Marketing attribution is a key tool for understanding why a customer makes a purchase or books a trip. This article explains how to track the sources that drive traffic to your TripWorks booking widget and how to use marketing attribution data effectively within the TripWorks system.
What is Marketing Attribution?
Marketing attribution helps you identify why someone may have decided to book a trip. This could be due to seeing your business on platforms like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Ads, or via an email campaign. TripWorks allows you to track and analyze these sources to determine which marketing efforts are contributing to bookings.
How Does Marketing Attribution Work in TripWorks?
When a customer visits your booking widget, TripWorks can track the URL path that brought them there. The URL may include additional information that can be captured and analyzed, such as the campaign name, source, and even the type of device used. This is achieved by adding UTM parameters to the URL, which then get stored in a cookie within the customer’s browser. This cookie can track information for up to 3 months.
Example URL with Parameters
https://example.com/book-now?utm_source=yelp&utm_campaign=spring_sale&utm_device=mobileIn this example:
- utm_source=yelp: Tracks that the customer came from Yelp
- utm_campaign=spring_sale: Tracks the specific campaign
- utm_device=mobile: Indicates the customer was using a mobile device
How to Set Up URL Tracking
Step 1: Generate Unique URLs for Different Campaigns. To accurately track and differentiate between sources, you should create unique URLs for each marketing channel or campaign. This can include Google Ads, email campaigns, rack cards, social media posts, etc.
Step 2: Add UTM Parameters. UTM parameters are a standardized way to track the source of your traffic. You can add multiple UTM parameters to your URL. These typically include:
- utm_source: Where the customer came from (e.g., Yelp, Google).
- utm_campaign: The specific campaign that brought the customer to your site.
- utm_device: The device used (e.g., mobile, desktop).
These parameters are not TripWorks-specific; they are widely used across the digital marketing industry.
Step 3: TripWorks Widget Tracking. When a customer visits a page with the TripWorks booking widget, the URL parameters are stored in a cookie. This cookie will persist for up to 3 months and track details such as the campaign source, browser language, and the number of page views.
Viewing Marketing Reports in TripWorks
You can run marketing reports in TripWorks to view details such as the source of traffic, the campaigns that drove bookings, and other marketing metrics. The system will capture key parameters like:
- Source (e.g., Google Ads, Yelp)
- Campaign (e.g., “Spring Sale”)
- Ad Group (if applicable)
- Keyword (if applicable)
These parameters are stored alongside the booking details, allowing you to generate detailed reports on how customers arrived at your site and which marketing efforts were most effective.
Important Notes
- Cookie Persistence: Once a cookie is created, it will retain the first source that brought the customer to your site for 3 months. Even if the customer interacts with other marketing campaigns later, the original source will still be attributed.
- Correct UTM Formatting: Ensure that UTM parameters are correctly formatted (e.g., lowercase) to avoid errors in tracking. Mistakes in formatting, such as using capitalized parameters (Campaign_ID instead of campaign_id), may cause tracking issues.
- Limitations: Only reserved trips (completed purchases) will appear in marketing reports. Draft trips will not be included in these reports.
Troubleshooting
If you encounter issues with marketing attribution:
- Check URL Formatting: Ensure that UTM parameters are properly formatted and lowercase.
- Clear Cookies: If a user’s browser already has an old cookie, new marketing data will not be captured unless the cookie is cleared.
- Ensure the TripWorks Widget is Loaded: Make sure the TripWorks widget is present on the landing page to track the customer’s visit.
Marketing attribution in TripWorks allows you to track the source of customer visits and analyze which marketing channels are driving bookings. By properly setting up URLs with UTM parameters and understanding how cookies work in the system, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.
For more detailed information on setting up Google Ads or other platforms, visit the related Setting Up Google Ads Integration walkthrough.