Help & Documentation

Learn how to use the Marketing Pixel Tracker effectively

Quick Start Guide

Enter Domain

Input the website URL you want to scan for marketing pixels (e.g., example.com)

Configure Settings

Set crawl depth, page limits, and filter by specific publishers if needed

Analyze Results

Review pixels, comprehensive privacy compliance analysis, consent mechanism detection, and export professional reports

Scan Configuration Options

Domain Settings

Domain: The website to scan (required)
Include Subdomains: Scan subdomains like blog.example.com
Max Pages: Limit the number of pages to scan (1-100)
Crawl Depth: How deep to follow internal links (0-5)

Filtering Options

Included Paths: Only scan URLs matching these patterns
Excluded Paths: Skip URLs matching these patterns
Publishers: Filter results to specific tracking platforms

Understanding Your Results

Pixel Types

Script: JavaScript-based tracking code
Image: 1x1 pixel image requests
Ajax: Asynchronous HTTP requests
Beacon: Lightweight tracking beacons

Publisher Categories (13 Total)

Analytics Platforms

Adobe Analytics: Enterprise web analytics
Amplitude: Product analytics and user tracking
Google Analytics: Website traffic analysis
Hotjar: Heatmaps and session recordings
Mixpanel: Event tracking and funnel analysis
Segment: Customer data platform

Advertising & Social Media

Google Tag Manager: Tag management system
LinkedIn Insight: Professional network tracking
Meta Pixel: Facebook/Instagram advertising
Pinterest Tag: Pinterest Ads conversion tracking
Snapchat Pixel: Snapchat Ads optimization
TikTok Pixel: TikTok for Business tracking
Twitter Pixel: Twitter Ads conversion tracking

Status Indicators

Active: Pixel is successfully loading

Warning: Pixel loaded with issues

Error: Pixel failed to load

Data Fields

Parameters: Configuration data sent with the pixel
Payload: Request data for network-based pixels
Page URL: Where the pixel was discovered
Status Code: HTTP response status

Event Listener System

Interactive Pixel Detection

The Event Listener system simulates user interactions to capture conversion pixels and tracking codes that only fire during specific user actions like clicks, form submissions, or hovers.

Supported Interactions

Click: Button clicks, link navigation, call-to-action triggers
Submit: Form submissions, newsletter signups, contact forms
Input: Text field interactions, search boxes, user input
Hover: Mouse-over events, tooltip triggers, menu interactions

Configuration Options

CSS Selectors: Target elements by class, ID, or attribute
XPath: Advanced element targeting with XPath expressions
Text Content: Find elements by their visible text
Wait Times: Customize delays after interactions

Use Cases

• Detect conversion pixels that fire only after purchase completion
• Capture remarketing pixels triggered by add-to-cart actions
• Find form abandonment tracking on newsletter signups
• Identify engagement pixels on video play or content interactions

Cookie Tracking & Privacy Analysis

Enhanced Privacy Compliance Analysis

Comprehensive GDPR/CCPA compliance analysis with automatic consent management platform detection, privacy policy discovery, and professional compliance reporting with legal disclaimers.

Cookie Analysis Features

Stage Tracking: Monitors cookies at page start, load, pixel detection, and event execution
Change Detection: Identifies when cookies are added, modified, or deleted
Category Classification: Automatically categorizes cookies (essential, analytics, advertising, etc.)
Publisher Attribution: Links cookies to specific tracking providers

Privacy Metrics

Privacy Score: 0-100 rating based on tracking practices
Third-Party Detection: Identifies cross-domain cookie setting
Lifespan Analysis: Session vs persistent cookie classification
User Identifiers: Detects potential personal data collection

Enhanced Compliance Analysis

🇪🇺 GDPR Assessment: Articles 5-49 analysis including data retention, cross-border transfers
🇺🇸 CCPA Compliance: Personal information sales detection and opt-out requirements
Consent Platform Detection: 15+ platforms (OneTrust, Cookiebot, Quantcast, etc.)
Privacy Policy Detection: Site-wide multilingual privacy policy discovery
Professional Reporting: Legal disclaimers and compliance notices instead of "issues"

Context-Aware Filtering

Page Load Cookies: Set during initial page rendering
Event-Triggered Cookies: Set during user interactions
Pixel-Attributed Cookies: Linked to specific tracking pixels
Timeline Analysis: Cookie changes over time during scan

Enhanced Results Interface

Collapsible Summary Sections

Pixel Summary: Total pixels, publisher breakdown, implementation types
Cookie Summary: Cookie counts, privacy score, compliance status
Privacy Compliance Analysis: Professional GDPR/CCPA compliance with legal disclaimers
Expandable Details: Click headers to show/hide detailed information

Tabbed Data Views

All Pixels: Complete overview of detected tracking pixels
Page Load: Pixels detected during initial page scanning
Event Triggered: Pixels fired during user interaction simulation
Cookies: Detailed cookie analysis with privacy context filtering

Interactive Page Navigation

Page Sidebar Features

• Search pages by URL or content
• Filter by pages with/without pixels
• Quick statistics per page
• Mobile-responsive overlay

Context-Aware Filtering

• View all pages or focus on single page
• Tab counts adjust based on page selection
• Cookie analysis shows page-specific data
• Event listeners show relevant interactions

Privacy Compliance Analysis

Professional Compliance Reporting

Comprehensive privacy compliance analysis with legal disclaimers, neutral indicators, and professional presentation suitable for compliance teams and legal review.

🇪🇺GDPR Compliance (EU)

Data Retention Analysis: Flags cookies exceeding 1-year retention
Cross-Border Transfers: Detects international data flows requiring safeguards
Consent Quality Assessment: Evaluates granular consent and withdrawal mechanisms
Legal Basis Guidance: Documentation requirements for different cookie categories

🇺🇸CCPA Compliance (US)

Personal Info Sales: Identifies cross-site tracking indicating data sales
Do Not Sell Requirements: Checks for required opt-out mechanisms
California Resident Rights: Evaluates data subject rights implementation
Disclosure Requirements: Privacy policy and data usage transparency checks

Privacy Policy Detection

Site-Wide Search: Searches ALL discovered URLs, not just scanned pages
Multilingual Support: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian detection
Smart Validation: Verifies privacy pages by checking titles and content
Clickable Links: Direct access to detected privacy policies

Consent Management Detection

15+ Platforms: OneTrust, Cookiebot, Quantcast, TrustArc, Didomi, etc.
User Options Extraction: Accept/decline/customize buttons with platform attribution
Granular Controls: Category-specific toggles and preference settings
Action Icons: Visual indicators for different consent interaction types

Professional Features

• Legal disclaimer warning users to consult qualified legal counsel
• Neutral "Privacy Elements Detected" section with presence indicators (not red X's)
• "Compliance Notices" instead of judgmental "Issues" language
• Enhanced privacy scoring with consent mechanism bonuses and penalty reductions

Export Options

CSV Export

Spreadsheet format for data analysis and reporting

• Compatible with Excel, Google Sheets
• Includes all pixel data fields
• Filter active/inactive pixels

PDF Report

Professional report format for presentations

• Executive summary included
• Formatted tables and charts
• Ready for client delivery

JSON Export

Raw data format for technical integration

• Complete scan metadata
• API-friendly format
• Custom processing ready

Advanced Features

Sitemap Discovery

Automatically discovers pages through XML sitemaps for comprehensive scanning.

• Processes main sitemap and sub-sitemaps recursively
• Handles both raw XML and HTML-formatted sitemaps
• Filters out non-scannable file types automatically

Network Request Monitoring

Captures actual network traffic to detect pixels that may not appear in page source.

• Monitors HTTP requests during page load
• Captures request headers and payload data
• Detects dynamically loaded tracking pixels

Pattern Matching

Uses sophisticated pattern matching to identify tracking technologies.

• Script-based detection (gtag, ga, fbq, amplitude, mixpanel, ttq, etc.)
• Image pixel detection (1x1 tracking images)
• Network request pattern matching for 13 publishers
• Platform-specific JavaScript object detection

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

No pixels found: Try increasing crawl depth or checking if the site blocks automated scanning
Scan timeout: Reduce the number of pages or increase timeout in settings
Limited results: Check that included/excluded path filters aren't too restrictive
Export issues: Ensure you have scan results before attempting to export

Best Practices

• Start with a small page limit to test configuration
• Use path filters to focus on specific site sections
• Enable crawl depth for comprehensive site coverage
• Review the scan summary before detailed analysis
• Export data in multiple formats for different use cases

Support

Need Additional Help?

If you're experiencing issues not covered in the troubleshooting section above, or have feature requests and feedback, we're here to help!

GitHub Issues

Report bugs, request features, or contribute to the project on GitHub.

Open GitHub Issue

Email Support

Get direct support for technical issues or implementation questions.

pixeltracker@connorphillips.com

Marketing Pixel Tracker - Discover and analyze your website's tracking technologies