You can provide information in URLs to identify the source of an individual ad click. For example, you can add URL parameters that tell you which campaign and ad group contained the ad that the user clicked on, the type of device used, and the keyword that triggered the ad.
You can configure tracking URLs and custom parameters in the following templates:
- Campaign: "Campaign URL options"
- Ad group: "Ad group URL options"
- Responsive search ad (RSA): "Ad URL options"
- Keyword: "Final URL"
- Sitelink: "Sitelink URL options"
Setting up tracking URLs is optional. Many advertisers don’t need to set up tracking because aggregate performance statistics are sufficient. Aggregate performance statistics can include how many clicks a campaign and ad group delivered, how many clicks a keyword triggered, or how many clicks occurred on a mobile versus a desktop device.
For more information on tracking URLs in the new Search Ads 360, see About tracking URLs in the new Search Ads 360 experience.
Tracking URL example
In an RSA template, the ad URL formula is set as follows:
"https://www.example.com" & "/" & f:"brand" & f:"origin_country" & "/" & f:"origin_iata" & "/" & f:"destination_country" & "/" & f:"destination_iata"
Templates that do not have template-type parents, such as an RSA template that has an ad group parent, can only reference the following:
- Attributes in the parent and its associated items.
- For example, for an RSA template, the parent's ad group name or the associated campaign name are available in the formula editor from the "Attributes" menu.
- Any usable custom dimensions are available from the "Custom Dimensions" menu.
- Any custom columns not based on a feed at the sub-manager level are available from the "Custom Columns" menu.
- The "Data source" element in template setup shows the sources that are available, including custom dimensions.
For more information, see Set up responsive search ad templates with ad group parents.
The following is the URL definition for the landing pages to which users are directed when the ad is clicked:
- https://www.example.com/goldeneagleflights/uk/lhr/france/cdg
To track for each individual click which campaign, ad group, and keyword triggered the ad that the user clicks on, you can set the tracking to:
"{lpurl}?campaignid={campaignid}&adgroupid={adgroupid}&keyword={keyword}&device={device}"
When the ad is served, the new Search Ads 360 replaces each {parameter} with the actual value. For example, {lpurl} is replaced with the landing page final URL, {campaignid} is replaced with the system-assigned ID for the campaign, and so on.
{lpurl} and other parameters, see Set up tracking with ValueTrack parameters.When you specify the information you want as a custom parameter in the URL, the information is relayed back to you for each individual click:
- For standard parameters, the new Search Ads 360 populates the parameter with the actual system-assigned value: for example,
campaignid, adgroupid. - For custom parameters, the new Search Ads 360 populates the parameter with the value you designate.
If a user searches for Golden Eagle Flights Paris and clicks your ad from a mobile device, you see that the user clicked the URL:
- https://www.example.com/uk/lhr/france/cdg?campaignid=1&adgroupid1&keyword=golden%20eagle%20flights%20paris&device=m
In the ad URL, you can also define custom parameters to include in the tracking template. Custom parameters consist of two parts:
- Name: up to 16 alphanumeric characters
- Value: up to 250 characters. Can contain any characters, including | ; _ / ^ ( !), as well as standard parameters
Both the name and the value can be anything you want. For example, if you have special IDs for each of your keywords, you can create a custom parameter that looks like this: {_mykwid}=1234:
"{lpurl}?campaignid={campaignid}&adgroupid={adgroupid}&keyword={keyword}&device={device}&keywordid={_mykwid}"
For more information about custom parameters, see Use Search Ads 360 custom parameters and macros.