Using a BlueConic first-party hostname ensures your BlueConic-enabled content is appropriately recognized as first party by browsers and ad-blockers.
It is important to create a first-party BlueConic hostname for each channel in your BlueConic tenant.
Before you begin
Add all channels to your BlueConic tenant.
Ensure you want to use a first-party hostname instead of a standard (*BlueConic.com) hostname.
Contact your IT team and let them know you'll need support in configuring DNS records. If using first-party hostname, BlueConic will serve as the DNS provider for the first-party BlueConic hostname subdomain, so your DNS provider will need information to delegate serving the specific subdomain to BlueConic.
The general process is similar for all DNS providers. In the instructions below, we use Amazon Route 53 to illustrate adding a hostname with AWS as DNS provider. DNS records should be registered with your DNS provider within 14 days of receiving them from BlueConic.
Note: You will only be configuring DNS records for your specific subdomain, not for the entire domain. For instance, if your hostname is h854.taylor-shop.com, these records will exist within the main taylor-shop.com zone but won't have any effect on the DNS routing for the main taylor-shop.com hostname.
Creating first-party hostnames
Select the Settings icon from the main navigation bar and click Channels & BlueConic hostnames.
BlueConic opens to the Channels tab. Ensure all channels are added. To add a new channel follow these instructions.
Select the BlueConic hostnames tab and click the "Add BlueConic hostname" button to create a new hostname.
A pop-up appears. You can use the random 4-digit string provided in the textbox or customize it (up to a maximum of 253 characters). When customizing, do not use brand names or other identifiable strings that might be misconstrued as third-party hosts.
Valid characters include:
a-z
0-9 (but not as the first character)
and - (but not as the first or last character)
Remember to add the initial underscore for the CNAME validation record. Be sure to use the exact name/value including the underscore when entering this information.
Select "Me" to email yourself, and/or enter email recipients, to receive instructions for changing the NS records at your DNS provider.
Click Confirm BlueConic hostname and you will be brought to the hostname overview page.The status will show "Pending DNS change" until you or someone on your IT team updates your DNS provider with the new hostname information, and BlueConic can detect the changes propagated through the DNS.
Your IT team or you should follow the instructions (detailed below) emailed by BlueConic for creating NS records in your DNS provider to give permission for BlueConic to serve as the DNS provider for this subdomain.
Certificates for hostnames are administered through Amazon Web Services (AWS), which no longer accepts or renews certificates for the following top-level domains: .RU, .BY, Бел - Belarus, Рф - Russian Federation, .moscow, .москва - Moscow, .SU - Soviet Union, .RU.COM, .РУС, .RU.NET. For this reason, you cannot enter these top-level domains in the hostname UI.
Configuring your DNS records
BlueConic serves as a DNS provider for your first-party BlueConic hostname. This calls for updating NS records for this specific first-party BlueConic hostname with your DNS provider. The following procedure illustrates the process using Amazon Web Services and Route 53 as DNS provider for adding records for an example BlueConic site. For other DNS providers, the general steps you follow are similar.
BlueConic will send email notifications when the BlueConic hostname's status changes, for example when the hostname is ready to use, or if a problem arises.
Updating your DNS records
Retrieve your DNS instructions, and follow these steps:
Retrieve the email from BlueConic with details on your site's BlueConic hostname. This information is also available in the BlueConic UI, by opening Settings > Channels & BlueConic hostnames, and under DNS instructions, clicking Show.
Under the heading Value, you can see the "Value" of the NS records you need to add.
Alternatively, export all of the DNS records from the BlueConic hostnames page (choose Settings > Channels & BlueConic hostnames), as shown here:
Open Amazon Web Services (or your web provider), and in the Management Console, open Route 53.
In Route 53, open your hosted zones.
Find your domain's records and open them.
Select your domain and click Create record.
Create a new NS record (record type) and use the NS record values you received from BlueConic: the value(s), TTL, and record name(s). Click Create records.
BlueConic will poll the DNS server to see when these records have been added. This can take up to 48 hours to propagate. The Status field in BlueConic shows "Pending DNS change."
If you are using a different DNS provider, you may need to enter the hostname prefix that BlueConic generates to the Name field when you add NS records.
Once the change takes place, BlueConic will set up the infrastructure for requests to be sent to BlueConic servers. On Route 53, you can select the new hosted zone to view its details.Note: When adding NS records, adding a dot at the end of the domain name is required to make the domain name absolute (fully qualified) rather than relative. If your DNS provider doesn’t add a dot, make sure you add one as above to make these absolute domain names rather than relative.
If the BlueConic hostname status shows "Extra validation required," contact your Customer Success Manager for more information.
Wait to see an update in BlueConic. The BlueConic infrastructure setup changes can take a several hours for all DNS records and servers to sync across the Internet.
Checking the status of your DNS records
Wait for an email notification from BlueConic that the requested DNS infrastructure changes have been made. The status will update to "Ready" in BlueConic once everything is set.
Note: If the BlueConic hostname status shows "Extra validation required," contact your Customer Success Manager for more information.
Reporting first-party hostname metrics
After you have successfully set up your first-party hostname, you will notice a slight change in traffic behavior, including:
An increase in known profile data, as duplicate profiles will be better recognized over time.
A decrease in traffic being stopped by ad blockers, which may result in more new profiles.
To report or track some of these metrics, you can take advantage of the Segment Over Time Insight or track the average number of visits to your channels.
Next Steps
Place the BlueConic script on every page of your channel as described in the instructions in the email. For details see Placing the updated BlueConic script on your site.
If you have a Content Security Policy (CSP) on your website, update it to include the BlueConic URLs. Once the BlueConic hostname is ready to use, traffic will arrive via the BlueConic hostname (independent of whether you have updated the BlueConic script on your website).
FAQ
General
Can I customize the 4-character hostname the First-Party Hostname Console provides?
Yes but with a few guidelines:
You can use the random 4-character string provided or customize it (up to a maximum of 253 characters).
Valid characters include: a-z, 0-9 (but not as the first character), and - (but not as the first or last character).
Do not use brand names or other identifiable strings that might be misconstrued as third-party hosts.
Where can I find the DNS records for my BlueConic hostnames?
You can download the DNS records for your BlueConic hostnames by opening the First-Party Hostname Console. Choose Settings > Channels & BlueConic hostnames and use the dropdown menu on the Add BlueConic hostname button.
Will my customer profiles change?
Initially, you may see an increase in profiles because customers whose cookies were blocked will now have profiles. Conversely, infrequent visitors who formerly received a new profile after 7 days of absence from your site, will now have a single profile that persists and updates properly overtime each time these visitors return.
Troubleshooting
Why did I receive an email indicating there are problems?
If your DNS records are incorrectly changed, you will receive an email indicating there are problems. Note that you can either revert to your old records or fix the new records to keep moving forward.
Apps
How do first-party BlueConic hostnames affect apps?
Android apps
If your Android app uses a native part and a WebView part, we advise setting the cookie on the same hostname so the cookie can be shared between these parts. So if a BlueConic hostname is used on the website, configure its URL in the app.iOS and iPadOS apps
If your iOS or iPadOS app shows web content, it is required to use WKWebView which has ITP turned on by default. So if you don’t use a BlueConic hostname, the cookie will be capped at 7 days.Ad blockers
Most ad blockers are a browser plugin or a separate browser. However, there are apps that monitor and control all traffic on a device, such as AdGuard. These are not available in the App Store and require root access. For these ad blockers, it is useful to route all traffic to the BlueConic hostname.
How do I configure an app to use the BlueConic hostname?
You can configure your app to use the BlueConic hostname URL. If your app web content is not hosted on an existing website channel in BlueConic, create a new website channel so you can create a BlueConic hostname.
Migrating to first-party hostname
Will there be any downtime for my existing BlueConic channels during migration?
No, BlueConic will keep running as before the first-party hostname. Once the DNS change is complete, you can change your old BlueConic script with the new BlueConic hostname script that we send to you. In the meantime, the old script will remain functional. There are no changes to your public-facing URLs.
What happens if a migration fails?
If during the First-Party Hostname migration, you receive an error message saying the migration has failed or is incorrect, you will receive an email with the option to revert to the old records in the meantime or make an edit to the new records.
What happens to my existing customer profiles when I migrate DNS protocols?
Customers or visitors with an existing profile who revisit your website after you set up a BlueConic hostname will keep their profile (if the cookie hasn’t expired yet).
The original BlueConic script will remain working. When you get the signal to update the script, replace the BlueConic script on the website. In this way, you will have no data loss.
If a customer or visitor only visited a subdomain (e.g. my.example.com) before you created a first-party BlueConic hostname, and then visits another subdomain or the main domain (e.g. example.com) after you have updated your BlueConic script, it would create a new profile. If the customer first visits the same subdomain (e.g. my.example.com) after the change, their profile is retained.
Customers who use a browser or ad blocker that blocks third-party cookies, would not previously have a profile, but will get a new customer profile the next time they visit your site. (However, if this visitor received a first-party cookie from that visit, their existing profile would still be used.)
Profile merge rules will apply to visitors' profiles if you've set them up.