SmartLinks, Brand Codes, and Other Form Linkouts

A SmartLink is a link in an email that you send to a ONEcount user that will automatically identify and log that user in when they click on the link.

This lesson will provide you with information on SmartLinks, including proper formatting.

There are other types of form linkouts, such as edit profile links, password recovery links, branded pages, etc. Directions on formatting these links is included after the SmartLink section.

SMARTLINKS

The theory behind SmartLinks is simple: You sent the email, so you know who that person is. All you have to do is embed a token in the links in your email to tell ONEcount who the user is when they click on the link. *

*This token varies based on the email marketing platform you use , e.g. ONEcount's integrated Email Engine, Real Magnet/MagnetMail, Exact Target, Silverpop, etc. (See more detail below.)

Upon clicking on a SmartLink, two things will happen:

1) the user will be authenticated automatically for access-controlled content; and

2) the user will be identified in the system as a ONEcount user and a cookie will be set, allowing you to track as a known user all activities across your online properties.

SmartLinks Process Flow

1. User Clicks on a SmartLink

2. System checks for a local cookie

If local cookie found, use that ID

3. If no local cookie found, check global cookie

If global cookie found, set temp cookie from global cookie

4. If no global cookie found, check device ID

If device ID found, set global cookie and local cookie

5. If no device ID found, present a pre-selected challenge question

If challenge question answered correctly, set local and global cookie

6. If challenge question not answered correctly, send to login page

Where to Use SmartLinks

Replace all of the links in your newsletter with SmartLinks.

Using SmartLinks correctly requires changing your email template. Most media companies use pre-defined templates in a Content Management System to create individual e-newsletters. See below for token format for ONEcount integrated ESPs.

In other words, if your newsletter has a link like this:

http://www.mysite.com/article.html

Change it to this:

http://www.mysite.com/article.html?SMARTLINK_TOKEN

Using SmartLinks correctly requires changing your email template. Most media companies use predefined templates in a Content Management System to create individual e-newsletters. To enable SmartLinks in a template, simply add the smartlink token format defined below for your ESP (Email Service Provider).

Creating OCID Attribute/Data Field in ESP

An attribute or data field called smartlinkhash needs to be created in your ESP.

This needs to be a varchar type field of length 64.

This field will be loaded with the corresponding partner hash id for the user from ONEcount.

Placement of Smartlink Token

Append the token to the end of a URL, except as noted in the first bullet in "Notes" below.

Token Format

Using the regular link http://www.mysite.com/article.html as an example, following are SmartLink formats for ONEcount's email engine, MagnetMail, Silverpop, and Exact Target.

ESP's will automatically replace the token with the user's credentials, allowing them to automatically authenticate with ONEcount. If you use an ESP other than Real Magnet, Silverpop, or Exact Target, please contact ONEcount to obtain the proper token format.

Note that if the link already has “?” and parameters, precede the SMARTLINK_TOKEN with “&”; otherwise precede with “?”.

ONEcount Email Engine (PHPList) (No addition needed)

MYSITE.com/article.html

MagnetMail

&oc_slh=insert_smartlinkhash

?oc_slh=insert_smartlinkhash

mysite.com/article.html?oc_slh=insert_CUSTOM1*

*The actual smartlink hash will vary depending upon what custom field the hash is loaded in. i.e. If thesmartlink hash is loaded into Custom 1 field, then the link parameter will be oc_slh=INSERT_CUSTOM1; if it is loaded in Custom 5 field, it will be oc_slh=INSERT_CUSTOM5; and so on. So, the part after INSERT_ will depend on which field the smart link hash is loaded into magnetmail.

Silverpop

&oc_slh=[smartlinkhash]

?oc_slh=[smartlinkhash]

mysite.com/article.html?oc_slh=[smartlinkhash]

Exact Target

&oc_slh=%%smartlinkhash%%

?oc_slh=%%smartlinkhash%%

mysite.com/article.html?oc_slh=%%smartlinkhash%%

Notes

If you're using a SmartLink to a ONEcount Renewal or Edit Profile/Unsubscribe form in a newsletter, the links will include the "&type=renewal" or "&type=unsubscribe&profile=y" parameter at the end of the link. The SmartLink token is to be placed BEFORE the "&type..." parameter. You can display the renewal and edit profile/unsubscribe SmartLink format each ONEcount form you create. See How to Manage Forms for more detail where to find the links and link formats.

Example: http://ocreg.DOMAIN_NAME/onecount/ flexreg/listredirect.cgi?form=21&%%smartlinkhash%%&type=unsubscribe&profile=y (Exact Target Edit Profile/Unsubscribe SmartLink format)

If adding a Brand code to a Smart Renewal or Edit Profile/Unsubscribe form, place it after the smartlink tokenand before &type.

Example: http://ocreg.DOMAIN_NAME/onecount/ flexreg/listredirect.cgi?form=21&%%smartlinkhash%%&brand=ABC&type=unsubscribe&profile=y

If using an email provider other than ONEcount, MagnetMail, Exact Target, or Silverpop, please contact ONEcount re: integration with your email provider.

One problem with embedding a personalized link in an e-mail is that if the e-mail is forwarded to another user, the personalized link is also forwarded. This means that if you don't take special precautions, Fred Smith can forward an e-mail with SmartLinks in it to 10 people; each of those 10 people would be identified (and cookied) in ONEcount as “Fred Smith” when they click on the links in that e-mail. We don't want that to happen.

Stopping users who receive a forwarded copy of an e-mail with SmartLinks requires you to change the CSS in your e-mail template. To do this, use the following <style> block in your next email, and add the class original-only to the SmartLinks. You can also add a class forwarded-only if you would like an alternative, non-personalized link to the article.

The non-personalized link (the one without OCVALIDATE) will require the person who receives the forwarded e-mail to authenticate if the page the link points to require registration or authentication.

For example:

<style type="text/css">

blockquote .original-only, .WordSection1 .original-only {

display: none !important;

}blockquote .forwarded-only, .WordSection1 .forwarded-only {

display: block !important;

}

</style><p class="original-only">

<a href="http://www.mysite.com/article.html?OCVALIDATE”> Article Headline</a>

</p><p style="display: none">

<a href="http://www.mysite.com/article.html”> Article Headline</a>

</p>

This method is not foolproof, and works with most current mail clients. It does not work with GMAIL, which is known to strip out CSS content from e-mails.

See the link below for further info:

http://jonathan-kim.com/2011/programmatically-customizing-a-forwarded-email/

BRAND CODES

ONEcount's Brand Tool allows you to create individually branded forms, Login/Lookup and Forgot Password form pages. By default your forms display on a page in your site's look and feel, with a designated header and footer. Use the Brand tool if you have multiple brands and wish to create/maintain a separate identity for each brand by displaying various forms in the look and feel of each brand rather than on a default umbrella-branded page.

Placement of Brand Token

Append the Brand Code (token) to the end of a URL.

Token Format

Form URLS (including Login/Lookup and Forgot Password Form Pages)

Standard Form URLS that DO NOT end with ".cgi"

Add &brand=[CODE] where [CODE] is the code you created to the end of the form URL. **

Example:

Brand Code = ABC

Standard Link = http://ocreg.gcnmedia.com/onecount/reg/registerForm.cgi?form=58.

Link with Brand Code = http://ocreg.gcnmedia.com/onecount/reg/registerForm.cgi?form=58&brand=ABC

Using the Brand Code, Form 58 will display the form on the ABC branded page created in your CMS.

Form URLS that DO end with ".cgi"

Add ?brand=[CODE] where [CODE] is the code you created. **

Example:

Brand Code = ABC

Standard Link = http://ocreg.gcnmedia.com/onecount/login/loginlogout.cgi

Link with Brand Code = http://ocreg.gcnmedia.com/onecount/login/loginlogout.cgi?brand=ABC

** This is a subtle, but critical difference: URLs that DO NOT end with ".cgi" use the format &brand=[CODE] and URLs that DO end with ".cgi" use the format ?brand=[CODE]

Notes

You must first create in your CMS a blank page with only a header and footer for each brand. The URL for this page will be entered in the Brand tool, identifying the page to pull the branded header/footer from.

You must include the following markers on the brand page you create in your CMS:

<!--onecount_header--> Place in the page where the header will END

<!--onecount_footer--> Place in the page where the footer will START

If you require a separate header/footer page for mobile, you must also create that page.

See Brand Tool documentation for more information on creating Brands and Brand Codes.

LOOKUP/LOGIN, FORGOT PASSWORD, AND EDIT PROFILE LINKOUTS

Note that in order for a form to display in your site's look and feel, you must first create in your CMS a blank page with only a header and footer for your brand.

You must include the following markers on the brand page you create in your CMS:

<!--onecount_header--> Place in the page where the header will END

<!--onecount_footer--> Place in the page where the footer will START

If you require a separate header/footer page for mobile, you must also create that page.

URL Formats

Lookup/Login Form

ocreg.DOMAIN_NAME/onecount/login/loginlogout.cgi

This URL will bring up the Lookup/Login form, in your site/brand look and feel.

Forgot Password Form

ocreg.DOMAIN_NAME/onecount/login/forgotpassword.cgi

This URL will bring up the Forgot Password form, in your site/brand look and feel

Edit Profile/Unsubscribe Form

ocreg.DOMAIN_NAME/onecount/flexreg/editprofile.cgi *

This URL will bring up your Edit Profile/Unsubscribe form, in your site/brand look and feel. This form is a regular form that allows the user to make demographic information, and at the bottom of the form is a list of unsubscribed products with the option to unsubscribe.

*This link is only for linking out on your website. It is NOT a newsletter SmartLink for auto-login to an Edit Profile/Unsubscribe form. See above for information on email SmartLink formats.