User data collection

Data is captured when a tagged website page is loaded by a site visitor's browser. As the requested page renders in the browser, JavaScript function calls ("tags") embedded in the page code are executed. The tags create standard http GET image requests appended with query string parameter "name=value" pairs, which are obtained from the tag parameter data strings.

Each tag, depending on its type, has a defined list of parameters that are provided at the time that function calls are made. These functions execute to create data collection requests. Collected data includes both explicitly provided data parameters and automatically collected data (such as date and time, and referring and destination URLs).

The data parameters in the tag function call communicate information about pages, products and visitor activities, such as carting or selecting specific products, completing purchases, registering or logging on, interacting with specific page elements, and similar activities.

<script type="text/JavaScript">  cmTagName(<parameter_1>,<parameter 2>, 
 <parameter 3>, etc); </script>

Tag parameter data is case insensitive. All collected data is converted to upper-case upon receipt and for display in processed report views.

The image requests that are created when tags execute are sent to IBM® Digital Analytics data collection servers. The appended name=value pairs are extracted and loaded into your analytics data warehouse for reporting as actionable metrics.

Upon receipt by the data collection servers, the data collection image requests are parsed to extract visitor data from the name=value query string parameter pairs. The visitor data is loaded into the analytics data warehouse, and for each request, a 1 x 1 pixel GIF file is returned to the requesting browser.

The data collection image requests are made in memory, rather than written directly onto the page, preventing response "images" from visibly rendering on the page. The image requests are asynchronous with page load, and cannot interrupt page loading or the visitor experience. In the unlikely event that the image request does not reach the IBM Digital Analytics data collection servers. If the request response pixels are not received by the requesting browser, the page continues to render, so that site functionality and visitor experience are unaffected.