- November, 2024
-
Vaibhav Mathur
Troubleshooting Guide for Adobe Target Server Side Personalisation and Delivery
In the realm of digital personalisation, businesses are increasingly relying on server-side implementations of Adobe Target to deliver tailored content and experiences. Unlike client-side implementations that operate through a user’s browser, server-side implementations allow businesses to handle personalisation on the server, enabling more control, flexibility, and scalability. This is particularly beneficial for scenarios that require customisation across multiple platforms, such as web, mobile apps, or IoT devices.
Server-side implementations also help ensure higher performance and security, as the logic for content delivery is handled before the response reaches the user. It removes dependencies on front-end elements, reducing potential latencies and making it more robust for environments where users interact with multiple channels.
However, just like any system, server-side implementations are not without challenges. Teams responsible for managing Adobe Target must understand the intricacies of troubleshooting, whether they’re dealing with API failures, incorrect experience delivery, or audience misconfiguration. The ability to swiftly identify and resolve issues ensures that personalisation remains effective, seamless, and aligned with business goals.
This document provides a detailed guide to troubleshooting Adobe Target server-side implementations, covering key scenarios and offering step-by-step instructions to resolve potential issues. Whether you are responsible for backend systems or integrations, this guide will empower you to optimise personalisation efforts and deliver a consistent user experience.
Note: This guide is intended for troubleshooting server-side delivering activities in Adobe Target. For Client Side implementations, refer to : Troubleshooting Guide for Adobe Target Client Side Personalisation and Delivery
There are multiple potential issues that may arise while troubleshooting Adobe Target. Some of the common scenarios are outlined in the table below. We will explore these in detail throughout the document.
| Scenarios | Possible Causes | |
|---|---|---|
|
Scenario-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
No Activity Delivered There is no activity being delivered at all. |
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|
Scenario-2 |
Expected Activity Not Delivered Other activities are getting delivered but not the expected one. |
|
|
Scenario-3 Â |
Expected Experience Not Delivered Expected Activity Delivered but Wrong Experience Rendered |
|
|
Scenario-4 |
Expected Activity and Experience delivered but final experience does not look as expected |
|
Scenario-1 : No Activity Delivered
In this scenario, the user may experience a complete lack of activity delivery from Adobe Target, meaning no personalised content is rendered. This issue can be caused by problems with the API request or improper integration. There are various reasons for this issue, which are discussed below.
Cause-1 : Invalid Client Code in the API Call
Troubleshooting Steps:
Double-check the client code in the API request.
Ensure the client code matches your Adobe Target account.
Test the API with the correct client code in Postman to verify the response.
- Sample API request URL : https://[YourClientCode].tt.omtrdc.net/rest/v1/delivery?client=[YourClientCode]&sessionId=[YourSessionID]
Key actions: Always validate the client code during initial configuration and ensure consistency between environments (staging/production).
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Note: You can find your client code within the Account details section in the Implementation tab under Administration in Adobe Target as given below in the screenshot.
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Cause-2 : Unauthorised Hosts
Troubleshooting Steps:
Check if your host domain is added to the authorised host list in Adobe Target.
Navigate to the Setup section in Adobe Target and verify host configurations.
Key actions: Ensure that all domains, subdomains, or environments (e.g., staging, production) are authorised in Adobe Target before the implementation. If the host is not listed, add the necessary host to the list of authorised hosts in Adobe Target to allow content delivery.
Cause-3 : API Request Syntax Issues
Troubleshooting Steps:
Verify the API request body and ensure all required parameters (e.g., mbox name, MCID) are properly formatted.
For Example :
{
“context”: {
 “channel”: “web”,
 “browser” : {
   “host” : “demo”
},
“address” : {
   “url” : “[PAGE URL]”
},
“screen” : {
 “width” : 1200,
 “height”: 1400
  }
},
“property” : {
  “token”: “[YOUR PROPERTY TOKEN]”
},
“id”: {
  “marketingCloudVisitorId”: “[MCID]”
},
“execute”: {
 “mboxes” : [
 {
  “name” : “[MBOX NAME]”,
  “index” : 1,
  “parameters”: {
     “[PARAMETER NAME]”: “[PARAMETER VALUE]”
     }
  }
 ]
 }
}
Key actions: Use Adobe Target’s documentation to ensure that your API request follows the correct structure and includes all required fields. You can also test your request in a Postman-like environment to validate its correctness.
For reference : https://developer.adobe.com/target/implement/delivery-api/
Tip : Make sure you get the API response as 200 Success. In case of error, you can review the error responses as given below.
Cause 4: Server-Side Integration Issues
Troubleshooting Steps:
Check the integration between your website code and Adobe Target’s API.
Ensure that all the responses are correctly configured and are reflecting the changes in UI.
Ensure that the client-side code is capable of correctly interpreting and rendering the content delivered by the server.
Review any JavaScript that interacts with the server response and ensure there are no errors or conflicts in how the content is displayed.
Key actions: Keep server-side configurations documented and add console logs to easily track all the configuration steps and responses in console.
For Example :
- Response passed as a Console log in code
- Console logs for API response
- Response passed as a Console log in code
Info : You can also use all the common delivery API codes given in our Adobe Target Commands Cheatsheet while configuring and testing API responses.
For reference : https://dexata.co/adobe-target-commands-cheatsheet/
Scenario-2 : Expected Activity Not Delivered
Adobe Target delivers activities, but the expected one is not delivered. In this situation, an expected activity is not being delivered, even though the page or API response appears to be functioning normally. This can occur due to incorrect audience targeting or incorrect mbox or activity prioritisation conflicts in the server-side logic. The possible causes of this issue are examined in the following section.
Cause 1: Incorrect mbox Being Passed in API Request
Troubleshooting Steps:
Ensure that the correct mbox name is being passed in the API request.
Key actions: Validate mbox naming conventions and ensure they match the ones used in Adobe Target activities.
For example :
- mbox name used in Activity Setup
- mbox name used in API Request Body
- mbox name used in Activity Setup
Info : You can only pass regional mboxes under the mbox name in the api request body.
If you pass target-global-mbox in the mbox name, you will get an error.
If you intend to use target-global-mbox , call the api request body without mentioning any mbox name under the execute section as given below :
"execute": {
"pageLoad" : {
"parameters": {
"param1": [Parameter1],
"param2": [Parameter2]
}
}
}
Cause 2: Audience Targeting Issues
Troubleshooting Steps:
Verify the audience rules defined for the expected activity.
Check if the current session meets all audience criteria (device type, profile parameters, etc.).
Key actions: Always review audience targeting rules before activating any activity and test them in different environments.
Cause 3: Expired or Inactive Activity
Troubleshooting Steps:
Check the status of the activity in Adobe Target.
Ensure the activity is active and has not reached its end date or become expired.
Key actions: Regularly review activity schedules and set up internal reminders for activity expiry to avoid such issues.
Cause 4: Race condition between multiple activities
Consideration: In server-side environments, race conditions can occur when multiple activities are evaluated or delivered simultaneously, leading to unpredictable results.
Fix: Implement activity sequencing logic to ensure that the server delivers activities in a well-defined order. Avoid conflicts by prioritising activities based on business objectives or using mutually exclusive audience segments.
For reference : How Do I Specify Activity Settings? | Adobe Target
Scenario 3: Expected Experience Not Delivered
The expected activity is delivered, but the wrong experience is rendered. Here, the activity is being delivered, but the specific experience that was intended for the user is missing. This could be due to mismatches in experience prioritisation or errors in the API response that prevent the correct experience from being rendered. Outlined below are the potential reasons for this problem.
Cause 1: Experience Priority Issues
Troubleshooting Steps:
Check the priority levels of experiences within the activity.
Inspect the API response payload to ensure it contains the correct experience.
Verify the presence of relevant experience IDs, content, and any modifications made by the experience rules.
Verify if a higher-priority experience is overriding the expected experience.
If the experience isn’t correct, recheck the targeting and experience setup in Adobe Target.
Key actions: Always review experience priorities when setting up multiple experiences in a single activity.
Note : You can refer to this document to understand how Adobe Target prioritises experiences when a user falls under multiple experience categories within the same XT activity. Delivering Relevant Experiences for Overlapping Customer Segments in Adobe Target
Cause 2: Improper Traffic Splitting
Troubleshooting Steps:
Ensure that traffic distribution settings for the activity are configured correctly.
Use Adobe Target’s reporting tools to check how traffic is being split among experiences.
Key actions: Periodically review and adjust traffic splitting based on performance data to ensure optimal user experience.
For reference : How does Traffic Allocation works in an Activity in Adobe Target ?
Scenario 4: Expected Activity and Experience Delivered, But Final Experience Does Not Look as Expected
The correct activity and experience are delivered, but the content on the website does not reflect the expected changes. In this scenario, the activity and experience are both delivered correctly, but the final result doesn’t appear as intended. Common causes include issues with handling the api response, JSON parsing errors, or delay in applying response to the UI.
A detailed look at the possible causes follows below.
Cause 1: Incorrect Parsing of Target API Response
Troubleshooting Steps:
Check if the API response from Adobe Target is being parsed correctly on the server.
Use logging to identify any errors in processing the API response.
Key actions: Implement robust error-handling mechanisms to ensure that any parsing issues are caught early.
Cause 2: Mishandling of Content in the Backend
Troubleshooting Steps:
Verify if the content returned from Adobe Target is being correctly applied to the web page by the backend system.
Check for any mismatch between the expected and delivered content.
Key actions: Regularly audit backend code handling dynamic content to ensure compatibility with Adobe Target’s response.
Cause 3: Failure to Update Dynamic Elements
Troubleshooting Steps:
Ensure that dynamic elements on the page (e.g., text, images) are correctly updated with the response from Adobe Target.
Use browser developer tools to track any DOM updates and compare them with the expected changes.
Key actions: Implement and test dynamic content updates thoroughly in a staging environment before going live.
Cause 4: Delay in Applying Response Data
Troubleshooting Steps:
Check if there’s a delay in applying the response data from Adobe Target due to slow server processing or JavaScript execution.
Review logs for any latency issues during data handling.
Key actions: Optimise server-side performance and JavaScript execution to ensure timely application of Target’s response.
Cause 5: Incomplete or Missing Data in Target Response
Troubleshooting Steps:
Check if the API response from Adobe Target is incomplete or missing any critical data.
Use Postman to simulate API calls and verify the response structure and data integrity.
Key actions: Set up monitoring and logs to detect incomplete API responses. Both server and client-side logs can provide valuable information about the delivery and rendering of experiences.
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Importance of Team Coordination while configuring Server Side experiences : When configuring Adobe Target for server-side implementation, the most critical aspect is ensuring a seamless handshake and effective communication between the Martech team and the development team. The Martech team is responsible for managing and optimising activities within Adobe Target, while the development team handles adding and updating the necessary server-side API calls in the backend. Perfect coordination between these two teams is essential to ensure activities are configured and managed without errors or issues. This collaboration minimises miscommunication, enhances troubleshooting efficiency, and ensures the delivery of precise, personalised user experiences.
Conclusion
Server-side implementations in Adobe Target require careful planning and troubleshooting due to their unique API-driven nature. By validating API requests, audience targeting, and experience delivery, as well as addressing potential issues like race conditions and rendering failures, teams can ensure smooth operation of their personalisation strategies. Consistently following these troubleshooting steps will allow for effective optimisation of server-side activities in Adobe Target.
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About The Authors
Vaibhav Mathur
Vaibhav Mathur is a Web and App Analyst and Multi-Solution Consultant, with a proven track record for optimising digital experiences to achieve measurable outcomes. Specialising in Adobe Target, Adobe Analytics, Optimizely, and Tealium CDP, Vaibhav enhances customer journeys with expertise and precision.
