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Why Vanity URLs? How to track in Google Analytics?

5/18/2018

1 Comment

 

First things first - what is a vanity URL?

A vanity URL is unique domain name used primarily for marketing purposes like a specific marketing campaign or print ad. Ideally it's something easy to remember and links to a specific page on your web site. If you set it up properly, you can also track how many visits that specific URL generates to your website so you can measure the effectiveness of your campaign.

For example, RunRedDeer.com organizes a race series of 3 separate races, one of which is the Halloween Half Marathon. On the event poster, they could display
  • the URL of the Halloween Half event page
    https://series.runreddeer.com/halloween-half.html
    OR
  • a vanity URL that is much easier to read/remember/share
    http://reddeerhalloweenhalf.com​

Yup, vanity URLs are cool.. How do I get one? How do I set it up?

1. Buy your vanity URL
I'd suggest buying your new domain from your existing domain host just to keep all your domains easy to track in one account, but you can buy it from any domain provider.
2. Create a trackable URL
Now that you own the domain, you'll want to update the DNS to redirect the domain to a specific page on your website, BUT if you want to actually know how many visitors use your vanity URL, you first need a URL that Google can track.  
  • Go to Google's URL Builder Tool
  • Enter your real website URL (not your vanity URL)
  • Under "Campaign Source", enter text to indicate where people are coming from (i.e. poster)
  • Under "Medium", add the type of marketing (i.e. print) 
  • Under "Campaign Name" add something specific (optional)
  • Copy the generated campaign URL to your clipboard/notepad
Picture
3. Redirect Trackable URL to Real URL
Log into your domain manager and use the "forward" or "redirect" option to paste in the URL you generated. Test your vanity URL to confirm it redirects correctly (with the tracking data).

4. Track Vanity URLs in Google Analytics
Log into GA and select the property you set up the vanity URL for.
Under Acquisitions, click All campaigns.
1 Comment

Where is my domain hosted?

5/1/2018

2 Comments

 
If you're like most people, you purchased a website domain a LONG time ago, entered your credit card info and now you're just automatically billed every 1-2 years. So ya, it's easy to forget who hosts your domain. No big deal... you can easily figure out this information using WHOIS Lookup:

  1. Go to WHOIS lookup
  2. Enter your domain name in the search field and click Lookup.
  3. In the results page, look for the Registrar section.
    The registrar is usually your domain host. For example:
    URL: http://tucowsdomains.com
    Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
  4. Go to your registrar’s website using the listed URL. (i.e. http://tucowsdomains.com)
    Tucows is special since they are a domain reseller. It is very likely you did not buy from Tucows but rather one of their reseller partners like Netfirms.
    * In the top input box of http://tucowsdomains.com, enter your domain and click Find Provider

    * Go to your registrar's website using the URL in the Provider Information
  5. Sign in with the credentials you used when you purchased (or transferred) your domain.
  6. If you forgot your password, contact your domain host’s support team.
2 Comments

How to add a YouTube Playlist to your Weebly site

5/1/2018

7 Comments

 
  1. Sign in to your YouTube account on a computer.
  2. On the left side of the page, select the playlist you want to embed.
  3. i.e. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAHjTHYOLrOZxUPg6br1tnJoowuDvdHya
  4. Copy the playlist ID from the URL.
  5. Modify the embed code below to replace the playlist ID in red text with your new one
  6. Paste the code into your blog or website using the Embed Code element

Example: 
<div class="wsite-youtube" style="margin-bottom:10px;margin-top:10px;"><div class="wsite-youtube-wrapper wsite-youtube-size-auto wsite-youtube-align-center"> <div class="wsite-youtube-container">  <iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLAHjTHYOLrOad7QBANVmQJntXPPyZuS0b&wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> </div></div>
7 Comments

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