15 for 15: Your Kiss is on my List (Var)!

It’s not just a great 80’s song from a great 80’s band with great 80’s hair. We use lists for all sorts of things on a day-to-day basis. Birthday Lists. To-do Lists. Grocery Lists. Even Jolly Ole St. Nick makes his list and checks it twice. Is it any wonder that we do the same with our websites? What sorts of lists do you have on your site? Here are a few that you may have run across.

• Product Lists
• Wish Lists
• Lists of Display Ads
• Lists of Search Refinements

All of these might be appropriate places to use a new piece of functionality in SiteCatalyst 15. Introducing: the long-anticipated List Var!

In your escapades with SiteCatalyst implementations, you may have had the pleasure of using a special kind of s.prop called a “list prop.” This is a variable where you can pass multiple values in a delimited list. The list is then processed so that each of the individual values gets credit for that page view.

The List Var follows the same concept except after the manner of an eVar. In other words, the value will persist and you can apply Conversion metrics to your reports. How cool is that?

Here are a few things you will need to know about List Vars.

• You will need to update your SiteCatalyst code to H.23 or higher and you will need to use the version 15 interface.
• You must determine a single character to use as a delimiter.
• You can select the Expiration and Allocation for the List Var. However, you only have the option for First and Last Allocation.
• There is no length limit on the full string, but there is a limit of 255 characters for each delimited value.
• There are three list vars available for your use (list1, list2, and list3)

Let’s take a look at a concrete example. Suppose we perform a search on the site and add several refinements to the search. On the Refinements Results page we might pass a value into a List Var for Refinement Type with a comma delimiter such as:

s.list1=”Brand,Price,Size”;

Then we select our product and make a purchase for $30. The revenue will be allocated in the Refinement Type report like so:

Brand - $30

Price - $30

Size - $30

Total - $30

Each value gets full credit for the subsequent conversions, but the metrics are de-duplicated in the total.

As you can see, List Vars bring exciting new possibilities to your SiteCatalyst implementations. What data points are you considering using List Vars for? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section.

Have specific questions about Adobe SiteCatalyst?  Want to track a data point on your website, but not sure where to start with the implementation?  Follow me on Twitter @sitecattips Please feel free to leave a comment here or send me an email at adobesitecatalyst (at) adobe.com

• Adam Egbert
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