After you update your Google Ads accounts to support the URL options, the following Search Ads 360 features will work differently and may require you to make additional updates:
- New behavior when adding Google Ads accounts to Search Ads 360
- Landing page tests are no longer supported in Google Ads accounts
- Automated rules, scheduled edits, and formula columns no longer include macros
- Campaign copy doesn't copy Final URL Suffix to other engines
- New ways to add parameters to your URLs
- Syncing new tracking templates converts tracking URLs to start with HTTPS
New behavior when adding Google Ads accounts to Search Ads 360
When you add a Google Ads engine account, if the conversion API is enabled for your advertiser Search Ads 360 automatically does the following without waiting for you to run the first sync:
- Enables auto-tagging in your Google Ads account if it isn't already enabled
- Adds the following parameters to the Final URL Suffix in Google Ads:
gclsrc=aw.ds
-
{_dsmrktparam}
These updates may place your account under review.
When you run the first sync, Search Ads 360 now does the following:
- Creates custom parameters for Search Ads 360 macros and traffics the custom parameters to Google Ads.
The new custom parameters will place your Google Ads account under review (in addition to the review for any updates to the Final URL Suffix).
Search Ads 360 macros will no longer available in the account. Instead, use the custom parameters Search Ads 360 created.
Automated rules, scheduled edits, and formula columns no longer include macros
If your automated rules, scheduled edits, or formula columns contain logic that relies on Search Ads 360 macros or that add macros to URLs or templates, update them to use custom parameters instead.
Campaign copy doesn't copy Final URL Suffix to other engines
When you copy Google Ads campaigns to other types of engine accounts, URL parameters in the Final URL Suffix are not copied into the other account. If the URLs in the destination account require these parameters, do one of the following:
- After the copy completes, add the parameters to the landing page URLs or URL template in the destination account
- Before you copy, add the parameters to the landing page URL in the Google Ads account
New ways to add parameters to your URLs
With the new URL options introduced by Google Ads, there are now a few different ways to add URL parameters in Search Ads 360. The method you use depends on the purpose of the URL parameters, the source of data for the URL parameters, and the type of engine account.
Purpose | Source | Google Ads | All other engine accounts |
Data that determines the content on your landing page |
Static text and dynamic parameters |
Final URL Suffix if you use the same parameters and values for many URLs Landing page URLs if each URL specifies unique parameters or parameter values |
URL template (recommended), |
Search Ads 360 macros | Custom parameters in a Final URL Suffix or landing page URL | URL template (recommended), or the landing page URL |
|
Tracking data for your landing page |
Static text and dynamic parameters |
Final URL Suffix if you use the same parameters and values for many URLs Landing page URLs if each URL specifies unique parameters or parameter values |
URL template (recommended), |
Search Ads 360 macros | Custom parameters in a Final URL Suffix or landing page URL | URL template (recommended), or the keyword landing page URL |
|
Tracking data for a third‐party trackers |
Static text and dynamic parameters |
URL template | URL template |
Search Ads 360 macros | Custom parameters in a URL template | URL template | |
Third-party redirect | Static text | URL template | URL template |
Examples of URL parameters
Determining the content of the landing page
Here's how to pass a URL parameter that determines the content on the landing page:
Landing page URL:
http://example.com?sid=1234567
Providing tracking data for the landing page
Some advertisers add scripts to their sites so they can collect tracking data on their own. For example, an advertiser may add a URL parameter to indicate that a visit came from a Google paid search click.
Here's how to pass a URL parameter such as src=google
to provide tracking data for the advertiser's site:
Landing page URL: http://example.com?sid=1234567
Final URL suffix (Google Ads only): src=google
URL template (Microsoft Advertising and other non-Google Ads engines): {unescapedlpurl}?src=google
URL that is sent to the landing page:
http://example.com?sid=1234567&src=google
Providing data for a third-party tracking service
Some advertisers use tracking services in addition to Search Ads 360.
Here's how to pass a URL parameter such as cid=99999
to a third-party tracker in addition to the parameters from the previous examples:
Landing page URL: http://example.com?sid=1234567
Google Ads only:
Final URL suffix: src=google
URL template: https://example.tracker.com/?cid=9999&lp={escapedlpurl}
Microsoft Advertising and other non-Google Ads engines
URL template: https://example.tracker.com/?cid=9999&lp={escapedlpurl}%3Fsrc%3Dgoogle
URL that is sent to the landing page:
http://example.com?sid=1234567&src=google
Syncing new tracking templates converts tracking URLs to start with HTTPS
If you sign into an engine and enter a URL in a tracking template, when you sync in the change Search Ads 360 automatically changes the URL to start with HTTPS. This change is to ensure compatibility with parallel tracking.
Note that Search Ads 360 only updates the first URL in your tracking template to specify HTTPS. If your tracking template contains multiple tracking URLs, make sure they all specify HTTPS. Parallel tracking requires all tracking URLs to specify HTTPS.
After the sync completes, Search Ads 360 adds its clickserver URL to the beginning of the tracking URL and traffics the updated tracking URL out to the engine.