conversion-tracker

# Conversion Tracker

Set up affiliate conversion tracking — generate UTM-tagged links, create link naming conventions, configure tracking pixel setup instructions, and build a tracking spreadsheet. Output is a Markdown tracking guide with a table of tagged links ready to deploy.

## Stage

S6: Analytics — The difference between amateur and professional affiliates. You can't optimize what you don't measure. After deploying content (S5), you need UTM-tagged links for every platform and content piece to know exactly which channel drives conversions.

## When to Use

- User is about to launch a campaign and needs tracking links
- User wants UTM-tagged links for different platforms
- User says "set up tracking", "create UTM links", "organize my affiliate links"
- User wants to track which content drives the most clicks and conversions
- User is preparing to run ads and needs consistent link tagging
- Chaining from S1 (product selected) → generate tracking links before creating content in S2-S5

## Input Schema

```yaml
product:
  name: string                 # REQUIRED — product name (e.g., "HeyGen")
  affiliate_url: string        # REQUIRED — base affiliate link

platforms:                     # OPTIONAL — where content will be published
  - string                     # e.g., ["linkedin", "twitter", "blog", "email", "reddit"]
                               # Default: ["blog", "twitter", "linkedin"]

campaign_name: string          # OPTIONAL — campaign identifier (e.g., "q1-2026-ai-tools")
                               # Default: auto-generated from product name + date

tracking_tool: string          # OPTIONAL — "google_analytics" | "voluum" | "clickmagick"
                               # | "manual_utm". Default: "manual_utm"

content_types:                 # OPTIONAL — types of content being created
  - string                     # e.g., ["blog_review", "social_post", "email", "landing_page"]
```

**Chaining context**: If S1 was run, pull `recommended_program.affiliate_url` and `recommended_program.name`. If S2-S5 outputs exist, use them to determine platforms and content types automatically.

## Workflow

### Step 1: Gather Product and Platform Info

Collect product name, affiliate URL, and target platforms. If not provided, default to blog + twitter + linkedin (the three most common affiliate channels).

### Step 2: Generate UTM-Tagged Links

For each platform × content-type combination, create a UTM-tagged URL:
- `utm_source`: platform name (e.g., `linkedin`, `twitter`, `blog`)
- `utm_medium`: content type (e.g., `social`, `article`, `email`)
- `utm_campaign`: campaign name (e.g., `heygen-q1-2026`)
- `utm_content`: specific content identifier (e.g., `review-post`, `cta-button`, `bio-link`)

Append UTM parameters to the affiliate URL. Handle URLs that already have query parameters (use `&` not `?`).

### Step 3: Create Link Naming Convention

Establish a consistent naming scheme:
```
{product}-{platform}-{content_type}-{variant}
```
Example: `heygen-linkedin-review-v1`

### Step 4: Build Tracking Setup Guide

Based on `tracking_tool`:
- **Google Analytics**: Event tracking setup, goal configuration, UTM report location
- **Voluum / ClickMagick**: Postback URL setup, conversion pixel placement
- **Manual UTM**: Google Sheets tracking template with columns for link, platform, clicks, conversions

### Step 5: Output Tracking Sheet

Present all links in a structured table with:
- Link name
- Platform
- Content type
- Full tagged URL
- Notes

### Step 6: Self-Validation

Before presenting output, verify:

- [ ] UTM parameters correctly appended to all affiliate URLs
- [ ] No URL encoding errors in generated links
- [ ] Naming convention is consistent across all links
- [ ] All links are under URL length limits
- [ ] Setup guide steps match the recommended tracking tool

If any check fails, fix the output before delivering. Do not flag the checklist to the user — just ensure the output passes.

## Output Schema

```yaml
output_schema_version: "1.0.0"  # Semver — bump major on breaking changes
tracking:
  product: string
  campaign: string
  total_links: number

links:
  - name: string               # e.g., "heygen-linkedin-review-v1"
    platform: string
    content_type: string
    url: string                # full UTM-tagged URL
    utm_source: string
    utm_medium: string
    utm_campaign: string
    utm_content: string

naming_convention:
  pattern: string              # e.g., "{product}-{platform}-{type}-{variant}"
  examples: string[]

setup_guide:
  tool: string
  steps: string[]
```

## Output Format

1. **Tracking Links Table** — Markdown table with all tagged links
2. **Naming Convention** — pattern + examples for consistency
3. **Setup Guide** — step-by-step instructions for the chosen tracking tool
4. **Next Steps** — what to do with these links (plug into S2-S5 content)

## Error Handling

- **No affiliate URL provided**: "I'll create the UTM structure and naming convention now. Replace `[YOUR_AFFILIATE_LINK]` with your actual affiliate URL when you have it."
- **URL already has UTM parameters**: "Your affiliate URL already has UTM parameters. I'll append additional tracking parameters without overwriting the existing ones."
- **Too many platform × content combinations (>20)**: "That's a lot of links. I'll generate the most important ones (one per platform) and provide the naming convention so you can create the rest."

## Examples

### Example 1: Simple blog + social setup

**User**: "Set up tracking for my HeyGen affiliate link (heygen.com/ref/abc123) on my blog and Twitter"
**Action**: Generate 4 links: blog-review, blog-comparison, twitter-post, twitter-thread. Each with proper UTM tags. Include Google Sheets tracking template.

### Example 2: Multi-platform campaign

**User**: "I'm launching a campaign for Semrush across LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, my blog, and email newsletter. Create all my tracking links."
**Action**: Generate 10+ links across all platforms and content types. Establish naming convention. Suggest Google Analytics goal setup for conversion tracking.

### Example 3: Chained from S1

**Context**: S1 found HeyGen with affiliate URL heygen.com/ref/abc123.
**User**: "Set up tracking for this before I start creating content."
**Action**: Pull product info from S1 output. Generate links for the user's likely content types (infer from S1 context). Prepare tracking sheet that S6.3 (performance-report) can use later.

## References

- `references/tracking-templates.md` — Google Sheets template, UTM parameter reference, platform-specific tracking notes, S6 feedback loop
- `shared/references/affiliate-glossary.md` — Definitions for tracking terms (EPC, CTR, conversion). Referenced in setup guide.
- `shared/references/flywheel-connections.md` — master flywheel connection map

## Flywheel Connections

### Feeds Into
- `affiliate-program-search` (S1) — top converting niches → search for more programs in winning niches
- `performance-report` (S6) — conversion data for reports
- `ab-test-generator` (S6) — conversion baselines for test evaluation

### Fed By
- `bio-link-deployer` (S5) — deployed link URLs to track
- `email-drip-sequence` (S5) — email links to track
- `landing-page-creator` (S4) — landing page conversions to track
- `github-pages-deployer` (S5) — deployed site to track

### Feedback Loop
- Conversion data feeds back to S1 Research (which programs convert best) and S4 Landing (which page elements convert) — closing the flywheel loop

```yaml
chain_metadata:
  skill_slug: "conversion-tracker"
  stage: "analytics"
  timestamp: string
  suggested_next:
    - "performance-report"
    - "ab-test-generator"
    - "affiliate-program-search"
```