Affiliate Document

Search API

9/10/2008
Revision History

Revision Date Description

1.0 September 4, 2008 Document created.

9/10/2008 College Bound Network 2

Contents
Revision History ....................................................................................................................... 2

Contents .................................................................................................................................... 3

1 General Description .......................................................................................................... 4

2 Instructions ......................................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Search API ................................................................................................................. 4

2.1.1 Setup to receive XML feed ............................................................................... 4

2.1.2 XML code for capsules ...................................................................................... 5

2.2 Tracking ...................................................................................................................... 7

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1 General Description

This document describes how an affiliate can request search results from
CollegeSurfing to display on their site. Affiliates have a variety of options as to
what type of search they conduct or the criteria used in the search, and how to
display search results, auto fill search or form field information, and provide
unique “Thank You” pages.

2 Instructions

2.1 Search API

Affiliates can use the Search API to obtain search result information to display
on their site. This method uses CollegeSurfing’s geotargeting technology to find
the most applicable colleges by zip code and program category. The XML feed
provides the flexibility to display the schools available in the specified
geotargeted region. CollegeSurfing maintains the data, validations, caps,
active/inactive, and sort order of the schools. The affiliate needs to build a
system to parse and render the following API. The following are the steps to
set-up the XML feed.

2.1.1 Setup to receive XML feed

The following URLs demonstrate how an affiliate can receive an XML

feed for either a general program category (a career) or specific
program category (a degree). The first URL demonstrates how search
results for the general program category of business (career=2) will be
returned for a specific geotargeted region around the zipcode of 90210
(zip=90210). Affiliates are assigned a checksum (validation code) from
the A3 system, which must be included in the URL used. Both of these
URLs use XYZ as an example for the checksum (code=XYZ).

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 http://www.collegesurfing.com/a3/xmlcapsulecreate.php?id=1&code=X
YZ&zip=90210&career=2
 id (Affiliate id) = 1
 code (Checksum from A3) = XYZ
 zip (Zipcode for lead) = 90210
 career (General program category, e.g., business) = 2

The next URL demonstrates how search results for the specific program
category of accounting (degree=134) will be returned for a specific
geotargeted region around the zipcode of 90210 (zip=90210).

http://www.collegesurfing.com/a3/xmlcapsulecreate.php?id=1&code=X
YZ&zip=90210&degree=134
 id (Affiliate id) = 1
 code (Checksum from A3) = XYZ
 zip (Zipcode for lead) = 90210
 degree (Specific program category, e.g., accounting) =
134

Note: Career and degree IDs are listed in the ProgramCategoryID.xls

file.

2.1.2 XML code for capsules

The XML code displayed in Figure 1 demonstrates an example of the

code that will be returned when the XML feed is setup via the
instructions listed in section 2.1.1. CollegeSurfing search results are
broken into capsules. Capsules are the boxed information of a school
that includes the school name, link to form, school logo, programs, and
campus location. Each capsule contains a link to a form page where
interested users can fill out their information for a school. Table 1
describes the variables returned in this XML code.

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 Figure 1: Example of XML return code
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<searchresults>
<capsule type="" client_id="1" id="3">
<form_name>Kaplan+-+Maric+College</form_name>
<city>Vista</city>
<state>CA</state>
<image>http://www.collegesurfing.com%2Fce%2Fsearch%2Fimages%
2Flogo%2Fkaplan-maric.jpg</image>
<link>http://www.collegesurfing.com%2Fce%2Fkaplan%2Fmaric%2F%
3Fzip%3D92590%26campus_key%3D24</link>
<campus id="24">Vista+%28North+County%29</campus>
<program id="MT">Massage+Therapy</program>
</capsule>
<capsule type="" client_id="10" id="5">
<form_name>Glendale+Career+College</form_name>
<city>Oceanside</city>
<state>CA</state>
<image>http://www.collegesurfing.com%2Fce%2Fsearch%2Fimages%
2Flogo%2Fgcc.gif</image>
<link>http://www.collegesurfing.com%2Fce%2Fgcc%2F%3Fzip%3D92
590%26campus_key%3D736</link>
<campus id="736">Oceanside</campus>
<program id="Massage+Therapy">Massage+Therapy</program>
</capsule>
</searchresults>

Table 1: Return variable descriptions for XML feed

Name Variable Description

Capsule Capsule An individual form
Id Id Unique id per capsule also known as form id
Client Id client_id Unique per client; potentially multiple campuses
(int)
Form Name form_name Name of the form, usually name of the campus
City City City where campus is located
State State State where campus is located
Image Image Logo for school
Link Link URL to form page
Campus Campus Campus name
Id Id Unique id per campus (int)
Program Program Program name; potentially multiple programs per
capsule
Id Id Unique id per program (string)

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2.2 Tracking

Affiliates can use the Search API to obtain search result information to display
on their site. This method uses CollegeSurfing’s geotargeting technology to find
the most applicable colleges in a particular region. The Search API provides
<link>, which is a direct link to the form. If this is used, the affiliate will not
get credit for the lead. The affiliate needs to combine this URL with the
campaign tracking URL.

The following four methods demonstrate how this tracking can be achieved.
The chosen method must be specified in the “goto” value of the campaign
tracking system (clickcount URL) to get credit for the lead.

 Use the link provided in the Search API.

 Modify the link in the search API by replacing /ce/ with /blank/. This
yields CollegeSurfing’s headerless/footerless section.
 Use IFrame to host the page on the affiliate’s site.
 Request the hosting of the affiliate’s custom header/footer on
CollegeSurfing.

Please refer to the CESCampaignTracking.pdf for more information on campaign

tracking and an affiliate’s options when using this tracking.

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