To create Floodlight conversion actions in the new Search Ads 360, your Google account needs to have all of the following permissions:
- Your sub-manager account needs Admin or Admin without billing permissions.
- Your account needs a user profile in Campaign Manager 360 that has Floodlight: full access permission.
Floodlight is a system the new Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360 uses to track and report conversions. A Floodlight conversion action is a specific conversion you want to track, such as the completion of a purchase or a visit to a page on your site. A tag is automatically generated for each conversion action, and your web team installs the tag onto your site. When a visitor lands on the conversion page, the tag reports a conversion.
Options for creating Floodlight conversion actions and installing tags
You can create Floodlight conversion actions from the new Search Ads 360 or from Campaign Manager 360. The conversion actions you create are visible in both your Search Ads 360 sub-manager account and the associated Campaign Manager 360 advertiser.
When you create a conversion action, you choose one of the following formats for the conversion action's tag:
- Google tag and Floodlight event snippet: The Google tag makes Floodlight tracking implementation easier. You also benefit from the latest dynamic features and integrations as they become available. The Google tag needs to be installed on every page of your site, while the Floodlight event snippet should be installed only on the conversion page. Learn more about using the Google tag to report a Floodlight conversion action.
- Floodlight tag: This tag generates an iframe or image tag that reports a conversion. A Floodlight tag should be installed only on the conversion page. Learn how to create a Floodlight conversion action in the new Search Ads 360 and paste a Floodlight tag on your site.
Instead of installing tags directly on your site, you can add and update the tags in Google Tag Manager, which outputs properly formatted tags on your site as needed. Learn how to create a Floodlight conversion action in the new Search Ads 360 and use Google Tag Manager to add the tag to your site.
Best practice: include only relevant Floodlight conversion actions
If your advertiser uses Floodlight conversion actions to track conversions from display ads as well as search ads, some of the advertiser's conversion actions may be relevant only for display advertising. To reduce reporting lag time during heavy volumes, it's recommended that you use Floodlight instructions to include only Floodlight conversion actions that are relevant to the new Search Ads 360.
Floodlight instructions only affect reporting in the new Search Ads 360. Your Campaign 360's Report Builder reports won't be affected.
Automated exclusion of non-relevant Floodlight conversion actions
To prevent long lag times in reporting conversions during periods of heavy volume, the new Search Ads 360 may automatically create Floodlight instructions to exclude Floodlight conversion actions that meet both of the following criteria:
- Report a high number of conversions
- Aren't used in a campaign, conversion column, or formula column
To see the list of automatically excluded conversion actions, view your advertiser's Floodlight instructions. The "Changed by" column for an automatically excluded conversion action specifies "System".
As with all excluded conversion actions, the new Search Ads 360 doesn’t record conversions for these conversion actions if the conversion actions remain excluded. However, excluded conversion actions are available for reporting in Campaign Manager 360's Report Builder.
If you plan to use a conversion action that the new Search Ads 360 automatically excluded, you can remove the Floodlight instruction that was created or change the instruction's status from "exclude" to "include". To ensure timely reporting of Floodlight conversions, it's recommended you keep these conversions excluded unless you plan to use them in reports or campaigns in the new Search Ads 360.
Shared Floodlight configurations
If your advertiser is part of a shared Floodlight configuration, you can only create Floodlight conversion actions from the parent sub-manager account. All of the child advertisers have access to the Floodlight conversion actions created in the parent advertiser.
- Create Floodlight conversion actions in the sub-manager account associated with the parent Campaign Manager 360 advertiser. Note that this sub-manager account must have Admin or Admin without billing permissions.
- In Campaign Manager 360, your account must have full Floodlight access and API access for the Campaign Manager 360 parent advertiser.
Report on Floodlight conversions
Once you've set up your Floodlight conversion actions and installed tags on your site, you can report on paid-search conversions by adding conversion columns to your reporting tables.
Custom conversion columns
In the new Search Ads 360, you can set up custom conversion columns to report on specific conversion actions. Learn more about creating custom conversion columns.
Ready to get started?
Use Google tag to report Floodlight conversion actions. Alternatively, you can create a Floodlight conversion action in the new Search Ads 360 and paste a Floodlight tag on your site, or you can use Google Tag Manager to add the tag to your site.