The Marketo Consultant: Understanding Marketing Cookies
How Do We Store Data?
Traditionally, data storage primarily takes place in databases. While databases are reliable, their operation often requires manual input, like form submissions. In the world of instantaneous information, we need methods to store user data swiftly, discreetly, and automatically. More so, data that users might not be consciously providing, such as their browser type or previous visit timestamps. While databases can achieve this, especially as used by analytics systems, they can sometimes complicate user identification over time. Hence, nimble storage options like cookies and local storage are highly advantageous. A Marketo consultant understands the nuances of these data storage mechanisms and can help businesses make informed choices tailored to their requirements.
Is Data Available to Other Sites?
The short answer is no. While multiple cookies can be set for a user, these are strictly domain-specific. When visiting different domains, such as www.adobe.com and www.google.com, users will notice each has set unique cookies. Domains can't access cookies from other domains, ensuring user data remains compartmentalized and secure.
What is a Cookie?
Simplifying, think of a cookie as a mini-database stored directly within a user's browser. It's designed to hold tiny yet potent data snippets, ensuring valuable user insights without hogging their browser's memory. This data is structured in a key-pair format, essentially having one key and one corresponding value.
Example
lastVisitDate = 01/01/23 isRegistered = false didOptIn = true userType = 1
However, it's essential to note that cookies have a lifespan. Once they expire, the stored data is lost. Hence, businesses must strategically decide the longevity of their cookies based on their marketing needs.
Cookies and Their Role in Marketo
You can see a full list of cookies used by Marketo here. To truly harness the power of marketing cookies, one must understand their implementation within platforms like Marketo.
How to Identify Cookies Set by a Domain
A quick way is to:
- Right-click on the web page (using Chrome or Safari).
- Select "Inspect".
- Navigate to the "Application" tab and, under "Storage", choose "cookies".
For a hands-on experience:
- Visit a Landing Page with the Marketo Measurement script.
- Navigate to the "Application" tab as mentioned above.
- Search for Marketo-specific cookies, like _BUID or _mkto_trk, in the browser.
The _mkto_trk cookie
As described in Marketo docs: “On a lead’s first visit to a page on your domain, a new anonymous lead record will be created in Marketo. The primary key for this record is the Munchkin cookie (_mkto_trk) which is created in the user’s browser. All subsequent web activity on that browser will be recorded against this anonymous record. In order to be associated to a known record in Marketo, one of the following things must occur:
- The lead must visit a Munchkin-tracked page with an mkt_tok parameter in the query string from a tracked Marketo email link.
- The lead must fill out a Marketo Form.
- A SOAP syncLead or REST Associate Lead call must be sent.
Once one of these conditions is fulfilled, the cookie and all associated web activity will be associated to the known lead.” The _mkto_trk cookie is pivotal in Marketo. On a user's first visit to a Marketo-tracked page, this cookie is created. Subsequent activities on the browser get logged against this cookie until the user either clicks a Marketo email link, fills out a Marketo form, or a specific API call is made. Once any of these actions occur, all prior and future activities get associated with this recognized lead in Marketo.
Pro Tip by Your Marketo Consultant
During testing, if there's a need to reset the _mkto_trk cookie, simply delete it and refill a Marketo form with the desired email address. This way, all subsequent activities get linked to a new Marketo user.