 1st official post (woo-hoo!), I thought I would discuss what I have learned from working with some of the analytics solutions out there. I've implemented and worked with WebTrends, Omniture, Google Analytics and IBM's SurfAid, (now owned by Coremetrics)...log file analysis tools as well as JavaScript driven ASP solutions. I have built great relationships with these firms and had to disappoint them when it was time to move on. OK, enough of my rambling on. What's my point? Never, and I mean NEVER, fall in love with a particular solution or firm. No need to wave a flag or become emotionally attached to what is just a business solution. Take all of your emotions out of the equation and make decisions that will help you best achieve the results you demand. Partner with a vendor that understands your business goals and can demonstrate how to bend their technology to your business requirements over time. I imagine I am not the first to fall into this irrational pit-fall. If you begin to experience any of the symptoms below, seek help immediately:

• Wearing only vendor labeled clothing at work and on Saturday nights
• Clouded judgement and tunnel vision
• Vendor specific bigotry
• Encouraging your sales rep to run for president
• Rage attacks on the Web Analytics Forum

The first step to recovery is to conduct group therapy sessions with your stakeholders/clients where you openly discuss the limitations of your current/perspective solution. There isn't an Analytics provider out there that can deliver 100% against your requirements. Over the past few years, Analytics software has become much faster, powerful and cheaper. The "commoditization" of this technology has driven our beloved vendors to merge and grow by acquisition at break-neck speed. It's a great time to be in the analytics industry! We have access to very powerful tools that can provide insight into our businesses like never before. By understanding your business goals and documenting their continual evolution, you will be able to mak sound business decisions.