Guide to web trends query parameters

Guide to WebTrends Query Parameters

October 2002 Edition© 2002 NetIQ® Corporation

DisclaimerNetIQ Corporation makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use of this manual, and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, NetIQ Corporation reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes to its content at any time, without obligation to notify any person or entity of such revisions or changes.Further, NetIQ Corporation makes no representations or warranties with respect to any NetIQ Corporation product, and specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, NetIQ Corporation reserves the right to make changes to any and all parts of NetIQ Corporation products at any time, without obligation to notify any person or entity of such changes.

TrademarksAuditTrack, WebTrends Reporting Center, and WebTrends are registered trademarks of NetIQCorporation.Additional trademarks of NetIQ Corporation include: ClusterTrends, DBTrends, Enterprise Reporting Server, Enterprise Suite, Enterprise Suite for Lotus Domino, FastTrends, Log Analyzer, Firewall Suite, Security Analyzer, Virtual WebTrends, WebTrends Live, VRM, and WebTrends Professional Suite.Other brands and their products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. The Data Collection Server includes software developed by the Apache software Foundation (www.apache.org).The Data Collection Server includes cryptographic software written by Erice Young ([email protected]). The Data Collection Server includes software written by Tom Hudson ([email protected]).

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1Query Parameters 1

IntroductionWeb analytics is about making business sense out of web visitor behavior – the same common sense analysis that business professionals have been applying to traditional offline business for decades. Gaining the appropriate insight to enable your organization to make smarter business decisions means understanding your site's business objectives and determining the appropriate web metrics to provide that information.

Today's business environment typically involves working at remote and off-site locations. Consequently, the people responsible for the website and those analyzing visitor activity on the website in order to measure web metrics often do not work side-by-side. That is, they are frequently in different groups and locations. This situation necessitates coordination between developing and rolling out content and reporting and analyzing the resultant activity.

To facilitate interaction between departments, locations and individuals, WebTrends introduces a new capability designed to place the power of analysis into the hands of those individuals who are most interested in it. This feature, WebTrends Query Parameters, makes use of typical website instrumentation to facilitate the web analytics end-users want to see.

How WebTrends Query Parameters WorkBy using WebTrends Query Parameters when designing a site, reporting becomes a part of the design phase, eliminating the massive coordination and frequent misunderstandings that may take place when different groups objectives’ are at play. WebTrends Query Parameters are passed in URLs via JavaScript to the WebTrends software analyzing the web logs. These processes then automatically configure the appropriate web analytics advanced features and create the appropriate reports.

Using WebTrends Query ParametersThe goal of many organizations is to limit the amount of manual intervention that is required to produce valuable reports. WebTrends Query Parameters

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WebTrends Query Parameters

were designed to automate the configuration of the WebTrends software that uses them, making the WebTrends web analytics solutions more insightful with reduced effort.

For example, when using WebTrends Data Collection Server to extract page titles, product names and information, or campaign names from HTML pages, you can insert WebTrends Query Parameters in the HTML META tags to automatically configure the advanced features in the WebTrends reporting product.

Another simple example would be for the organization that wishes to streamline campaign analysis. By creating a custom "Campaign Submission" page in a company intranet that sends the WebTrends Query Parameter to automatically trigger the WebTrends software to report on new campaigns, less time is spent on system configuration. Similar pages may be created for other applications, using any of the WebTrends Query Parameters.

WebTrends Products That Use WebTrends Query Parameters

The following WebTrends products are designed to take advantage of WebTrends Query Parameters:

• WebTrends Intelligence Suite (WIS)

WebTrends Intelligence Suite provides the ultimate in web analytics by offering the most complete view of web customer activity in order to measure and improve the performance of an organization's e-business. To move beyond traditional web traffic reporting and analysis, the WebTrends Intelligence Suite adds the sophistication and flexibility of a scalable data warehouse with the ability to integrate customer and sales information and leverages a range of highly developed analysis technologies.

WebTrends Query Parameters are used with WebTrends Intelligence Suite to place specific parameters into web log files. These are analyzed and stored in the data warehouse, WebTrends Warehouse, or used for reporting with WebTrends Reporting Center, one of the analysis tools within WebTrends Intelligence Suite.

• WebTrends Reporting Center (WRC)

WebTrends Reporting Center sets a new standard in web analytics, delivering the simplest way to get relevant, actionable insight into web

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visitor behavior to drive smarter business decisions – all with a sophisticated solution designed for simplicity.

WebTrends Query Parameters are used by WRC during log file analysis.

• Data Collection Server (DCS)

WebTrends Data Collection Server provides organizations with geographically dispersed web servers or multiple domains a data collection method to collect web visitor data into one easy-to-access source for comprehensive web site analysis. WebTrends Data Collection Server uses client-side data collection technology, eliminating the need to collect log files and extending an organization's ability to generate accurate, complete analysis of web visitor activity.

DCS removes the step of creating Query Parameters in HTML content by including many of them in a typical DCS JavaScript with blanks that are simply filled in. The Query Parameters are then passed automatically.

Further easing of content management, the DCS tags can retrieve data stored in a custom <META> tag of an HTML header so that during the creation of the content itself, a site designer may, for example, indicate to what group of content the page belongs or which product a page promotes. The DCS script will retrieve this meta data and pass it in an Query Parameter to the WebTrends reporting product.

• Data Conduits for Content Management Systems

When using content management systems, WebTrends' Data Conduits for Content Management Systems can translate the proprietary data formats of industry-leading content management systems into meaningful reports and analysis for use with WebTrends Intelligence Suite and WebTrends Reporting Center. The Data Conduits that comprise this product provide support for Vignette Content Management Server, BroadVision One-to-One Enterprise and Macromedia Spectra. The Data Conduit for Dynamic Sites supports other content management solutions, such as ATG and Open Market, and dynamic content servers, such as ColdFusion and ASP.

SyntaxThe set of WebTrends Query Parameters follow specific syntax that include name, value, and format.

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Name syntaxThe name of each WebTrends Query Parameter uses the following syntax.

The name component is case insensitive. As a best practice, the WebTrends name space ("WT") should be in uppercase and the type identifier in lowercase.

Value syntaxThe values associated with WebTrends Query Parameter use the following syntax.

Each WebTrends Query Parameter name includes an associated value component. The value represents one or more occurrences of a particular attribute associated with a particular data type. The data type and attribute are identified by the parameter name.

WT.cg_n

WebTrends Name Space

Name Space SeparatorType IdentifierAttribute SeparatorAttribute

Marine;Land%20Vehicle

2nd object/nth attribute

Object separator

1st object/nth attribute

Example of Content Group

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For compound data types, each attribute is specified as a separate parameter as shown in the following example: WT.si_n=name1;name2&WT.si_x=position1;position2.

If there are multiple instances of an object, the attributes for the respective objects are separated using a semicolon (";").

Note: Not all WebTrends Query Parameter values allow multiples. For example, HTML Title Page allows only one attribute.

If the value contains a semicolon, it must be hex-encoded ("%3B") to avoid being confused with the object separator.

Since each attribute has a unique parameter name and multiple objects of a single type are supported, the order of the attributes for compound data types is important. Each attribute of the compound data type must line up with the position of the associated attributes identified by different parameters. For example, WT.si_n=name1;name2&WT.si_x=position1;position2.

Default attributes are not supported. You must specify a value.

Complete syntaxThe WebTrends Query Parameters are represented as name/value pairs. The name/value pairs adhere to the following syntax:

WT.cg_n=Sailboats&WT.mc_t=S-72&WT.ad=Summer_Sale

1st Object/1st attribute

Parameter separator

1st object/2nd attribute

Example of WebTrends Query Parameter (Partial)

2nd object/1st attribute

Parameter separator

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The WebTrends Query Parameters are logged in web server log files. Each name/value pair is separated by an ampersand (&).

The WebTrends Query Parameters must co-exist with other web site query parameters. This means that WebTrends Query Parameters can be mixed with standard query parameters. The WebTrends Query Parameters can be separated from the other query parameters using the ampersand delimiter. While a WebTrends namespace is part of each Query Parameter, it is conceivable that parameter collisions may occur. If a Query Parameter string contains duplicate key values, the first instance will be used and the others will be discarded.

ExamplesNon-compound type, single instance

WT.ad=Finance%20Offer

This is an example of a page associated with the "Finance Offer" advertising view.

Non-compound type, multiple instancesWT.ad=Finance%20Offer;FishFinder%20Offer

This is an example of a page associated with both the "Finance Offer" and "FishFinder Offer" advertising views.

Compound type, single instanceWT.mc_n=Marine&WT.mc_t=Power%20Boats

This is an example of a page associated with the Marketing Campaign Name/Marketing Campaign Type "Marine"/"Power Boats."

Compound type, multiple instancesWT.mc_n=Marine;Marine&WT.mc_t=Power%20Boats;Sail%20Boats

This is an example of a page associated with the Marketing Campaign Name/Marketing Campaign Type "Marine"/"Power Boats" or "Marine"/"Sail Boats."

WebTrends Query Parameters Reference

Important: DCS Only – If JavaScript is not enabled on the web client, you will not get ANY WebTrends Query Parameters in the hit. This is because the meta tags are extracted by the JavaScript.

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The following subsections list the WebTrends Query Parameters, which have been grouped by the category of expected use on the analysis side. The categories are as follows:

• Auto-Configuration—Parameters recognized by WRC’s Auto-Configuration feature (see page 7).

• Custom Reports—Parameters used by WRC Custom Reports dimensions (see page 10).

• Visitor Properties—Parameters related to visitor properties added by WebTrends software during the analysis process (see page 14).

Note: Visitor Properties parameters do not apply to DCS, because they are generated by WRC.

Auto-Configuration parametersThe WebTrends Reporting Center Auto-Configuration feature makes use of certain WebTrends Query Parameters to configure the appropriate web analytics advanced features and create the appropriate reports. These Query Parameters are grouped into categories as follows:

• Content Group (see page 7)

• Marketing Campaign (see page 8)

• Advertising View (see page 8)

• Advertising Click (see page 8)

• Server (see page 9)

• Scenario Analysis (see page 9)

• HTML Title Page (see page 10)

Content Group parametersThe Content Group definition consists of the following attributes:

WT.cg_n – Name of the Content Group

Multiple Content Groups per page are supported.

WT.cg_nWT.cg_n=name[;…]

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This parameter represents the name of a Content Group. The maximum length is for each name is 64 bytes.

Marketing Campaign parametersThe Marketing Campaign definition consists of the following attributes:

WT.mc_n – Name of the Marketing CampaignWT.mc_t – Type of the Marketing Campaign

Multiple Marketing Campaigns per page are supported, but only one of the campaigns will qualify for a visit. Therefore, for any given visit (where "visit" is determined by our analysis) to the web site, the first marketing campaign is used in the analysis and resulting reports.

WT.mc_nWT.mc_n=name

This parameter represents the name of a Marketing Campaign. The maximum length for each name is 64 bytes.

WT.mc_tWT.mc_t=type

This parameter identifies that the page is associated with a particular Marketing Campaign. This is a free-form text field. The maximum length for each type is 64 bytes.

Advertising View parametersThe Advertising View definition consists of the following attribute:

WT.ad – Name of the advertisement viewed on the page.

Multiple Advertising Views per page are supported.

WT.adWT.ad=name[;…]

The name of the advertisement viewed on a particular web page. The maximum length for each name is 64 bytes.

Advertising Click parametersThe Advertising Click definition consists of the following attribute:

WT.ac – Name of the advertisement clicked.

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Only a single Advertising Click per hit is supported. If your page contains multiple ads, you can design the page to repond to clicks so that each click generates a hit to the DCS server.

WT.acWT.ac=name

The name of the advertisement clicked to reach a particular web page. To capture this information with DCS, the Advertising Click must contain an external redirect back to the client. The redirect needs to include the necessary code to generate a hit to the DCS. The maximum length for each name is 64 bytes.

Server parametersThe Server definition consists of the following attribute:

WT.sv – Name of the machine serving up the web content.

Only a single Server per hit is supported. If your page contains multiple ads, you can design the page to repond to clicks so that each click generates a hit to the DCS server.

WT.svWT.sv=name

This parameter identifies the name of the web server that served up the web content. This is used for server cluster load balanced reports. The maximum length for name is 256 bytes.

Note: The WT.sv parameter requires that the profile be set up as clustered with at least one server. This is the server that will be used if an incoming hit does not explicitly have a server defined.

Scenario Analysis parametersThe Scenario Analysis definition consists of the following attributes:

WT.si_n – Name of the Senario AnalysisWT.si_x – The position of a path name within the Scenario Analysis

Multiple Scenario Analyses per page are supported.

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Note: Scenario Analysis must be configured manually. You can then use the WebTrends Query Parameters to match different Scenario Analyses and their steps.

WT.si_nWT.si_n=name[;…]

This parameter identifies the name of the Scenario Analysis. The maximum length for each name is 64 bytes.

WT.si_xWT.si_x=position[;…]

The numeric position of the pathname within the associated Scenario Analysis.

HTML Title Page parametersThe Title definition consists of the following attribute:

WT.ti – The HTML title of the web page

Only a single Title per page is supported.

WT.tiWT.ti=titleThe HTML title of the associated web content. If this parameter is found in parameter list, the value is used in the reports. When present, no other page title lookups will be performed. The maximum length for title is 1024 bytes.

Custom Report parametersWebTrends Reporting Center’s Custom Report dimensions use the following types of parameters:

• Advanced Features (see page 10)

• Web Client Properties (see page 11)

Advanced Features parametersThis section lists parameters that are associated with WRC Advanced Features. These parameters are used with Custom Reports dimensions.

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Multiple values per parameter are supported. When multiple values are included, however, the order of the values is important. The order dependency is important when values found in different parameters need to be correlated to each other. For example: WT.pn=shoe,shirt,tennisracket&WT.pc=apparel,apparel,sportsgear

WT.pnWT.pn=productName[;…]

The name of the product. The maximum length for productName is 64 bytes.

WT.pcWT.pc=productCategory[;…]

The category of the product. The maximum length for productCategory is 64 bytes.

WT.tx_tWT.tx_t=type[;…]

The type of Order – for example, Direct Sale. The maximum length for type is 64 bytes.

WT.tx_uWT.tx_u=units[;…]

The quantity purchased. (This should be associated with an Order.) This value is represented as a positive integer.

WT.tx_sWT.tx_s=subtotal[;…]

Total cost. Should be associated with an Order.

The format of this field must match the currency format that your copy of WebTrends Reporting Center has been configured to analyze. Do not include a currency symbol. For example, if you globally define your currency as US-Dollars in WebTrends Reporting Center, the format of this parameter set to a $4500 cost is: WT.tx_s=4500.00

Web Client Properties parametersThis section lists parameters that are associated with web client (browser) properties. These parameters are used as dimensions in Custom Reports.

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WT.tzWT.tz=timezone

This indicates the web client’s time zone and is the offset of the web client from UTC. The value is expressed in minutes.

Example:var dCurrent = new Date();var tzQueryParam = "&WT.tz=" + escape(dCurrent.getTimezoneOffset());

WT.ulWT.ul=userLanguage

This indicates the web client’s user language.

Example:var ulQueryParam = "&WT.ul=" + navigator.appName == "Netscape" ? escape(navigator.language) : escape(navigator.userLanguage);

WT.cdWT.cd=colorDepth

This indicates the web client’s screen color depth. It is represented as the number of color bits to which the web client computer’s video display control is set.

Example:var cdQueryParam = "&WT.cd=" + escape(screen.colorDepth);

WT.srWT.sr=screenResolution

This indicates the web client’s screen resolution. It is expressed as the gross width and height of the web client’s monitor. The format of the value is widthXheight (for example, 800X600).

Example:var srQueryParam = "&WT.sr=" + escape(screen.width) + "x" + escape(screen.height);

WT.joWT.jo=isJavaEnabled

This indicates if the web client has enabled Java. Valid values are yes and no.

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Example:var joQueryParam = "&WT.jo=" + navigator.javaEnabled() ? "Yes" : "No";

WT.jsWT.js=isJavaScriptEnabled

This indicates if the web client supports and/or has enabled JavaScript. Valid values are yes and no.

Example:<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">...CODE ABOVE WHERE YOU WANT THIS MODIFICATION TO GO...var jsQueryParam = "&WT.js=Yes";...CODE BELOW WHERE YOU WANT THIS MODIFICATION TO GO...</SCRIPT>

<NOSCRIPT><IMG BORDER="0" NAME="DCSIMG" WIDTH="1" HEIGHT="1" SRC="http://localhost/njs.gif?dcsuri=/nojavascript&WT.js=no"></NOSCRIPT>

Note: You can use WebTrends Reporting Center to set up a custom table (augmenting the Top Pages reports) that keys on WT.js and provides a targeted count of no JavaScript hits.

WT.jvWT.jv=javaScriptVersion

This indicates the version of JavaScript supported by the web client. If JavaScript is not enabled, this parameter should not be included.

Example:var jvQueryParam = "";<SCRIPT Language"Javascript1.0">jvQueryParam = "&WT.jv=1.0"</SCRIPT>

<SCRIPT Language"Javascript1.1">jvQueryParam = "&WT.jv=1.1"</SCRIPT>

<SCRIPT Language"Javascript1.2">jvQueryParam = "&WT.jv=1.2"</SCRIPT>

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WT.coWT.co=isCookieEnabled

This indicates if the web client supports and/or has enabled cookies. Valid values are yes and no.

Example:var coQueryParam = "&WT.co=" + navigator.cookieEnabled() ? "Yes" : "No";

Visitor Properties parametersTo support visitor profiling, the following parameters are used in conjuction with the scripting capabilities of WRC 5.1. They can be used for augmenting information in Custom Reports. Do not use these parameters in DCS tags.

WT.vr_frWT.vr_fr=firstReferrer

The first recorded referrer for a visitor.

WT.vr_fcWT.vr_fc=firstCampaign

The first recorded marketing campaign responded to by a visitor.

WT.vr_feWT.vr_fe=firstEntryPage

The first page view recorded for a visitor.

WT.vr_fvWT.vr_fv=firstVisit

The time of the visitor’s first visit.

WT.vr_vcWT.vr_vc=visitCount

The total number of visits recorded for a visitor.

WT.vr_vvWT.vr_vv=visitorValue

The value of all purchases recorded for a visitor over time.

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Guide to web trends query parameters

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