Personalized URLs

A PURL, or Personalized URL, utilizes data from a consumer record to create a customized URL specifically for that consumer. A PURL Field is a special field in your database defines the personalization values that will be utilized to populate each unique PURL.

A PURL Field is defined by selecting one or more other Fields. For example, let's say you want your PURL to include the consumer's first name and last name ("www.companyname.com/JoeSmith"). You would define the PURL Field as containing the "First Name" and "Last Name" Fields.

Note: To create a PURL Field, you must define a brand new Field in your marketing database. You can't modify an existing Field to use it as a PURL Field. The option to create a PURL Field is available only when you're creating a new Field.

The following steps focus on how to create a PURL Field, without getting into the details of all the different options and features available when creating a new Data Field, such as the different Data Types or advanced options. For more information on these features, please see the Tables Help topic.

To create a new PURL Field:

1. From the System Tray, select Data > Management > Tables. When the Tables screen is displayed, a list of all the current tables is displayed in the left-hand side of the Workspace. Optionally, you can filter this list by typing in all or part of a table name in the "Search by Name" field.

2. Click on the Table that you want to view. The Workspace is refreshed to show the details of the selected Table.

3. On the Table details screen, click Edit > Add New > New Field in the Tool Ribbon. A blank Field details screen is displayed.

4. In the "Display Name" field, enter a name for this new Field.

5. Optionally, enter a different name in the "Column Name" field.

6. From the "Data Type" drop-down menu, select the appropriate Data Type.

7. The "Additional Information" section allows you to set a set a variety of optional configuration settings that help define how data is handled within this new Field. These options are available only at Field creation time and can't be changed later. Optionally, select one or more of the "Additional Information" options.

8. Click the "PURL Options" section to expand it.

9. Place a check mark next to "Is this field a domain prefix value for a PURL?"

10. The drop-down menu is populated with all of the Fields on this Table. From this menu, select a Field and click the add button (plus-sign icon). Repeat this step as necessary to add more Fields to the PURL Field. If you need to remove a Field, click the remove button ("X" icon). You can also rearrange the fields by clicking on the gray rectangle to the left of the Field name, then dragging-and-dropping the Field into its desired new position.

Note: A PURL Field value must be unique to work properly. In order to ensure that each value is unique, the platform will append a counter to duplicate values. For example, let's say you built a PURL Field consisting of "First Name" and "Last Name" values, and your Table had three "Joe Smiths" in it. The first record would get the value “JoeSmith”, the second “JoeSmith1”, and the third “JoeSmith2."

11. Click save.

In order to use the Personalized URL in your marketing Campaigns, the PURL Field you just created must be selected within a PURL Domain. See "Create a New PURL Domains" below for more details.

A PURL Domain is used to bind a PURL Field to your web domain. Once you've created the PURL Domain, you can select it for use in Web Forms.

Note: Existing PURL Domains can't be edited or deleted.

To create a new PURL Domain:

1. Click + New above the list of existing PURL Domains. A blank PURL Domain details screen is displayed.

2. From the "Data Source" drop-down menu, select the source table for the PURL Domain.

3. The "Data Field" drop-down menu is populated with all of the PURL Fields in the selected source table. From this menu, select the desired PURL Field.

4. In the "Domain Name" field, enter your web domain

5. Click save. The system saves your PURL Domain, and automatically assigns a name for it. This name consists of the selected PURL Field, followed by the web domain. For example: "PURL Field Name.webdomain.com."

In order to use the Personalized URL in your marketing Campaigns, the PURL Domain must be assigned to a Web Form (see Web Forms for more details).

Existing PURL Domains can't be edited or deleted. To view the details of a PURL Domain:

1. Search for the desired PURL Domain (see Search for an Item for more details on the available search methods).

2. Click on the PURL Domain name. The PURL Domain screen is displayed and populated with the details of the selected PURL Domain. Within the "Used by a Form" section, the system displays all of the Web Forms to which this PURL Domain has been assigned.