Understanding Munchkin Cookies: Tracking Leads Across Multiple Domains

Tracking leads effectively is crucial for any marketing strategy, and Marketo's Munchkin tracking code plays a significant role in this process. However, understanding how Munchkin manages cookies across different domains and subdomains can be complex. In this blog post, let’s delve into the specifics of how Munchkin creates and tracks cookies!

Munchkin Tracking on Different Domains

How Munchkin Works

Munchkin creates and tracks individual cookies on a per-domain basis. This means that for known-lead tracking to occur across different domains, a lead association event must happen for each domain involved.

Example Scenario

Consider you control two domains: example1.com and example2.com. If a lead fills out a form on example1.com and later navigates to example2.com, their activity on example1.com will be tracked on a known lead record. However, their activity on example2.com will remain anonymous unless a lead association event occurs on example2.com.

Tracking Across Subdomains

Persistence Across Subdomains

Known leads will persist across subdomains. For instance, if a lead is recognized on www.example.com, they will also be recognized on info.example.com. This persistence simplifies tracking across multiple subdomains, ensuring that lead data remains consistent.

Handling Complex Domain Structures

Two-Part Top-Level Domains

If your top-level domain (TLD) is two parts, such as .co.abc, you need to add a domainLevel parameter to your Munchkin snippet for accurate tracking. Munchkin automatically handles certain two-letter TLDs, but specific configurations might be necessary for more complex domain structures.

By default, Munchkin uses the two rightmost parts of a domain to set the cookie for TLDs with three letters. For example, in www.example.com, the cookie will be set for .example.com.

For two-letter country code TLDs like .jp, .us, .cn, and .uk, Munchkin defaults to using three parts of the domain. For instance, www.example.co.jp will have the cookie set for .example.co.in.

If your domain pattern requires different behavior, you must specify this using the domainLevel parameter. This flexibility ensures Munchkin can adapt to various domain structures, providing accurate tracking across all scenarios.

By configuring Munchkin correctly for your domain structure, you can ensure seamless lead tracking and gain better insights into your marketing efforts.

Happy tracking! 💜