Track Link + Adobe Analytics Integration

How Adobe measures campaigns

Adobe Analytics link and campaign tracking, explained

Adobe Analytics measures campaigns differently from Google Analytics. Where GA4 reads UTM parameters automatically, Adobe Analytics campaign tracking is built around a single reserved variable, s.campaign, usually populated from a compact tracking code you place in the landing-page URL. Understanding the Adobe tracking code model — the cid, custom link tracking with s.tl(), Activity Map, and how URL parameters flow into report variables — is the key to clean attribution. This section covers each concept, then shows where Track Link fits.

The Adobe tracking code: cid and campaign classifications

An Adobe Analytics tracking code is a short string that identifies a specific campaign touchpoint. It is passed on the query string — most implementations use ?cid= (campaign ID), though the parameter name is configurable (you may see s_cid or a custom name). On page load, your implementation reads that parameter and assigns it to s.campaign, which feeds the Tracking Code dimension in Analysis Workspace. This is the heart of Adobe Analytics cid tracking.

Raw tracking codes are rarely human-readable, so Adobe layers classifications (SAINT) on top. A structured code such as em:spr26:hero:na can be split — via a rule-based or uploaded classification — into friendly dimensions like Channel, Campaign Name, Placement, and Region. That lets analysts report on "Email" or "Spring 2026" without ever touching the cryptic code.

s.tl() custom link tracking

Not every interaction is a page view. When a visitor clicks an outbound link, a download, or an on-page CTA, you record it with a custom link hit. In AppMeasurement this is the s.tl() call — the core of Adobe Analytics custom link tracking. Unlike s.t() (which sends a page view), s.tl() sends a link event that does not inflate page-view counts. You control exactly which variables and events ride along using s.linkTrackVars and s.linkTrackEvents.

// AppMeasurement (s_code / appMeasurement.js)
// s.tl() fires a custom link hit WITHOUT a new page view.
s.linkTrackVars = "eVar3,eVar5,events"; // which vars to send on this hit
s.linkTrackEvents = "event12";          // custom link events, or "None"

s.eVar3 = "spring_2026_newsletter";     // campaign / cid value from the click
s.eVar5 = "hero_cta";                   // creative, maps to utm_content
s.events = "event12";                   // a custom "cta_click" success event

// s.tl(linkObject, linkType, linkName)
//   linkType: "o" = other/custom link, "e" = exit link, "d" = download
s.tl(this, "o", "Newsletter Hero CTA");

The second argument is the link type: "o" for a custom/other link, "e" for an exit link, and "d" for a download. This is the same call Adobe's Activity Map uses under the hood, and it is how you attribute the exact button or link a user clicked — the kind of first-party click signal that pairs naturally with Track Link's server-side link click tracking.

Activity Map link tracking

Activity Map is Adobe Analytics' built-in link-overlay tool. When enabled, the AppMeasurement Activity Map module automatically captures every clicked link and records three reserved dimensions: Link (clickmaplink), Region (clickmapregion), and Page (clickmappage). This means Activity Map link tracking in Adobe Analytics gives you a visual heat overlay of which links get clicked, plus a reportable Activity Map dimension in Workspace — without hand-coding an s.tl() call for every element.

Activity Map answers "which link on this page did people click?" It does not, however, tell you what happened to the clicks that never reached your page at all — a link shared in an email, an SMS, or a native app where the Adobe pixel cannot fire until (and unless) the browser loads your site. That gap is exactly where a redirect-based counter complements Activity Map.

Adobe Analytics URL parameters and how UTMs map in

Adobe does not read utm_* tags out of the box, but it is happy to consume any Adobe Analytics URL parameters you tell it about. There are two clean paths: capture the parameter in JavaScript (s.Util.getQueryParam) and assign it to a variable, or use a server-side Processing Rule to copy the query parameter into an eVar with no code change. If you already tag links with UTMs for Google Analytics — say, using the same conventions you would for UTM parameters on Facebook ads — you can map them straight into Adobe's report variables.

For newer stacks on the Web SDK, the same values flow into XDM fields instead of s-variables:

// Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK (alloy.js) — data element style.
// Define a Query String Parameter data element per UTM in Tags/Launch,
// then reference them when you send the XDM event.
alloy("sendEvent", {
  xdm: {
    marketing: {
      trackingCode: getQueryParam("cid") || getQueryParam("utm_campaign"),
    },
    _yourtenant: {
      utmSource: getQueryParam("utm_source"),
      utmMedium: getQueryParam("utm_medium"),
      utmContent: getQueryParam("utm_content"),
    },
  },
});

A worked Adobe Analytics tracking code example

Here is a complete, copy-ready Adobe Analytics tracking code example. It reads the cid (or utm_campaign) from the URL, de-dupes it with getValOnce, assigns it to s.campaign, and copies source and medium into eVars. Drop it into your s.doPlugins function (or mirror the logic in an Adobe Tags/Launch rule):

// Capture the Adobe tracking code (cid) on every page load.
s.doPlugins = function (s) {
  // Read the tracking code first, then fall back to a UTM tag.
  var code =
    s.Util.getQueryParam("cid") || s.Util.getQueryParam("utm_campaign");

  if (code) {
    // getValOnce stops the same campaign re-attributing for 30 minutes,
    // so a refresh or re-click inside the session is not double-counted.
    s.campaign = s.getValOnce(code, "s_cmp", 30, "m");
  }

  // Copy the remaining UTM values into eVars for granular reporting.
  s.eVar1 = s.Util.getQueryParam("utm_source");
  s.eVar2 = s.Util.getQueryParam("utm_medium");
};
s.usePlugins = true;

A visitor arriving on https://example.com/pricing?cid=em:spr26:hero:na now populates the Tracking Code dimension with em:spr26:hero:na, which your classifications expand into Email / Spring 2026 / Hero CTA / North America. Swap the query string for a full UTM set and the same plugin captures source and medium into eVar1 and eVar2. That is the entire loop of Adobe tracking code capture in a dozen lines.

How Track Link complements Adobe Analytics

Track Link is not a replacement for Adobe Analytics — Adobe remains your enterprise analytics of record, with Workspace, Attribution IQ, and Customer Journey Analytics. Track Link sits one step earlier in the funnel and fills two structural gaps in the pixel-based model:

• 1.Deterministic, first-party click counts. Adobe counts the page view that follows a click. Track Link counts the click itself at the redirect server, before any page loads — so ad blockers, consent suppression, abandoned loads, and app-to-browser handoffs never make a click disappear. The two numbers together give you a real click-to-page-view rate per campaign.
• 2.Branded short links that carry your cid and UTMs cleanly. Track Link short URLs preserve whatever query string you attach — ?cid= or a full UTM set — through every hop of the redirect chain, so the tracking code arrives at your Adobe-instrumented page intact. This works for offline and dark-social placements (QR codes, print, SMS, DMs) where Adobe's pixel could never fire at the point of the click.

In practice: build the campaign URL with the cid or UTMs, wrap it in a Track Link short link with the tracking link generator, and share that link. Adobe captures on-site behavior via the pixel; Track Link's URL tracker gives you the independent, server-side click total for the same campaign. You get Adobe's depth plus a ground-truth denominator that the pixel alone cannot provide.

Note: creating tracked Track Link short links requires a free account (a free Google sign-in is enough) — there is no paywall on the free plan, but you do sign in so your links and analytics are saved to you.

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