Pixel Monitor
In this guide, you will learn about the Pixel Monitor feature, how to use the Pixel Monitor dashboard, and how to debug various alerts.
The Pixel Monitor lets you know how healthy your Bloomreach pixel integration is.
It lets you quickly answer the following questions:
- Is my site sending the appropriate number of page views and events?
- Are my page views and events sending their associated required parameters?
During integration, the Pixel Monitor helps you understand if your site is sending the appropriate pixel fires and required information so that you know your development work is complete. Post integration, the Pixel Monitor can help you track and ensure that your site is behaving as expected.
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View this section to learn the process of enabling/disabling Pixel Monitor alerts, setting custom thresholds for alerts, and subscribing to email alerts.
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Jump to the debugging section to understand pixel alerts and learn how to resolve pixel issues.
Permissions Required
- If you're assigned the Dev Studio User role, you have Read/Write access to Pixel Monitor. You can view the email list (adding/removing other users' subscriptions) and change the alert threshold.
- If you're assigned the Dev Studio User - Read Only, you get Read-only access. This role grants access to the Pixel Monitor feature and lets you subscribe to alerts.
Accessing the Pixel Monitor
This section introduces you to the operations that can be performed in the Pixel Monitor dashboard.
Enable or Disable Pixel Monitoring
Permissions required
You must be assigned the
Dev Studio User
role to enable or disable pixel monitoring.
To change monitoring settings for a pixel monitor, click the bell icon (highlighted in the screenshot below). A blue icon indicates the pixel monitor is currently enabled, while a grey icon indicates it is currently disabled.
Disabling some pixel alerts may help prevent noise, which can affect Search, Recommendations, and AB Testing.
Setting Error Thresholds for Pixel Alerts
For each pixel monitor, the error threshold can be customized for each pixel alert. The default error threshold is different for each type of pixel alert.
To set the error threshold, go to a pixel alert and input a value in the Adjust Threshold section. You can leave an optional comment in the Reason for change box. Click Update to save the custom error threshold.
Email Notifications for Pixel Monitor Alerts
You can subscribe to email notifications that will be sent when pixel failures are detected. Click Subscribe to alerts to subscribe to email notifications.
Notifications will only be sent for pixel monitors that have been enabled.
Email List (Dev Studio User only)
If you've been assigned the Dev Studio User
role, you can view the Email List, which contains the emails of all subscribed users. From the Email List, you can subscribe or unsubscribe users and adjust the frequency of notifications (daily or weekly).
All registered IAM users for an account are eligible to subscribe to email notifications.
Debugging Pixel Issues
Page View Alerts
Large Drop in Page Views Alert
This Traffic Monitor compares the average number of page views over the past 14 days of a particular page type (e.g. Product Page, Category Page, etc) and alerts when a greater than 80% drop in page views occurs.
E.g. if your product page view average over the past 14 days was 7,500 page views, the alert will turn red if today's count of product page views is 1,500 or less. There is no alerting if there is less than 14 days of data.
The Large Drop in Page View chart shows a 30-day historical view and allows you to switch between a Total Count View and a Percentage Change from Moving Average view.
In order to debug this traffic alert, it is important to understand where the drop in page views comes from. Sometimes, your site may indeed have a lot less views or conversions that day and it is advisable to check with your in-house analytics systems to see if this is the case. If your site does not have a significant drop in visits for that day, you can go into the next level of debugging other potential root causes.
The Bloomreach Pixel dropped on all Pages
Root Cause | Debugging Steps |
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Traffic Drop shows for a particular Page Type only | E.g. if your product pages show a large traffic drop, check if the Bloomreach Pixel still fires on product pages. If you have different product page templates, check at least one URL from each template. You can use the Bloomreach Pixel Validator Chrome Extension for easy debugging. If you can confirm that the Bloomreach Pixel no longer fires: → Make sure that the Pixel is still integrated. → If the Pixel is still integrated, but does not fire, check if there is an error that prevents the Bloomreach Pixel from firing (e.g. a script or other 3rd party pixel errors out before the Bloomreach pixel can fire). |
Traffic Drop shows on all Page Types | If you see a traffic drop alert on all page types (Product, Category, Search, Conversion), the BR pixel could have been dropped on all page types/ entire site. |
The Bloomreach Pixel dropped on Top Traffic Pages
Root Cause | Debugging Steps |
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Traffic Drop on Top Traffic Pages | This may indicate that the Bloomreach pixel has been dropped on your top traffic pages. Check your analytics system to find your top traffic pages for the particular page type and check if the BR pixel still fires. You can use the Bloomreach Pixel Validator Chrome Extension for easier debugging. |
The Bloomreach Pixel Page Type Classification has changed
Root Cause | Debugging Steps |
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The ptype parameter in the Page View pixel has changed | The Bloomreach Pixel expects a ptype parameter for each page type. Valid Page types are 'product', 'category', 'search' or 'thematic'. If there is no classification, the ptype will default to an 'other' page type. For a detailed list of ptype classifications, please refer to the Global Page View Tracking section (Tab: Global Tracking Variables) in the Bloomreach Pixel Specification. The alert may indicate that a ptype classification has changed. E.g, a product page, which was previously classified with ptype 'product' and now shows a ptype 'other'. Go to a page type that shows the alert and verify the ptype parameter. You can use the Bloomreach Pixel Validator Chrome Extension for easy debugging. |
The Drop is caused by Weekend Fluctuations
Root Cause | Debugging Guidelines |
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Weekend Fluctuations | This happens especially on B2B sites where the traffic on weekends drops significantly. If you observe this as a regular pattern, please ignore this alert. |
The Drop is caused by Testing
Root Cause | Debugging Guidelines |
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Fluctuations caused by Testing | A Drop & Spike pattern can happen if you perform load or stress tests on your site and the test IP is not blocklisted on the Bloomreach analytics system. Let your Bloomreach Integrations Project Manager know about any IPs that you are using for Load and Performance testing on your production site, so they can be blocklisted from the Pixel Monitors. |
If none of the above root causes explain the issue, please contact your Bloomreach Integrations Project Manager (during an integration) or your Digital Experience Manager (post-integration).
Missing or Invalid Parameters
This Parameter Monitor tells you how many pixel requests Bloomreach received the previous day where a required parameter was missing or did not pass our validation and what percentage of the total requests are impacted.
The chart shows a 30-day historical view and allows you to switch between a Total Count and a Percentage Change from Moving Average view.
It also provides a link to Download Failure Examples with pixel requests that failed the parameter validation to help aid in your debugging.
Invalid or Missing Add To Cart Event Parameters
Is this Product ID missing in ATC Events?
This alert occurs when greater than 5% of the previous day's Add to Cart event pixels have invalid prodid parameters. An invalid product ID parameter could be because of a missing product ID, an empty string sent as product ID or because of an invalid parameter (e.g. _cat is part of the product ID name, we assume that this not valid).
Debugging Guidelines
Step 1: Download the failure example by clicking the Download Failure Examples link below the Alert Graph.
Step 2: The Failure Examples file shows URLs, which fire an ATC event without a valid prodid parameter.
Test each or a subset of URLs from the URL column and and see if the prod_id _field is missing, sent as an empty string or as an invalid product ID.
You can use the Bloomreach Pixel Validator Chrome Extension to see what value is passed in the prod_id. For additional guidance on the prod_id parameter, check the ATC Event Tracking Section in the Bloomreach Pixel Guide.
Invalid or Missing Search Event Parameters
Is the Search Query (q) Parameter missing in Search Events?
This alert occurs when greater than 5% of the previous day's Search event pixels have invalid q parameters. An invalid q (=search query/term) parameter could be because of a missing search term or an empty string sent as search term.
Debugging Guidelines
Step 1: Download the failure example by clicking the Download Failure Examples link below the Alert Graph.
Step 2: The Failure Examples file shows URLs which fire a Search event without a valid q _parameter.
Start out by sorting the debug file by device_type and see if the q parameter is missing on a specific device type.
Test each or a subset of URLs from the URL column and see if the q _field is missing or sent as an empty string.
You can use the Bloomreach Pixel Validator Chrome Extension to see what value is passed in the search query parameter. For additional guidance on what should be sent as search query parameter, check the Search Event Tracking Section in the Bloomreach Pixel Guide.
Invalid or Missing Suggest Event Parameters
Is the q Parameter missing in Suggest Events?
This alert occurs when greater than 5% of the previous day's Suggest event pixels have invalid q parameters. An invalid q (=suggested term that the user clicked on) parameter could be because of a missing search term or an empty string as the suggested search term.
Debugging Guidelines
Step 1: Download the failure example by clicking the Download Failure Examples link below the Alert Graph.
Step 2: The Failure Examples file shows URLs which fire a Suggest event fire without a valid q _parameter.
Start out by sorting the debug file by device_type and see if the q parameter is missing on a specific device type.
Test each or a subset of URLs from the URL column and see if the q _field is missing or sent as an empty string.
You can use the Bloomreach Pixel Validator Chrome Extension to see what value is passed in the q parameter. For additional guidance on what should be sent as q parameter, check the Suggest Event Tracking Section in the Bloomreach Pixel Guide.
Is the aq Parameter missing in Suggest Events?
This alert occurs when greater than 5% of the previous day's Suggest event pixels have invalid aq parameters. An invalid aq (=the display query (the one or more letters) that the user has typed) parameter could be because of a missing query or an query string.
Debugging Guidelines
Step 1: Download the failure example by clicking the Download Failure Examples link below the Alert Graph.
Step 2: The Failure Examples file shows URLs which fire a Suggest event fire without a valid aq _parameter.
Start out by sorting the debug file by device_type and see if the q parameter is missing on a specific device type.
Test each or a subset of URLs from the URL column and see if the aq _field is missing or sent as an empty string.
You can use the Bloomreach Pixel Validator Chrome Extension to see what value is passed in the aq parameter. For additional guidance on what should be sent as the aq parameter, check the Suggest Event Tracking Section in the Bloomreach Pixel Guide.
Invalid or Missing Quick View Event Parameters
Is the prod_id Parameter missing in Quick View Events?
This alert occurs when greater than 5% of the previous day's Quick View event pixels have invalid prodid parameters. An invalid product ID parameter could be because of a missing product ID, an empty string sent as product ID or because of an invalid parameter (e.g. _cat is part of the product ID name, we assume that this not valid).
Debugging Guidelines
Step 1: Download the failure example by clicking the Download Failure Examples link below the Alert Graph.
Step 2: The Failure Examples file shows URLs, which fire a Quick View without a valid prodid parameter.
Test each or a subset of URLs from the URL column and and see if the prod_id _field is missing, sent as an empty string or as an invalid product ID.
You can use the Bloomreach Chrome Extension to see what value is passed in the prod_id. For additional guidance on the prod_id parameter, check the Quick View Event Tracking Section in the Bloomreach Pixel Guide.
Site Level Pixel Monitoring for Multisite
Pixel Monitor supports site-level monitoring. For example, Pacific Supply has multiple sites, namely, pacific_supply master, pacific_supply Industrial, and pacific_supply Electrical. With Pixel Monitor, you’ll be able to view the health of pixel integration at the individual site level of pacific_supply master, pacific_supply Industrial, and pacific_supply Electrical.
Note: For multisite customers, the pixel monitor works just at the site level. It will not work at the account level or at the site group level (refer to the screenshot below).
Updated 9 months ago