Floodlight is a system Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360 use to track and report conversions. A Floodlight activity 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 activity, 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 activities and installing tags
You can create Floodlight activities from Search Ads 360 or from Campaign Manager 360. The activities you create are visible in both your Search Ads 360 advertiser and the associated Campaign Manager 360 advertiser.
When you create an activity, you choose one of the following formats for the activity's tag:
- Google tag and Floodlight event snippet: The Google tag makes implementing Floodlight tracking easier. You'll also benefit from the latest dynamic features and integrations as they become available. The tag needs to be installed on every page of your site, and the Floodlight event snippet should be installed only on the conversion page. Learn more about using the Google tag to report Floodlight activity.
- Floodlight 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 activity from Search Ads 360 and paste a Floodlight tag on your site.
Note: If you use Floodlight iframe or image tags, we recommend you migrate to the Google tag or use Google Tag Manager with the Conversion Linker to measure conversions more accurately and benefit from the latest dynamic features and integrations as they become available.
Instead of installing tags directly on your site, you can add and update the tags in Google Tag Manager. Google Tag Manager then outputs properly formatted tags on your site as needed. Learn how to create a Floodlight activity in Search Ads 360 and use Google Tag Manager to add the tag to your site.
Best practice: include only relevant Floodlight activities
If your advertiser uses Floodlight activities to track conversions from display ads as well as search ads, some of the activities in your advertiser may only be relevant for display advertising. To reduce reporting lag time during heavy volumes, it's recommended that you use Floodlight instructions to include only Floodlight activities that are relevant to Search Ads 360. Floodlight instructions only affect reporting in Search Ads 360, so your Report Builder reports will not be affected.
Automated exclusion of non-relevant Floodlight activities
To prevent long lag times in reporting conversions during periods of heavy volume, Search Ads 360 may automatically create Floodlight instructions to exclude Action Floodlight activities that meet both of the following criteria:
- Report a very high number of conversions
- Not used in a bid strategy, Floodlight column, or formula column
Transaction activities will still be included, as well as Action activities that appear in a bid strategy, Floodlight column, or formula column.
To see the list of automatically excluded activities, view your advertiser's Floodlight instructions. The Changed by column for an automatically excluded activity specifies System.
As with all excluded activities, Search Ads 360 will not record conversions for these activities as long as the activities remain excluded. However, the excluded activities are available for reporting in Campaign Manager 360's Report Builder.
If you plan to start using an activity that Search Ads 360 automatically excluded, you can remove the Floodlight instruction that was created or change the instruction's Inclusion status from Exclude to Include. To ensure timely reporting of Floodlight conversions, we recommend you keep these activities excluded unless you plan to use them in Search Ads 360 reports or bid strategies.
Before you create a Floodlight activity in Search Ads 360
Before you can create Floodlight activities in Search Ads 360, you need to create at least one Floodlight activity group. Search Ads 360 uses Floodlight activity groups to organize Floodlight activities by type and by purpose, in the same way that you use ad groups to organize ads and biddable items. Learn more about Floodlight activities and groups.
Special permissions required
To create or edit Floodlight activity groups and Floodlight activities in Search Ads 360, your Google account needs all of the following permissions:
- In Search Ads 360, your account needs agency manager or advertiser manager permissions.
- Your account also needs a user profile in Campaign Manager 360 with the following permissions:
- Floodlight: full access
- Access to the Campaign Manager 360 API
Shared Floodlight configurations
If your advertiser is part of a shared Floodlight configuration, you can only create Floodlight activities from the parent advertiser. All of the child advertisers will have access to the Floodlight activities created in the parent.
- In Search Ads 360, sign into the advertiser that is associated with the parent Campaign Manager 360 advertiser and create Floodlight groups and activities from there. You'll need agency manager or advertiser manager permissions for this Search Ads 360 advertiser.
- In Campaign Manager 360 your account needs full Floodlight access and API access for the Campaign Manager 360 parent advertiser.
Ready to get started?
Use the Google tag to report Floodlight activity.
Alternatively, create a Floodlight activity from Search Ads 360 and paste a Floodlight tag on your site or use Google Tag Manager to add the tag to your site.