Query string. You may have heard the term before, or perhaps you are new to the concept. For those who are the latter, first things first: what is it?
In a URL, a query string follows a separating character, usually a question mark, with identifying data appearing after.
Example: http://www.relationshipone.com?src=Eloqua&cmp=Welcome
The “?” identifies when the query strings start. The “src=” and “cmp=” represent the query string parameters. The characters that come after the equals sign, in this case, “Eloqua” and “Welcome,” are the query string values. The “&” represents a break point between the parameter/value pairs.
Query strings can be used on dynamic websites as a means to trigger a query program to recover specific information from a database and populate content on the webpage based on the data provided.
They are also used by website reporting tools like Google Analytics and Omniture for reporting purposes whereby standard or custom query string parameters can be set up with the purpose of tracking specific data about a person’s website visit. Marketers add query strings to URLs used for web-based or email ad campaigns. When visitors click a link with a custom parameter, the unique parameters are tracked within their Google Analytics account so they can identify the campaigns that are most effective in attracting visitors to their content.
With the knowledge of what a query string looks like and common use cases, I’d love to share with you some creative ways that they can be leveraged in Oracle Eloqua.
1. Unique-ify Your Email Links
You may have noticed that your Eloqua reports are not able to distinguish which link is being clicked when the same URL is used several times in an email. It’s not just you. It’s just how it is. The fix? Query strings.
You can easily append a query string parameter and value to each URL in order to make a URL unique for tracking purposes. For example, if you have the same hyperlink several times in an email, add a query string of “?link=”. After the “=”, append a different value for each URL. Your URLs should look something like this:
http://www.relationshipone.com?link=1
http://www.relationshipone.com?link=2
http://www.relationshipone.com?link=3
By implementing this tip, you will be able to see the count of visitors by each URL clicked. This is particularly helpful when looking at the Email Clickthrough Link Breakdown report in Insight, which shows the number of clickthroughs for a chosen email by specific URL clicked.
Hold your applause…there’s more!
2. Web Reporting
Similarly to how web analytic tools use query strings, you can set up Eloqua to look for and report on tracked URLs that are visited with specific query strings. Caveat: You need Customer Admin access to view, create and edit Query Strings, so if you don’t see it in your Setup options, chat with your Eloqua admin about bumping up your user access.
In the Setup area of Eloqua, there is a Query String option within the Website category. Here is where you can set up Eloqua to track specific query strings that are being used in your page URLs.
If you are using any of the web analytic tools aforementioned, may want to start by setting up the same query strings that are being tracked by that tool. For example, if you use Google Analytics’ campaign query strings (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_term, utm_content, utm_campaign), you may want to set up these query strings to also be tracked via Eloqua.
You can also set up custom query strings specific to your needs. At Relationship One, we set up a custom query string for the purpose of testing whether images or text links are clicked more often in our emails. Every time we add a hyperlink to an email, we append a query string parameter of “type=” and add either a value of image or text.
Formally setting up query strings in Eloqua allows you to leverage the query-string-related website reports in Insight. We use the Query String Value Overview report, which displays the number of times a URL with a specified Query String parameter was visited. This report allows us to see the total clickthroughs/visitors for our “type=” query string parameter and provides the data we need to make decisions about use of image hyperlinks vs. text hyperlinks.
I know you’re excited, but if you can just put your patient pants on, there’s even more!
3. Form Population
Do you know which digital ads are driving a particular campaign’s form submissions? Query strings can be a great resource to capture the source from which a form submitter came. The steps to make this happen are fairly straightforward.
(1) Add a hidden field to your form to capture the source (e.g. source). Important note: the html name of the form field HAS to mirror your query string parameter in order for this to work.
(2) Add custom javascript to your Eloqua landing page or the external webpage. There are lots of articles on Topliners.com with instructions to do this, but if you need help, give us a shout!
The javascript will:
– look at the URL if someone visits the page
– identify if and what query strings are part of the URL
– parse the query string by parameter and associated value
– submit the value to the specified hidden form field
(3) Generate your custom URLs. Examples:
http://user.relationshipone.com/UtahEUGRSVP?source=Ad1
http://user.relationshipone.com/UtahEUGRSVP?source=Ad2
(4) Test. Visit each URL, submit the form and validate that the query string value was passed with the form submission data.
Keep reading. I’ve saved the best for last!
4. Webpage Personalization
Another powerful use case for query strings within Eloqua is the ability to perform a web data look-up using the query strings in a URL in order to pre-populate a form or field-merge data into a landing page to personalize it for the visitor.
A customer of ours used this type of functionality for a direct mail campaign. They sent a compelling offer with a USB included in the package. When the recipient plugged in the USB, they were directed to a webpage that was personalized just for them. How did this happen? Each campaign member’s USB had a specific URL that contained query string parameters with values from their Eloqua contact record. The page they visited included a web data look-up that allowed for it to dynamically populate specific content and data related to the visitor’s company, location and industry. Personalization all the way, baby!
That’s all she (meaning me) wrote, folks! Have you used query strings for other use cases in Eloqua? Let us know how you are maximizing your investment and taking Eloqua to the next level. #SharingIsCaring
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About the Author: Relationship One
