Tracking IBM Product Recommendations for IBM Digital Analytics

We can use an IBM Digital Analytics parameter to tag product URLs and send information about shopper selection of recommendations from IBM Product Recommendation to IBM Digital Analytics. By using this tag to send information to IBM Digital Analytics, we can track the performance of the recommendations from IBM Product Recommendations.

By default, all clickthrough URLs for recommendations from IBM Product Recommendations include cm_vc=zone id parameter to track the performance of the recommendations by IBM Digital Analytics. For example, the following URL includes the cm_vc=zone id parameter tagging. This URL is generated from the selection of a recommendation from the IBM Product Recommendation Commerce Composer widget:

http://localhost/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/en/auroraesite/mayflower-silver-patent-leather-stiletto-pumps?cm_vc=A333&cm_cr=No+Campaign-_-Web+Activity-_-SubCategoryPageLayout+-+Slot+6_0-_-Widget_IBMProductRecommendations_3102-_-Mayflower+Silver+Patent+Leather+Stiletto+Pumps&testElementId=&experimentId=

The cm_vc=zone id parameter includes the Zone ID for where the IBM Product Recommendation is on a page as the value for the parameter tagging. The Zone ID is an 8 characters or fewer, case-sensitive, value that is defined when creating a zone in the Digital Recommendations interface. All standard tagging restrictions apply to text that can be passed with this parameter.

Before the store can use this parameter to send information, the store must be enabled for both IBM Product Recommendations and IBM Digital Analytics. We must also update the IBM Digital Analytics Category Definition File to define "Recommendation" as the top-level category and to include all Zone ID values as child categories to support the virtual categorization of the Product Category Report in IBM Digital Analytics. The following CSV file is provided as an example of an updated Category Definition file, CDF_example CSV file.

For more information about virtual categorization for IBM Product Recommendation tracking, see the IBM Product Recommendations Configuration Guide on the Category Definition File that is provided with IBM Product Recommendations.

Related tasks
Generating a file that captures the catalog hierarchy
IBM Product Recommendations and WebSphere Commerce