Problems with Overture tracking links

to slash or not to slash?

[buckworks]

I recently was asked to manage an Overture PPC account which someone else set up. My task is to tweak to improve the ROI.

I was going to add some new terms today, and discovered a glitch that I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on.

If I set up the keyword tracking links like this:

[friends-site.com?src=overture&kw=somesearchterm...]

the links return a "Server cannot be located" error in IE 5.1 (Mac) but seem to behave in other browsers.

If they're set up like this:

[friends-site.com...]

the links behave fine in every browser I have access to check them in.

(The difference is the slash after the .com bit.)

I'm thinking about changing all the existing URLs in the account to include the slash, but this is the opposite of what Overure says about it in the Help section. I wouldn't want to create a different problem in the process of trying to solve this one.

Any advice?

[gbaker123]

The likely problem is you have that last slash. If you do something like [invalid.com...]
that should work.

[buckworks]

No, the slash at the end doesn't make a difference, it's the slash after the .com. If it's in there, the URL resolves properly, otherwise there's an error.

What I need to know is if putting the slash after the .com to fix the problem in IE 5.1 Mac will cause errors in other browsers.

[tedster]

I had trouble like this when a URL went through our server's Tomcat module. I resolved it by using the exact index file name:

http//www.example.com/index.html?src=overture&kw=test

[wallywally]

Hi,

Is the tracking link you use for Overture US also the same if you use Overture UK or DE?

[webdiversity]

As tedster says you need to have the full file name and then put the slash.

So [friends-site.com...] will work fine but without the page name and suffix it thinks the stuff after is part of the URL and a dynamic page.

In your second example "http://www.friends-site.com/?src=overture&kw=somesearchterm/ " the links will work fine, but the tracking won't.