Free tool: ZfeedTC - Zazzle Tracking Codes for YOUR Zazzle RSS Feeds

...another free tool from the Zaps stable. Introducing ZfeedTC
DEPRECATED

Can't wait for the explanation? With Firefox you can see it in action right now by clicking the following (opens in new window):

https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycby4oxZ16p7Bq7EfqUbagDqY5UauMUN8rJJTFFnb4rxPWI0XnVYx/exec?http://feed.zazzle.com/hightonridley/rss?qs=beach&at=238582202591969585&tc=mytrackingcode

NB Many other browsers will show you the feed's unreadable-to-most xml specification, Firefox will show you the images and active links.

So what's ZfeedTC all about?

The biggest, right royal pain with Zazzle's RSS Feed mechanism is the lack of tracking code support and this free tool puts it right (as you might have seen at the link above).

Huh? Tracking Code support?

When you're promoting your products, as well as including your referral id, Zazzle allows for you to include a tracking code ...but they don't do the same with feeds - links will contain your referral id but there's no way of getting your chosen tracking code into the links - until now!

Tracking codes briefly explained

A normal referral link looks like this
<a href="http://zazzle.com/yourstore/your_product?rf=999999999999999999">link text</a>

A referral link with tracking code looks like this:
<a href="http://zazzle.com/yourstore/your_product?rf=999999999999999999&tc=yourtrackingcode">link text</a>

For example, when I made the sale shown below, you can see in my Referral History report that the tracking code on the link used was hrcoweblg. (And this tells me it came from my coordinated weddings blog because that's the only place I use that tracking code).

Referral History Report showing a Tracking Code

Using the ZfeedTC tool

The tool takes any ordinary Zazzle RSS feed and outputs it again with the addition of your tracking code on all the same links where Zazzle puts your referral id (aka 'associate id').

So using my Zazzle store as an example (hightonridley), here's how I'd put together an ordinary Zazzle RSS feed request:

http://feed.zazzle.com/hightonridley/rss?qs=beach&at=238582202591969585

Go ahead, try it (opens in a new window). If you use Firefox, you'll see the products but most other browsers will just show you the undecipherable feed output as an 'xml specification'.

If you're using Firefox, hover over any of the links you see and in the bottom left of your browser window you'll see that my referral id (238582202591969585) is present in all the links.

Wouldn't it be nice if...

It would be nice if you could simply append &tc=atrackingcodeyouchoose to that feed request - but unfortunately it doesn't work - unless you use my tool.

This is what we want to work, straight from Zazzle:
http://feed.zazzle.com/hightonridley/rss?qs=beach&at=238582202591969585&tc=mytrackingcode

but it doesn't :(

Well here's how

But, if you copy http://feed.zazzle.com/hightonridley/rss?qs=beach&at=238582202591969585&tc=mytrackingcode and paste it on the end of this special url:

https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycby4oxZ16p7Bq7EfqUbagDqY5UauMUN8rJJTFFnb4rxPWI0XnVYx/exec?

so you get:

https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycby4oxZ16p7Bq7EfqUbagDqY5UauMUN8rJJTFFnb4rxPWI0XnVYx/exec?http://feed.zazzle.com/hightonridley/rss?qs=beach&at=238582202591969585&tc=mytrackingcode

If you click that link, you'll see that wherever your referral id was before, you now also have that tracking code. Yaay!

You can use that special URL together with any Zazzle RSS feed specification, anywhere you can use the Zazzle feed specification on its own. Yes, even IFTTT, dlvr.it and so on.

Summary

Take any normal Zazzle RSS feed spec, put &tc=yourchosentrackingcode on the end and paste the whole onto the end of this:

https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycby4oxZ16p7Bq7EfqUbagDqY5UauMUN8rJJTFFnb4rxPWI0XnVYx/exec?



Now please help get the word out by sharing this post with your Zazzle / POD friends on Facebook, Google Plus and so on.

Thank you :)

PS If you have any questions or feedback, please drop off a comment!