Tracking Source and Search Keywords During Account Creation

In the competitive landscape of online applications, understanding where your users come from is vital. Specifically, tracking the source and search keywords that lead users to your signup page can provide incredible insights for your marketing strategy. By analyzing this data, you can tweak your advertising campaigns to optimize performance. In this blog post, we will explore how to implement an effective tracking system within your Ruby on Rails application.

The Challenge: Understanding User Sources

As you decide to enhance your signup process by tracking users’ origins, you might wonder:

• How can I pinpoint the advertising sources that are working for me?
• How can I accurately capture search keywords that brought users to my site?
• Is it even feasible to set up this tracking mechanism?

You’re on the right track; it is indeed possible! Below, we’ll walk through a straightforward solution that leverages cookies and a bit of JavaScript to help you achieve this goal seamlessly.

The Solution: Using Cookies for Tracking

The best way to track the source and search keywords is by utilizing JavaScript to set and read cookies when users visit your site. Here’s how to do it in a few easy steps:

Step 1: Setting Up the JavaScript Code

You will implement JavaScript that checks if a specific cookie exists to determine if this is a user’s first visit. If it doesn’t exist, you’ll create the cookie and fill it with the necessary information.

• Cookie Name: Consider using a simple name like origReferrer.
• Cookie Value: This cookie should store the referrer URL, which is the webpage that directed the user to your site.
• Expiry Time: Set the cookie to expire after approximately 24 hours to balance tracking and privacy.

Here’s an example of the code you might use:

document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
    if (!document.cookie.split('; ').find(row => row.startsWith('origReferrer'))) {
        let referrer = document.referrer || 'direct';
        let expirationDate = new Date(Date.now() + 86400000); // 24 hours in milliseconds
        document.cookie = "origReferrer=" + encodeURIComponent(referrer) + "; expires=" + expirationDate.toUTCString() + "; path=/";
    }
});

Step 2: Storing the Information in Your Rails Application

Once the cookie is set, you need to access it when users complete their account creation process. On the backend, in your Rails controller, you can read this cookie for further analysis.

# In your Rails controller
def create
  referrer = cookies[:origReferrer]
  # You can now store this information in your database or analyze it as needed.
end

Step 3: Analyze the Data

After implementing the above steps, you can start collecting valuable data. Here are ways to analyze and utilize this information:

• Track Conversion Rates: Understand which sources yield the most signups.
• Adjust Marketing Strategies: Invest more in high-performing sources while reconsidering those with lower performances.
• User Behavior Insights: Get an idea of how different referrer types impact user engagement and conversion.

Conclusion

By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can effectively track the source and search keywords during the account creation process in your Rails application. Leveraging cookies enables you to maintain a clear understanding of user acquisition channels, optimizing your marketing efforts along the way.

To learn more about cookie tracking, Andy Brice’s blog post on cookie tracking for profit and pleasure offers additional insights that can be quite beneficial!

Now it’s time to implement this strategy and start tracking your user sources to enhance your marketing campaigns!