Google Ads URL Tracking

Demystifying Google Ads Tracking: Tracking Templates and Custom Parameters

Google Ads provides various ways to track landing page URLs.
Conversion and remarketing pixels are not discussed in this video.
Auto tagging is an easy checkbox option for account-level settings.
Auto tagging adds a Google click ID to the URL to communicate with Google Analytics.
Auto tagging does not include UTM parameters or additional tracking values.
It is recommended to use Auto tagging in Google Ads for comprehensive tracking.
Other tracking platforms will require different parameters in addition to the Google click ID.

Final URL suffix is similar to the tracking template but more advanced.
It contains URL parameters for tracking purposes.
It is separate from parameters used by third-party trackers and parameters that determine page content.
It is more advanced and not necessary for most users.
Parallel tracking allows landing page and tracking to load separately.
It ensures faster tracking loading while the page is loading.
It is mandatory for search, shopping, display, and video campaigns.
It is optional for hotel campaigns.
Most accounts and campaigns are already opted into parallel tracking.

Parameters in tracking follow the format of "parameter equals value".
Parameters are separated from the landing page URL with a question mark.
Individual parameters are separated with an ampersand or "and" sign.
Manual parameters remain fixed and do not change.
Dynamic parameters are designated with curly braces and can use value track or custom parameters.
Value track parameters use pre-defined values from Google.
Examples of value track parameters include campaign ID and match type.
Custom parameters allow for more flexibility in tracking.
Custom parameters can be created using curly braces and can include any desired information.
Both manual and dynamic parameters can be used in a tracking template.

Match type and device can be used as dynamic parameters in tracking templates.
The focus in this example is on using the keyword as a dynamic parameter to track performance.
The keyword parameter can be added to the tracking template along with other parameters like source and medium.
ValueTrack parameters provided by Google can be used as well.
Custom parameters can be created to track specific information not covered by ValueTrack.
Custom parameters should be added to the tracking template with the parameter name and value.
The hierarchy of tracking information in Google Ads prioritizes the most specific information applied at the campaign, ad group, ad, or keyword level.

Google Ads allows for tracking templates at different levels: ad group and account.
If a tracking template is set at the ad group level, it will be used and any tracking template above it will be ignored.
Custom parameters can be pulled from any level in the account as long as they are associated in the tracking template.
It is recommended to set up one tracking template at the account level with all dynamic parameters and add custom parameters at different levels (e.g., campaign).
Creating tracking templates for each campaign can be more complicated and prone to errors.
Pay attention to the hierarchy and ensure that all necessary parameters are included in each tracking template to ensure proper tracking.
There are multiple ways to track the performance of Google Ads campaigns, and customization can be done to pull in the required information without manual tagging.