Migrate from third party tracking to first party tracking

Owned by Tobias Rast
Last updated: Feb 06, 2024
3 min read

Migrating from a third-party tracking domain to a first-party tracking domain within the Ingenious platform involves several key steps to ensure a smooth transition and minimal disruption to your affiliate marketing program. This documentation outlines the process and steps required to migrate your tracking domain, including updating tracking tags and ensuring compatibility with your partners' click tags.

Overview

Switching to a first-party tracking domain improves tracking accuracy, enhances user trust by keeping the domain consistent across your website and tracking activities, and aligns with privacy regulations. The migration process requires careful planning and execution, including updating conversion tags, on-page tags, and partner click tags to the new domain.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the Ingenious platform with administrative privileges.

  • Access to your DNS provider to create or update DNS records.

  • A new domain or subdomain dedicated to tracking (e.g., askbsv.yourshop.com).

Step 1: Update the Ingenious Platform Settings

  1. Invent the new tracking sub domain: You should genenerate a random string: Easy to do, just click here.

  2. Log into the Ingenious Platform: Access your account with administrative privileges.

  3. Navigate to Tracking Domain Settings: Go to Access > Domain and click on “create”

  4. Add the New Domain: Follow the steps in this guide

  5. copy DNS settings: The CNAME entry that needs to be done should be copied to your clipboad so you can use it later or send it to a colleague in charge of managing the domain of your shop / webpage.

  6. Configure DNS Settings: Point your new domain or subdomain to the Ingenious platform by updating your DNS settings. This typically involves adding a CNAME record pointing to a specific Ingenious endpoint provided in their documentation or by their support team.

  7. Notify the Ingenious service team about the new domain, so we can forward the new tracking domain to the old one for a time of 30 days (needed for migration of click tags)

Step 2: Update your DNS settings and advertiser

  1. Configure DNS Settings: Point your new domain or subdomain to the Ingenious platform by updating your DNS settings. This typically involves adding a CNAME record pointing to a specific Ingenious endpoint provided in their documentation or by their support team.

  2. Log into the Ingenious platform: Go to Access > Domain

  3. Check if the domain is active and valid

  4. Navigate to advertiser settings: Go to Partnerships > Advertiser > Settings

  5. Change the tracking domain for your advertiser

    image-20240206-163339.png

Step 3: Update Tracking Tags

  1. Conversion Tag Update: Modify the conversion tags on your website to use the new first-party tracking domain. This involves replacing the third-party domain URL in the tag code with your new tracking domain URL.

  2. On-Page Tag Update: Similarly, update any on-page tags (e.g., for tracking page views or specific user actions) to use the new first-party tracking domain.

  3. Test the Updated Tags: Before going live, thoroughly test the updated tags to ensure they correctly track conversions and actions using the new domain.

Step 4: Communicate with Partners

  1. Notify Your Partners: Inform your affiliate partners about the change to a first-party tracking domain and provide them with updated click tags (can be accessed via the Partner UI).

  2. Update Click Tags: Ensure all partners replace the old third-party domain click tags with the new first-party domain tags.

  3. Support the Transition: Offer guidance and support to your partners during the transition, helping them update tags and addressing any issues that arise.

Step 5: Monitor and Optimize

  1. Monitor the Migration: After going live with the new tracking domain, closely monitor the tracking performance and data accuracy. Look for any discrepancies or issues in tracking conversions or user actions.

  2. Optimize as Needed: Based on performance data, make any necessary adjustments to optimize tracking accuracy and efficiency.

Conclusion

Migrating to a first-party tracking domain is a significant step in enhancing your affiliate marketing program's performance and compliance. By following these steps and coordinating closely with your partners, you can ensure a seamless transition to first-party tracking on the Ingenious platform. Remember, successful migration requires careful planning, thorough testing, and ongoing optimization to achieve the best results.