Behavior of the "setting unique visitor variable" when unavailable

[SeanBo4]

We have two parts of our web application: one which is open and one where you need to log in and have created an account to access other pages (like a Customer Portal). Both of these parts of the application are currently being tracked via the same Report Suites.

For the part where the user logs in, we have our own unique visitor ID which is sent via an eVar (the userID). I would like when this eVar is sent to use it as the Unique Visitor ID for the computations in Adobe Analytics, and it seems that I can set this up following this tutorial (https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/analytics/admin/admin-tools/manage-report-suites/edit-rep...).

What I am wondering, is what will happen for the part of the application which is open. If the userID is not set up, will it revert back to default visitor ID count from Adobe Analytics? or will it break completely the metrics based on visitor IDs as the userID is not available there / always empty.

I would be curious to know what the best approach is in this case.

Thanks in advance,

Sean

[bjoern__koth]

Hi @SeanBo4 

yes, unless speficially set, the standard user id logic will apply and nothing should break.

[SeanBo4]

Thanks Bjoern!

I ran some tests, and it seems that the visitor ID calculation keeps on being based on the default Adobe logic. Specifically, when using the fallout visualization, the visitors calculation is not based on the selected eVar.

The approach I took was:

- Set up in the Report Suite the eVar as unique visitor id

- Send two tracking payloads in the console, from the same session, each with different values for the User ID eVar.

I was expecting, in the fallout report, to show funnel breakdown for two visitors (acknowledging it recognizes 2 different visitor IDs), but it mapped both hits to the same visitor ID (I guess the default visitor ID used in calculations by Adobe).

I am wondering why the visitor ID logic didn't work: do I need to add something within Adobe Experience Platform (e.g. in the Rules definition) as well? Or is it inherent to the fallout visualization, and in this case are you aware of a way to reconstruct it with calculations based on my User ID eVar?

Cheers (from the Netherlands!)

[Sukrity_Wadhwa]

Hi @Harveer_SinghGi1 & @bjoern__koth,

Is this something you could help @SeanBo4 with further?

Thanks!

[Harveer_SinghGi1]

Hi @SeanBo4 ,

As @bjoern__koth mentioned when the selected eVar doesn't have a value the standard ID logic should work which uses ID based upon below order,

One important thing to note for the approach you are planning is that it will count the same visitor as two different users in your reporting; one with the ID from the eVar (like user/email ID) on authenticated pages and one with ID from the standard ID logic (like ECID) on unauthenticated pages. Be mindful of this and plan your ID implementation accordingly. You might want to build a logic to persist the user ID to unauthenticated pages to identify the same visitor there as well.

Cheers!

[SeanBo4]

Hello Harveer, 

Thanks for your help and for the precisions. As mentioned on my answer to Bjoern, it seems that the eVar is not recognized for the visitor calculation, or at least not for the fallout visualization. Any thoughts on how it could be solved?

Cheers!