eBay PartnerNetwork Blog
The importance of using the correct tool id
November 12th, 2009
The tool id is the part of your eBay Partner Network tracking link that identifies which tool you are using to drive traffic, whether that be a creative, Custom Banner, Link Generator, RSS or API call. Although the tool id is included in links or code created within the eBay Partner Network interface, recently we’ve noticed that many of you aren’t using the correct tool id and whilst having the wrong id won’t break your links, it is still important to provide the right one for two reasons:
1. The Tool/Creative report can be very useful, especially if you have many different banners or widgets on your site, as it will enable you to identify the tools that are performing best. You can find the report in the of the Reports tab in the eBay Partner Network interface.
2. The eBay Partner Network team use tool level data to help optimize existing tools and make better decisions about future tool and widget development.
To check if you are using the right tool id, take a look at your tracking link. In the example below the tool id is highlighted in red.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/707-53477-19255-0/1?campid=12345678&customid=87654321&toolid=10001&mpre=encrypted destination URL
The tool id should correspond to that of the relevant tool, banner or widget. Therefore in the example above, the tool used is the Link Generator. If you find that you are using the incorrect id, you should amend your tracking and insert the correct one from the table below this article.
If you are using the wrong tool id, we’d like to get feedback on when and why that has happened, so we’d be grateful if you let us know by commenting on this post. This information will help us identify any issues and improve the product to make it easier for you to include the correct id. We also know that many of you have custom-built solutions that combine multiple tools (for example, using multiple API calls to combine different data into one view for your users.) Please let us know if you think it would be helpful to have a separate Tool ID for a generic “Custom Tool” that you can use in these types of eBay integrations.
Thanks in advance for making the necessary changes to your links and your suggestions,
The eBay Partner Network team.
|
Category |
Tool |
Tool ID |
|
Link |
Link Generator |
10001 |
|
API |
PlaceOffer |
10006 |
|
API |
GetSearchResults |
10007 |
|
API |
GetProducts |
10008 |
|
API |
GetSearchResultsExpress |
10009 |
|
API |
GetCart |
10010 |
|
API |
SetCart |
10011 |
|
API |
FindItems |
10012 |
|
API |
FindItemsAdvanced |
10013 |
|
API |
FindPopularItems |
10014 |
|
API |
FindPopularSearches |
10015 |
|
API |
FindProducts |
10016 |
|
API |
FindReviewsAndGuides |
10017 |
|
API |
GetSingleItem |
10018 |
|
API |
GetMultipleIItem |
10019 |
|
API |
GetUserProfile |
10020 |
|
API |
GetMyWorld |
10023 |
|
API |
FindHalfProducts |
10025 |
|
Widget |
eBay ToGo |
10003 |
|
Widget |
Editor Kit |
10004 |
|
Widget |
RSS Generator |
10005 |
|
Widget |
Custom Banner – beta |
10026 |
|
Widget |
Relevance Ad |
10028 |
|
Widget |
Data Feeds |
10029 |
|
Widget |
Motors Widget |
10030 |
NB – each banner has a different id, please visit the Creative Generator to find the correct one.
November 12th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
I have used the Impression Pixel generator for my BANS site and have added the code to the footer. I have selected RSS because BANS shows RSS feeds. The pages in this site also use and Editor Kit and some custom banners. Therefore, three different tools on one page.
Will the image pixel mess up the stats and reports? Should I keep it, remove it?
November 12th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
I’d like to have a generic custom ID for the API.
I use 6-7 API calls and currently use 10001 in all of my rover links because that’s what I picked up from the creatives page.
We build our own rover links instead of using the rover links in the API response to reduce errors. There have been many document instances of missing rover info in the API response.
Also, one generic custom tool ID is better than many IDs because it reduces the chance of error. We already have enough complexity with geo targeting, setting the right campaign ID and setting the custom ID.
Thanks,
Michelle
November 12th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Yes, I’m in the same boat as the situation in the ~last paragraph, where I dynamically create links using scripts and the API (on the ePN forums we usually call this practice “rolling your own” links
, and usually I’ve chosen ToolID=10001 for said links since it seemed the “closest” ID for my situation. I agree that having a separate Custom Tool ID, as you suggest, would fit that use case well.
-h
November 13th, 2009 at 1:45 am
I third the above suggestion. Otherwise, I need the ID for GetItem from the Trading API.
Ty
November 13th, 2009 at 4:04 am
I agree with Michelle. We also use the 10001 for the tool ID because of past known issues where the API was not returning the proper rover link (typically missing all together).
November 13th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Hi all,
Thanks for all the comments so far – they’re really going to help us, Keep them coming!
Julia
November 13th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Agree with all of the above, currently using 10001 for the tool Id, due to previous issues with API
November 13th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
I’m ok with using different Tool ID for different calls and will code it in over the next week,
Just need an ID for GetItem on the trading services side.
Tuan
November 14th, 2009 at 4:41 am
We’re in the same boat and using 10001 as the tool ID for all our dynamically generated rover links. There is enough other IDs to keep track of (e.g. Campaign IDs, Category IDs, etc.).