File flow-->Where is checkout.thank you in this process?

[tspek]

I did not build my clients site but I am trying to implement various things... eCommerce tracking and adsense conversion tracking specifically.

I've made a test order and what I find is that when I confirm the order i'm sent to paypal.com to make the payment.  Once the payment is made, I'm sent to a confirmation page on paypal.  Never do I see a thank you page from virtuemart.  Does this mean that my client isn't utilizing the thank you page?

[tspek]

And what is the "Payment Extra Info:".  Is this code executed on paypal.com?  Could I place tracking code in this script?

[mwf]

tspek,

Check the return url setting in PayPal this controls re-direct on payment completion. The "Payment Extra Info" code is for submitting the payment request and you should not modify this code for tracking purposes.

I'm not sure what you are trying implement, but you may be better off taking data from orders and or IPN messages.

Micah

[tspek]

I'm trying to implement google ecommerce tracking, which as of right now is only getting activated just prior to the user getting sent to paypal (so it's not entirely accurate because they may still chose not to pay).

I'm also trying to implement adwords conversion tracking.

In both cases, I need Google analytics to be able to track where the users are coming from when that user is someone who has actually purchased the product(s).

It's paramount for me that the tracking occurs in Google and based on my research it doesn't look like a lot of people are really trying to do this. There is a lot of documentation about people tracking adword conversions and the consensus is that the tracking codes goes in checkout.thankyou but as I've indicated, the problem is that the user is not redirected to the thank you page but instead simply goes there if they chose to click a small link on the paypal payment confirmation page.

I don't currently have access to my clients paypal account (though I could), are you saying that the option to redirect the user is in paypal itself? If so, it seems much of the data I'm after would be lost.

Currently paypal is the only option for my client to accept payment.

[mwf]

There is an option in PayPal to set the return url in PayPal, you need to check that it is not over riding the default return page.

I'm assuming that the client is using Paypal Standard and not Direct Payments (PayPal Pro). So, the payment flow starts when shopper clicks confirm. If that is the case then the problem you will find is payment can be aborted after clicking confirm, in which case the order is entered in VM with Pending status, but the payment is not processed. In that situation if you rely on the Thank you page your conversion number can be incorrect - payment may never be received.

This is why I'm suggesting that you look at the order data and possibly IPN message (PayPal Specific). The order table jos_vm_orders contain the shoppers IP address, which you might use for tracking (although I suspect you will also want referring URL). IPN messages trigger the order status update from pending to confirmed (PayPal Standard) so you may want to look at triggering the analytics update there as well.

[tspek]

There is an option in PayPal to set the return url in PayPal, you need to check that it is not over riding the default return page.

I'm assuming that the client is using Paypal Standard and not Direct Payments (PayPal Pro). So, the payment flow starts when shopper clicks confirm. If that is the case then the problem you will find is payment can be aborted after clicking confirm, in which case the order is entered in VM with Pending status, but the payment is not processed. In that situation if you rely on the Thank you page your conversion number can be incorrect - payment may never be received.

This is why I'm suggesting that you look at the order data and possibly IPN message (PayPal Specific). The order table jos_vm_orders contain the shoppers IP address, which you might use for tracking (although I suspect you will also want referring URL). IPN messages trigger the order status update from pending to confirmed (PayPal Standard) so you may want to look at triggering the analytics update there as well.

First of all, thanks a ton for the input. 

I want to get a few things clear to me as this is the first time I've ever had to work with virtuemart, and realistically paypal as well, at least in this context.

I'm fairly certain that he is indeed using paypal standard and so as you said when the user selects "confirm order", the order is placed in virtuemart as pending.  In the meantime, the user is redirected to paypal to login and send a payment to my client.

Obviously a user may decide they don't want to pay and in virtuemart that order remains pending.

If the user does decide to pay, the payment is placed and they are sent to a payment confirmation page on paypal.com.  The user then see's a link that says "Return to merchant", only after clicking that link does the user get redirected back to my clients site, specifically to the thank you page.

Right now, all of the tracking happens if checkout reaches step #4 (which is the page that the confirm order button is located), thus the tracking code is located in checkout.index rather than checkout.thankyou as seems to be the standard.  This is an optimistic setup in that some users may not pay, but what it allows is tracking of the users history.

I'm SEO, so i'm not concerned so much about IP addresses of converting customers as much as I am referring URL's (as you said) and clicks from an Adword campaign we are going to run.


I'm beginning to get the sense that the mere action of being redirected to paypal is going to mess with any attempt at tracking the things I'm interested in.  Am I off base here?

[mwf]

No. Think of PayPal as simply a payment processor and VirtueMart as the place to obtain tracking data. If you need to store the tracking data temporarily (referring data ) with an order_id reference in a vm table and then update Google when the order is confirmed. Just a thought.

[tspek]

No. Think of PayPal as simply a payment processor and VirtueMart as the place to obtain tracking data. If you need to store the tracking data temporarily (referring data ) with an order_id reference in a vm table and then update Google when the order is confirmed. Just a thought.

I'm not entirely sure that's possible though, as Google pulls all the info they get through their own javascript, the only real control I have is when that code is executed (though I could store some of the required variables for the ecommerce tracking, but that is the only way utilizing the DB would be useful) and ultimately the bigger issue at hand is that even a converting customer may never return to my clients website.

Clearly the next thing to do is to see what I can do on paypal about redirecting to the thank you page, if I'm understanding you correctly when you say:

tspek,
Check the return url setting in PayPal this controls re-direct on payment completion. The "Payment Extra Info" code is for submitting the payment request and you should not modify this code for tracking purposes.

Micah