With new privacy regulations coming to the fore, every Modern Marketer should be aware of the hidden power of Eloqua’s tracking scripts. Every instance of Eloqua should have associated tracking in one way or another. You likely deployed Third Party tracking during your SmartStart. You may have even gone a step further and configured First Party tracking.
What you may not realize is that Eloqua allows you to determine who is tracked. There are three levels of tracking:
- Standard (track everyone)
- Require Opt-In by Country
- Require Opt-In for Everyone
I think it is important that any decision around tracking should be taken seriously. So please consult with your legal team before making any changes to your current process. If you decide that Strict Tracking is needed, open a ticket with Oracle Support to enable this feature for your instance of Eloqua.
Strategic Considerations
Informing your users they are being tracked requires a thoughtful approach. If you are already displaying a cookie banner on your pages, great! You may want to update the language and functionality of this message depending on the mix of tracking scripts you have on your site. There is no requirement to only use one of the solutions provided by Eloqua everywhere on your website. If you are a large Enterprise organization, your site may be segregated by country or region, in which case you should choose the script options required by that country or region.
Here are some of the options made available by the script:
| JavaScript Snippet | What it does | When should you use it? |
| elqTrackPageView | Tracks page views as part of the default script | Pages that do not require an opt-in for tracking |
| elqTrackPageViewOptinByCountry | Tracks page views, but countries on the list need to opt-in. Adds more code to the JavaScript for opt-in/opt-out. | Only for pages where regulations require an opt-in. You will need to add code to your pages or existing banners that will trigger an opt-in or opt-out for the visitor. Replaces elqTrackPageView. |
| elqTrackPageViewDisplayOptInBannerByCountry | Similar to the last entry, but displays a default banner. Adds more code to the JavaScript for opt-in/opt-out. | Only use if you want the Eloqua tracking script to trigger displaying the banner. Replaces elqTrackPageView. |
| elqTrackPageViewOptinAll
|
Tracks page views, requires opt-ins from every visitor. Adds more code to the JavaScript for opt-in/opt-out. | Use this option if you want to be as strict as possible. You will need to add code to your pages or existing banners that will trigger an opt-in or opt-out for the visitor. Replaces elqTrackPageView. |
| elqTrackPageViewDisplayOptInBannerForAll | Similar to the last entry, but displays a default banner. Adds more code to the JavaScript for opt-in/opt-out. | Only use if you want the Eloqua tracking script to trigger displaying the banner. Replaces elqTrackPageView. |
| function elqVisitorTrackingOptIn() {
_elqQ.push([‘elqOptIn’]); } |
JavaScript function that updates the opt-in for the current visitor. | |
| function elqVisitorTrackingOptOut() {
_elqQ.push([‘elqOptOut’]); } |
JavaScript function that updates the opt-out for the current visitor | |
| function elqCreateOptInBanner() {} | JavaScript function that overrides the default banner with a customized one. The function name is required as-is. |
Technical Considerations
When you download the tracking script from your instance of Eloqua, you will notice a number of different files within the zip file. Of particular interest is the PDF, “Eloqua Async Tracking Scripts.pdf”, that outlines many of the different ways of configuring and using Eloqua’s tracking capabilities. As someone who has worked with Eloqua tracking for a number of years, I will add, coder beware! While the code contained in the document will work, I strongly advise that you optimize it for your website. It may not be clear from the document on the best way to combine or use the options, so I suggest that you experiment in a staging environment if possible. When considering Strict tracking options, you may want to deploy different scripts depending on which portion of your site is being affected.
Once Strict mode is enabled, there will also be a new area within Eloqua for managing the country list. See this article on the Oracle Support site for more details (warning, requires an Oracle Support login). Visit our Strict Mode tracking test page to see how its set up: https://tegrita.com/strict-mode-example
Tracking website visitors is a practice many have taken for granted until now. However, the landscape of tracking is rapidly changing across the globe. Tracking in a conscientious and responsible manner is an imperative. Tailoring your visitor’s experience to match these scenarios will only become more critical as time progresses. Work with your legal team to determine your level of compliance and if strict mode tracking is right for you. Contact us today to learn more about the value of tracking scripts and strict mode tracking.