What is the difference between Pixel tracking & Google Analytics tracking

Gain insight into the reasons behind possible discrepancies in the figures displayed on your Quicktext dashboard.

Pixel Tracking:

Pixel Tracking involves the insertion of small code fragments, known as pixels, into a web page. In the context of Quicktext, two key fragments are utilized:

1. Tracking script: This script executes specific functions within the web page, including data collection defined by the "confirmation event." Subsequently, the collected information is sent to the Quicktext Dashboard, where it is transformed into a lead confirmed through Velma.

2. Confirmation event: This code fragment or pixel defines variables or parameters collected by the tracking script and sent to the Quicktext Dashboard. 

Google Analytics:

Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, enabling website owners to collect, analyze, and understand user behavior on their sites. For Quicktext, Google Analytics helps track whether a user made a reservation through Velma, through configured UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters referring to Quicktext (Quicktext, Chatbot, Zalia).

What is a UTM?

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module):  is a set of parameters that is added to URLs to track the source and performance of marketing campaigns. These parameters, which include source, medium, campaign, term and content, provide detailed information to Google Analytics.

Difference between Pixel and Google Analytics in the section "Analytics".

While both Pixel Tracking and Google Analytics track leads generated by Velma, they differ in their approach and the level of detail provided.

Pixel Tracking provides specific, quantitative, and qualitative, information to the Dashboard through variables, per client for each lead generated through Velma. In contrast, Google Analytics offers general, quantitative data on the total leads Velma generates.

Retargeting:

The pixel being able to track every reservation individually boasts a considerable advantage over Google Analytics since it enables hoteliers to identify the targeted leads for sales follow-up with pinpoint accuracy. Since every confirmed reservation through Velma will automatically display the green tick, conversely, every lead that still has the button "confirm" is a potential sales follow-up target.

Attribution:

One notable difference lies in how each tool handles lead tracking. Pixel Tracking can capture lead data of reservations made in multiple steps, such as when a user makes a reservation request —which activates the pixel— and then closes the page but later returns to it to finish and confirm the reservation: this results in an event confirmed by the pixel. In opposition, Google Analytics, configured with UTMs linked to the URL, will lose track if a user revisits the booking process as mentioned above.

This difference in tracking methods results in variations between the information provided by Pixel Tracking and Google Analytics in the analytics section of the Quicktext Dashboard.

To sum up:

• Reservation confirmed in 2 steps: Will be tracked by pixel and attributed to Quicktext (Provided that the reservation request and the confirmation are less than 40 days apart which is usually the life shelf of the pixel cookies).
• Although Google Analytics will be able to track the same reservation, it will not attribute revisits to Quicktext since GA doesn't establish the link between the session where the request was made and the session where it was confirmed.