To ensure that Search Ads 360 can measure all of your conversions regardless of the browser that your site visitor is using, use the Google tag (gtag.js) as the format for your Floodlight activity tags. This tag sets new cookies on your domain, which will store a unique identifier for a user or the ad click that brought the user to your site. These cookies are refreshed when a user visits your site before the cookie expires.The cookies receive the ad click information from a GCLID (“Google click identifier”) parameter that is included in the conversion tracking tags.
Since Search Ads 360 Natural Search involves using information from new cookies that are set on your domain, ensure you're providing users with clear and comprehensive information about data collection, and obtaining consent where legally required. Learn how to opt out of setting first-party cookies on your site’s domain.
This article provides details on using the Google tag for Floodlight activities.
Benefits of the Google tag
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Faster and easier integration with other Google products: The Google tag is not only used by Google Marketing Platform products, but also by other Google products such as Google Ads and Google Analytics. If you use these products, the Google tag makes website implementation easier by providing a unified tagging experience.
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More accurate conversion tracking: Using the Google tag sets new cookies on your domain, which will store a unique identifier for a user or the ad click that brought the user to your site. This ensures that Floodlight can measure conversions more accurately.
Due to differences in the way that browsers use cookies, there may still be times when conversions can't be measured directly. In such cases, Search Ads 360 uses machine learning and historical data to model the number of conversions and amount of conversion revenue that can't be measured directly. -
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.
Since the Google tag is able to use the information from the new cookies that are set on your domain, please ensure you're providing users with clear and comprehensive information about data collection, and obtaining consent where legally required.
How the Google tag works
A Google tag for Floodlight is made of two snippets of JavaScript:
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Global snippet
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Event snippet
Global snippet
The global snippet should be placed on all pages of your website, in the <head> section of your HTML pages. Here's an example of the global snippet in a Google tag:
<!--
Start of global snippet: Please do not remove
Place this snippet between the <head> and </head> tags on every page of your site.
-->
<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) - DoubleClick -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=DC-1234567"></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments)};
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'DC-1234567');
</script>
<!-- End of global snippet: Please do not remove -->The code snippet above is an example only and won’t work on your website. When you set up a Floodlight activity, you’ll be able to view and copy the Google tag for your account. Learn about the fields and other information in a global snippet.
Event snippet
The event snippet should be installed on the page with the event you're tracking. It can be placed anywhere on the page after the global snippet. For the best tracking accuracy, place the snippet within the <head> section just after the global snippet.
Here’s an example of an event snippet:
<!--
Event snippet for Thank You on http://www.example.com/thanks: Please do not remove.
Place this snippet on pages with events you’re tracking.
Creation date: 11/01/2017
-->
<script>
gtag('event', 'purchase', {
'allow_custom_scripts': true,
'value': '[Revenue]',
'transaction_id': '[Order ID]',
'send_to': 'DC-1234567/group1/thank123+transactions',
'u1': '[Custom Floodlight variable]'
});
</script>
<noscript>
<img src="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/activity/src=1234567;type=group1;cat=thank123;
qty=1;cost=[Revenue];dc_lat=;dc_rdid=;tag_for_child_directed_treatment=;tfua=;npa=;
ord=[Order ID]?" width="1" height="1" alt="">
</noscript>
<!-- End of event snippet: Please do not remove -->
The code snippet above is an example only and won’t work on your website. When you set up a Floodlight activity, you’ll be able to view and copy the event tag for your account. Learn about the fields and other information in an event snippet.
Using the Google tag for multiple Google products
The Google tag can be configured to send data to multiple Google products. For example, if you use Google Analytics, Google Ads conversion tracking, and Search Ads 360, you only need one Google tag on every page of your site. For each product, you add a 'config' command to the global snippet, so Google knows how to route your data. Each conversion or event you want to track will have its own event snippet. Learn how to create a Google tag that tracks conversions for both Search Ads 360 and Google Ads.
Cross-domain conversion tracking
If you want to measure activity across multiple domains, such as when your landing page domain is different from your conversion domain, you can enable cross-domain tracking by adding a set linker command to the Google tag on pages in your landing domain that can send visitors to your conversion domain. Learn more about cross-domain conversion tracking.
Cookies set by the Google tag
The Google tag sets new cookies on your domain that will store a unique identifier for a user or the ad click that brought the user to your site. The cookies receive the ad click information from a GCLID (“Google click identifier”) parameter that Google Ads adds to the landing page URL just before redirecting to your site.
How to opt out
If you don’t want the Google tag to set first-party cookies on your site’s domain, add the highlighted portion below to your global snippet’s config command:
gtag('config', 'DC-1234567', {'conversion_linker': false});
What is the difference between Google Tag Manager and Google tag?
Google Tag Manager and Google tag are separate and independent ways of tagging your website.
If you want to manage Google and third party tags from a single location without modifying your site’s code in the future, use Google Tag Manager.
If you would like to code tags on your site directly using JavaScript, use the Google tag.