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Integration: Parse.ly tracking code

To start the Parse.ly integration, install the tracking code on your site. The Parse.ly tracker is a line of JavaScript that monitors user actions and relays them to the Parse.ly analytics servers. We offer several ways to install the code:

Following tracker installation, your site may require special configuration. Such configurations include:

Installing the tracking code is the first of two required steps for all Parse.ly integrations; Step 2 is setting up metadata.

Parse.ly dashboard displaying pageviews generated by integrating the tracking code.

We offer many ways of installing our tracking code. All of them require knowing your Parse.ly Site ID. Our Support team will provide you Site IDs following contract signing. One of the Site IDs that we will provide is for a “Sandbox” Dashboard. The Sandbox is the place that we recommend for you to send your pre-production traffic.

Regardless of the method you choose, you may need to perform extra steps if you have dynamically-loaded content or have a Single-Page Application (SPA).

Let’s begin with our top 2 recommendations for installing the tracking code.

The WordPress Parse.ly Plugin

Following WPVIP’s acquisition of Parse.ly, we have enjoyed a having a dedicated plugin development team. They focus on making integrations easier and bringing the power of Parse.ly analytics into your WordPress CMS.

This plugin installs tracking code throughout your site and automatically collects metadata (the next step of the integration process). It requires a single value to run, the Parse.ly Site ID, and you can watch us install and operate it in less than a minute. The plugin is a requirement to unlock the benefits of our new feature — Parse.ly Content Helper.

To get started, review our plugin documentation.

Google Tag Manager (GTM)

Many customers already have GTM running on their sites and we’re happy to meet you where you are. By using our own Parse.ly Tag Template and setting it up consistently with your other analytics, you can maximize parity between analytics platforms. What’s more, you can even use GTM with the aforementioned WordPress Parse.ly Plugin (details).

If you’ve purchased Segments and Conversions, our tag template provides a convenient interface to tie everything together.

To get started, review our Tag Template documentation.

Alternative Methods

JavaScript snippet

This is the classic way to get started. To install, add this script to all pages you would like to track (replacing ###### with your Parse.ly Site ID). The Parse.ly tracker should be placed within the <body> of the page (not in the <head> tag). The ideal place to put the Parse.ly tracker is as the last element before the closing </body> tag. If your website uses a template system, this is usually in the “footer” template.

<script id="parsely-cfg" src="//cdn.parsely.com/keys/######/p.js" async="" defer=""></script>

Other Tag Managers and Partners

In addition to GTM, you may also choose one of the following:

More Alternatives

If nothing on this post applies to your specific situation, please review our alternative setup methods.

Special Cases: Dynamic Tracking & SPAs

For any dynamically loaded content (such as infinite scroll or image carousels), you may need to configure dynamic tracking to manually send pageview events, rather than relying on the automatic pageviews of the standard tracker. You can configure dynamic tracking to track files like .pdf, .doc, .xls, etc.

We’ve specialized our dynamic tracking methods to create a specialized tracker for Single-Page Applications (SPA). If this applies to you, please review our SPA documentation and contact Support so that we may enable this tracker for your site.

Testing

Once you’ve installed tracking code throughout every url on your site, it’s time to verify a proper installation. Follow our testing instructions to confirm that you are sending pageviews to us. Following a successful test, log in to your dashboard to confirm that you are receiving those pageviews.

Troubleshooting

If you have any difficulties or questions, please start with our Troubleshooting & FAQs.

Next steps

With tracking code deployed and tested, it’s now time to send us your metadata. If you’re using the WordPress Parse.ly Plugin, then you’re already done! Following metadata configuration, you may continue to configure other tools and integrate additional features that you’ve purchased.

Privacy

With all this talk about tracking, let’s take a moment to review Privacy, Cookies, and how we help you comply with GDPR and CCPA.

Last updated: November 07, 2023