Counter event not showing against product finding method values

[gkrish12345]

Counter event not showing against product finding method values. Whenever user clicks on drop down filter, click event gets triggered with custom link name "filter click" and  event named "search result filter (event100)" which is basically a counter event and evar which is enabled for product finding method which collects filter value that was clicked.  Now when I try to use search results filter against the evar which collectes filter value I dont see numbers against respective values but seen as unspecified. Whats the issue here?

[Jennifer_Dungan]

Without seeing your implementation this could be hard to diagnose... but it looks like the event and the dimension are being captured on different tracking requests based on the behaviour in your report....

It's almost as if the event is being captured when the filter drop down is clicked, but then the selected filter is being tracked either when the specific filter is selected (or maybe on the page view after the results are filtered)....

[gkrish12345]

This is what happens when the click event fires. I am trying to use event191 against evar44 and 45 but I dont see the numbers.

[Jennifer_Dungan]

Oh.. I wonder... give the name of the eVar "merch".. are those eVars set up as Merchandising eVars? Merchandising eVars have special binding rules that could be impacting how the data is shown.

Can you see the settings of your eVar configuration? Here is some info about Merchandising eVars:

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/docs/analytics/admin/admin-tools/manage-report-suites/edit-report...

Normally, I use product syntax (will all binding), and usually this means that independently set events will map to my merchandising eVars, but perhaps conversion variable syntax or the specific binding events may be changing how the data correlates.

I suspect that these were set up as merchandising eVars so that they would stitch into your actual product purchases (so that you can correlate the search to your products), but the settings may be preventing you from seeing the values on the search....

[gkrish12345]

Yes this is how it is configured.

[Jennifer_Dungan · Accepted solution]

Ok, so you are using "conversion variable syntax", which according to the documentation:

Conversion Variable Syntax is used when the eVar value is not available to set in the products variable. This scenario typically means that your page has no context of the merchandising channel or finding method. In these cases you set the merchandising variable before you arrive at the product page, and the value persists until the binding event occurs.

When the binding event selected during configuration occurs, the persisted value of the eVar is associated with the product. For example, if prodView is specified as the binding event, the merchandising category is tied to the current product list only at the time the event occurs. Only subsequent binding events can update a merchandising eVar that has already been assigned to a product.

// Place on the same or previous page before the binding event:
s.eVar1 = "Aviary";

// Place on the page where the binding event occurs:
s.events = "prodView";
s.products = ";Canary";

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The value "Aviary" for eVar1 is assigned to the product "Canary". All subsequent success events that involve this product are credited to "Canary". Additionally, the current value of the merchandising variable is tied to all subsequent products until one of the following conditions is met:

• The eVar expires (based on the ‘Expire After’ setting)
• The merchandising eVar is overwritten with a new value.

---

This says to me that the value is set, but is basically just "held" until the binding event is triggered (then it's used).... I've not used "Conversion Syntax" before, I will try and set up a test in a dev environment to test this out.

You can only see the binding event(s) by "editing" that field... check the box, and the dropdown will appear..  but I suspect that this is being bound by a specific event, and thus when the values are set, this context is not part of the binding.

[Jennifer_Dungan]

Okay... I have an update!

I used an old QA/Dev suite to do a pseudo replication of what you are looking at.

I set up an eVar as a "conversion syntax" and with an event binding of "Event 2 (Binding Event)"

I then proceeded to test with the following scenarios:

1. Set the merchandising eVar on the same call as Event 1, then doing a second call where Event 2 is called
   • The eVar does not surface in the results (it is not bound to either event 1 or event 2)
   • I used eVar set to "something" for this test
2. Set the merchandising eVar on the same call as Event 1, then doing a second call where Event 2 is called (but also passing s.products value on the call with Event 2
   • The eVar is bound to event 2 (only when the s.products value is set in the call along with the binding event)
   • I used eVar set to "somethingelse" for this test

Basically, by using the Conversion Variable Syntax, the eVar is basically set in Adobe, but until you actually have an s.products "conversion" where the binding event is also triggered, the values cannot be used.

Even in my example, the "Page View" of the eVar value is only on the same call as the products:

So while you can see eVar values, and they are "set" on the "Narrow Results" call, they are not bound into the data until whatever binding event is set in conjunction with product tracking.

Whoever configured this did so likely thinking the only place that they wanted to use those values was in conjunction with what is most likely a purchase (or perhaps an add to cart). The configuration does not allow for using them within the actual search results.

[Jennifer_Dungan]

I should mention, in my example, my Event 2 was fired normally, not part of the s.products notation.... I used extremely simple products notation:

s.products=";sampleproduct"

[jeffbloomer]

@gkrish12345 Jen is correct in that anytime you are firing a merchandising event with a product, is MUST be fired WITHIN the product string.  Also, you MUST increment your event numerically each time within the event string as well, so your product string would look something like this: (@Jennifer_Dungan, double-check my syntax )

s.products = ";product;;;event##=1;eVar1=filter click|evar2=another value";

The important part is you are incrementing the event INSIDE the product string and your merchandising variable is also inside the product string.  Otherwise, the product and the merchandising variable value will ignore the event.  Having worked with this A LOT at Kroger, I've seen how it works, and it can still get confusing.  

[Jennifer_Dungan]

That format is correct (again assuming that those eVars are merchandising...  I am only guessing based on the name).

[jeff_bloomer]

@Jennifer_Dungan Agreed.  I was simply using pseudo eVars as placeholders.  They key is the inclusion inside the product string and then setting the eVars as merchandising variables.  Product Finding Method is a typical Merchandising variable, and I would expect that to be the approach for the implementation.

[gkrish12345]

I think adobe should provide a launch sandbox to test all these. I have adobe analytics sandbox but not launch.

[Jennifer_Dungan]

Technically, you can create a "Sandbox" property in your Launch and use it as a Dev/QA only. I have a few that I can use to play with settings for different setups.

Just clearly label it as a Sandbox property so that no one thinks it's connected to a production website. I then also point these to specific sandbox suites, even "prod" is configured to a sandbox suite.

I have a Chrome extension called Resource Override, I can replace the Launch file on any of our sites with my Sandbox property so I don't even need to request our developers to switch scripts when I want to try something a little crazy, and this also means that I am the only person who will ever send data through that property and suite.

[yuhuisg]

The "event" doesn't have to be in the s.products string. It can be standalone too, e.g. s.events = "event123". It depends on the use-case, but from @gkrish12345 original post, it's not clear how "event" should best be set.

(Also @jeffbloomer, "evar2" should be capitalised as "eVar2" in your example s.products string.)

[Jennifer_Dungan]

No one said that the event must be passed in the s.products string... but I haven't done a lot with specific event mapping.. if those merchandising eVars are mapped to specific events it might have an impact on how the data is presented in the report.... like I said above, I leave the default "all" events on my merchandising eVars.... 

Also, in s.products, the eVar does not need to be capitalized...  s.products will use the eVar either way (I know cause I have some products notation with lowercase and it works just fine.)