Google AdWords tracking template. Why is Google making these changes?

Doing contextual advertising without UTM tags is tantamount to searching in a dark room. Even if you have a lot of requests from advertising, you still need to know in more detail how exactly you were found in order to optimize your work and get even more requests. If advertising does not work well, then it is absolutely necessary to have detailed knowledge. In this article, we'll show you how to tag traffic from Google contextual advertising.

We have already talked about and. In the case of Google AdWords, this process looks a little more complicated, but of course, nothing is unrealistic.

First, let's decide which tags in Google AdWords should be used in general.

1. utm_source- advertising source; for advertising from Google it is enough to register simply google;
2. utm_medium- type of advertising, different options are possible: cpc, cpm, banner, email, but we are interested in contextual advertising cpc;
3. utm_campaign– advertising campaign number or its name;
4. utm_content– this label informs about which advertisement was followed by the transition (you can insert the number of the advertisement here);
5. utm_term– the key request on which the transition was made.

Adding tags to Google AdWords at the campaign level can be done by going to settings ( Settings - Edit - URL Options).

In the label settings there are dynamic parameters, which will be inserted into the tag automatically, depending on which keyword or campaign the transition was from. Dynamic parameters are displayed in curly braces, and in order for the necessary data to be substituted in them, you need to use tracking template.

It is necessary to enter a value in the corresponding field with all the labels that we need. Given the list of tags we provided above, the tracking template might look like this:

(lpurl)?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=(keyword)&utm_content=(creative)&utm_campaign=(campaignid)

When filling out the tracking template in this way, the keywords, ad, and campaign will be filled in automatically. However, you can write them manually. For example, for RK you can write after " utm_campaign=" name of the campaign in Latin.

If you are working through , then upload the campaign to a csv file and paste the tracking template in the column Tracking templates.

Issuing UTM tags for display networks

For advertising on Google partner sites, it makes no sense to use the tag utm_term, since it denotes a keyword, and when switching from the CCM, they have no meaning. It will be much more useful to determine from which site the transition was made. Therefore, instead of utm_term=(keyword) it makes sense to put a label like this:

placement=(placement)

Thanks to it, you can find out on which pages ads are placed.

UTM tag generators for Google AdWords

Of course, in addition to manual labeling, there is also an automatic one. Services that create tags include:

• ppc-help.ru/utm_generator.php
• tools.yaroshenko.by/utm.php
• gaurl.ru

However, the use of such services is more suitable only for small campaigns.

Do not miss:

Utm-tag is a part of the URL, which is designed to pass additional information about the traffic source to the analytics system. The tool helps to analyze an advertising campaign by segmenting users by traffic source, keywords, ads, and other parameters.

Let's take a look at how to use this tool, how to properly tag Google Adwords and integrate them between different analytics systems.

What is a utm tag made of?

Labels are made up of variables and _utm values. The value sorts the information passed, and the variable is displayed in the analytics system. Utm, or as they are also called, utm / utm tags, are required and optional. The first type is always used, and the second only when necessary. In the browser line, yutm tags look like this:

example.ru?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=example1&utm_term=example2.

Where "example.ru" is the domain name, and the "tail" of the link after the question mark is the utm tag. The label parameters are delimited by the "&" character.

Why put utm tags in Google Adwords

If you don't put utm tags, Google AdWords will use dynamic parameters that are substituted automatically. The disadvantage of auto-tagging is that they only work in Google Analytics. They cannot be fixed using Yandex.Metrica. The situation is similar with Yandex.Direct. If you do not put labels there, Metrica will be able to understand transitions from Direct, but will not be able to from Adwords. Therefore, they need to be placed in both Google Adwords and Yandex.Direct.

utm tag parameters

UTM tags have five parameters. They allow you to capture the source of the transition, the keyword, the name of the advertising campaign, and the ad that interested the user.

Required parameters:

Optional parameters:

• utm_content- identifier of the banner or ad that was clicked;
• utm_term- keyword.

In Adwords, you can add your own parameters to the URL using the ValueTrack function. Each parameter is enclosed in curly braces: (campaignid), (adgroupid), (targetid), (network), (placement) other. When an ad is clicked, a special value is substituted for the parenthesized word. For example, for the parameter (matchtype) character can be substituted e(exact keyword match), p(phrase match) or b(broad match). If the parameter has no value, it is not added to the link.

How to add a UTM tag to Google Adwords

To add utm tags to Google Adwords for all ads in a specific advertising campaign, open the section "General Library" and follow the path "Settings > Edit > URL Options". Here you can set a value for the tracking template, add custom parameters, and change URL options.

The settings can be configured manually or you can specify the following template:

(lpurl)?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=(campaignid)&utm_content=(adgroupid)&utm_term=(targetid)

If you want to use utm-tags only for passing statistics to Google Analytics from AdWords, you can use a simpler method. It is enough to link these two systems in the Google Adwords settings in the Linked Accounts section. The advantages of this integration are the automatic transfer of cost data from Google AdWords and convenient conversion calculation right in the Google Analytics interface.

When using link parameters for advertising on Google partner sites in the GCM, you must use the "placement" tag (determining which site the transition came from) instead of "utm_term", since the last parameter indicates the keyword.

Integration of various analytical systems and automation of contextual advertising

Utm-tags are an effective, but not a self-sufficient tool for monitoring ads. To see the full picture, you need to use analytical systems. The Alytics platform integrates with the CRM system, call tracking, advertising platforms, Google Analytics counter and summarizes statistics on two dozen indicators: sales, goals, traffic, calls, engagement, and others. Information is presented in a convenient form and in one place. The user does not need to monitor statistics on different sites. The data is downloaded and synchronized automatically.

Utm tags in Alytics

In order for Alytics to correctly track statistics for Google AdWords on calls from and it is necessary that all ads, including sitelinks, have utm tags. The service provides two-way integration with Google AdWords and Yandex.Direct. This means that expenses, goals, advertising campaigns are synchronized automatically. If necessary, the service puts down URL parameters on its own every 30 minutes. There is an opportunity to use service and custom labels at the same time.

The system can be tried in test mode. Alytics provides 7 days for call tracking and 14 days for a system of end-to-end analytics and contextual advertising automation for free.

Hello friends! Evgeny Tridchikov is in touch, and in this video we will talk about the tracking template in Google AdWords, how to apply it, and why it is needed at all.
Too lazy to read? at the end of the article!

Purpose of a tracking template

The tracking template in Google AdWords is used for the following task. As a rule, we have a link to a site (for example, example.com) and we want to land the user on a specific page on the site, but at the same time pass a certain set of parameters along with the link.

Often (in most cases) this is a specific set of UTM tags, but it can also be some special variables that you want to forward along with the link in order to solve some analytical and business problems.

So, unlike Yandex.Direct, where we have to manually set up UTM tags at the key phrase level (that is, at the level of key phrases, each phrase), Google AdWords has a tool called a tracking template.

Thanks to it, we can set a certain formula at different levels in one place, a certain set of rules that allows us to forward a set of necessary parameters together with a link in the declaration.

They can contain both dynamic variables that the system automatically substitutes depending on the traffic source, as well as custom ones. They are called custom options. In these special parameters, you can set default values, that is, custom, initially set, which will also be forwarded along with the ad link.

How does the tracking template work?

In short, what does it actually look like? We have an ad link - here it is at the top, and at the bottom we have the same link, but it has some kind of tail. This tail is a set of UTM tags, or a set of these parameters that you want to forward. And in the tracking template using the ValueTrack parameter, we can set this whole thing using one elementary formula.

Macro (lpurl) in tracking template

We write a macro (lpurl), which translates as landing page URL, that is, the "landing" page URL. The landing page URL is where the user lands. In general, what is substituted here in curly brackets is the final URL from the ad.

Thus, we can simply write this formula to the right after (lpurl), place the “tail” that we want to forward, and thus, the tracking template helps us solve this problem in one step.

And what's most interesting, friends - we can do this both at a low level (for example, at the ad level), and at the ad group level, and at the campaign level, and most interestingly, at the account level.

Implementation in Google Adwords

So let's go to your AdWords account. Let me show you how it works with a real example. We go into the campaign, in the settings, expand the additional settings and go to the “Campaign URL Parameters” tab. Please note that here I already have this formula that I told you about.

The simplest option: (lpurl), that is, a parameter that substitutes a link from the ad here, then a question mark is just a link between the ad link and this dynamic part (a set of UTM tags). Well, and then the set of UTM tags itself. There can be any variables here that you want to pass along with the click on the ad.

Setting up a tracking template at the campaign level

Pay attention to the "Check" button. Always use it to make sure the final URL doesn't end up changing, and indeed the landing page exists, otherwise the ads might not pass moderation. If they pass, then it will be even worse, because the user will click, and in the end not get anywhere. In short, here is such a tool for checking whether everything is working properly for you.

As you can see, the tracking template glues the link from the ad with the set of variables that we are forwarding. This is the campaign level. Let's take a look and make sure URL parameters exist at the ad group level as well. There he is.

At the ad level, you need to go into the editing tools (advanced editing tools), and here below we have exactly the same thing.

At the keyword level, you'll need to add relevant columns. Go to the "Change Columns" tool, then to "Attributes". We add the final URL, for example, and the tracking template. If you use custom parameters, add it as well.

Click "Apply", and here you will have a tracking template that you can set at the keyword level. For example, right here.

And the most interesting option, friends, is at the account level, that is, maximum automation, let's say so. To do this, you need to go to "All Campaigns" if I'm not mistaken, and then to "Settings". This is the "Account Settings" tab. As you can see, there is also an account-level tracking template tool here.

Custom options in a tracking template

Reasonable question: what are special parameters? What is this little thing, what is this field? Three specific fields that are under the tracking template. Well, friends, according to the help, special parameters are an extended version of ValueTrack parameters (dynamic parameters that can be passed). But unlike ValueTrack, they assume a default value set by the user. Here.

Although in fact we can immediately write and place some dynamic parameter there. Thus, the answer of the support team to this question (Google Analytics technical specialist) is on your screens. I'll put it in the description for the video, you can then throw it into the translator, see what's here, although, in my opinion, it's already clear here how they differ, how they do not differ.

In the help, let me remind you once again that this moment - the difference between special parameters and ValueTrack - is a little blurry. To give you an idea of ​​what I'm talking about, I mean this box that you see on your screens below the tracking template. Here are the user options.

On the example of Yagly

Well, and one more interesting moment in the end, friends. Special parameters are used when working with third-party systems via API.

For example, if you work with Yagla, then to see how it works, add those attributes that we talked about (namely, the special tracking template parameters that are added here), and note that each keyword has a special parameter, and it is set explicitly, it has a unique value and looks like this.

Thus, Yagla can forward, associate a specific key phrase with a specific substitution, for example, of a title on a page. That's how it works - dynamic substitution. As you can see, in this case, special parameters are used to work with Yagla via the API.

Conclusion

Well, friends, that's all for me. If you liked the video, put your thumbs up, it will be very nice. And besides, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the "" on Yandex.Direct and Google AdWords.

With the help of these step-by-step videos, you will set up your first advertising campaigns and will never waste your advertising budget. That's all for me, bye bye!

Hello dear internet marketers!

Starting July 1, 2015, Google AdWords accounts will use updated URLs instead of target URLs.

Why is Google making these changes?

Prior to July 1, 2015, all URL tracking tags were set at the ad level in the destination URL. When the tags were changed, the system treated your ads as just created and, accordingly, sent them for moderation with statistics reset. Updated URLs help avoid this issue. In general, the update allows:

Provide the ability to use the full range of Value Track options

Speed ​​up the loading of your site when you click on an ad.

Innovation features:

Tracking priority will always be given to the more detailed low tracking template.

To use tags, you must have a tracking template that contains dynamic parameters such as campaign name, ad groups, or keywords.

What is a tracking template?

Tracking Options

The tracking template would be: (lpurl) ?utm_campaign=campaign1&utm_source=google

(lpurl) - dynamic parameter, which will be replaced by your landing page.

Customizing the Tracking Template at Different Levels

As mentioned earlier, tracking patterns can be set at different levels.

Account level (top level)

Select "Shared Library - URL Options" from the menu on the left

Set the tracking template in the window that opens.

Campaign level (top level)

Select a campaign on the left in the menu and go to the “Settings - All settings” tab

At the very bottom of the page, go to the “Campaign URL options (advanced)” section

Ad group level (top level)

Ad level (low level)

Keyword level (low level)

Add a Tracking Template column

It is important to know:

If the tracking template is registered at the top level (account, campaign, ad group), then future changes to the template can be made without losing data and moderation.

If the tracking template is set at a low level, then future changes to the template will result in data loss and moderation.

A template set at a lower level will always override the upper level template. For example, if the template is set at the account level and at the campaign level, the campaign level takes precedence. If the template is configured at the account or campaign level, but at the same time at the keyword level, then the template settings for keywords will take precedence.

Transition methods

Google assumes four cases of redirecting to updated URL links.

1. You don't use tracking tags in your ads

If you do not use manually entered tags, the system will automatically update your links. When creating ads, by default the "Destination URL" function will be selected instead of "Destination URL". At the same time, the statistics will be preserved, and the ads will not be moderated.

2. You are using manual tracking tags

In this case, you must wait for the automatic transition, or use the bulk update tool inside your AdWords account. To use this tool:

1. Sign in to your Google AdWords account

2.Go to the "Ads" tab

3. Select all ads and click on the "Edit" button

4.Select “Update Target URLs

In this case, the system itself will create a tracking template and transfer your tags there. At the same time, the statistics will be saved and ads will not be moderated.

3. You are using manual tags and want to write your own tracking template.

utm_campaign=campaign1&utm_source=google- tracking options

The first way is to update the url at the ad level.

1.Go to the “Ads” tab, select an ad

3.In the Tracking Template field, paste the template (lpurl) ? utm_campaign=campaign1&utm_source=google

Go to the "Ads" tab and select all ads

UTM tags in Google Adwords - what are they for? In this article, I will not describe in detail the meaning of using UTM tags, a lot has already been written about this. Most often, I use UTM tags in Adwords, primarily in order to analyze traffic from this system in Yandex Metrica, which gives me the opportunity to compare the effectiveness of adwords and direct keywords in one place. However, there are many other reasons to use UTM tags, for example, UTM tag traffic is also convenient to analyze in Google Analytics, in addition, UTM tag statistics are often used in various contextual advertising services, such as external statistics systems or conversion tracking.
Or, for example, you can set up dynamic substitution of content on the site, depending on the UTM tag in the link, for example, substitution of the page title depending on the text of the keyword that the visitor came to your site.

My UTM tag for Adwords looks like this:
?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=(keyword)&utm_content=(creative)
where
utm_source=google indicates the source of the transition,
utm_medium=cpc- the fact that the transition is paid, cpc is short for cost per click (pay per click)
utm_term=(keyword)– in place (keyword) Adwords will substitute the keyword that the visitor clicked on
utm_content=(creative)– in place (creative) Adwords will substitute the ad number, the link from which the visitor came.

In the first two labels, we have the values ​​\u200b\u200bprescribed - google and cpc. These values ​​are statistical, that is, they do not change, but are transmitted as we wrote them. Tags { keyword) and { creative) are dynamic parameters, that is, the values ​​in curly brackets will be replaced by the values ​​generated by Adwords. It is worth noting here that in my yutm tag there are far from all the parameters that can be passed by Google, among them there may still be such as (network)– which indicates the type of site from which the visitor arrived, (placement)– the name of the site from which the user came (relevant for the CCM), (adposition)- where in the search was the ad that the user and many others clicked on.

Basically, there are only two ways to add UTM tags to AdWords: 1. Add them via a tracking template. 2. Register them manually in each link in your ads. In this case, it is recommended to use the tracking template, since the option with manually adding UTM tags to links has a number of disadvantages:

1. When you change the UTM tag in the ad link, Adwords will assume that you have changed the entire ad, which firstly means resetting all accumulated statistics for this ad, and secondly, its re-moderation.
2. The presence of each ad, albeit the same, but separate UTM tags, increases the likelihood of errors during mass editing of these ads. Plus, you will need to set UTM tags not only for links in ads, but also for all other extensions that have urls, such as sitelinks, which also increases the likelihood of errors.

ProstavkaUTMtags using a tracking template

An AdWords tracking template is a special field for text that will be added to a link from your ad. Thus, if we write our UTM tag in the tracking template in the settings of a company, we ensure that it is present in all links of all ads that are included in this company. The tracking template in AdWords can be set at the level of:

- whole account

– companies

- ad groups

- ads

- keyword

That is, if we set a tracking template at the account level, this will mean that the content of the template will be added to all links from the ads of our account, company - company ads, ad - group ad links, and so on. At the same time, priority from lower to higher applies, for example, in a situation where we have a template set both at the level of the ad and the company that this ad belongs to, while the templates are different, the ad template will be put in the ad link.

Here I will describe two ways to apply UTM tags through the tracking template:

Putting UTM tags through the Adwords web interface

Unlike Yandex Direct, many bulk editing operations are conveniently and quickly done through the Adwords web interface. Including putting UTM tags through the tracking template.

UTM tagging at the account level

In the left side menu we find the link "Shared Library", then on the right we find the link "URL Options". Click change opposite "Tracking template" and write there (lpurl)?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=(keyword)&utm_content=(creative), structure, which consists of (lpurl)– the address of the page to which the link from our ad goes and the UTM tag. From now on, all links in our company will be assigned this combination of tags.

Here you can also additionally check the performance of tags: click on the “check” button and get a list of ready-made urls with tags.

UTM tagging at the company level

UTM tagging at the ad level

When creating a new ad, click on the plus next to the item Ad URL options (optional) below the description line. A number of additional fields will open, among which there will be the familiar Tracking Template, where we need to register our UTM tag.

Putting UTM tags in the tracking template viaAdWords Editor

UTM tagging is even easier with AdWords Editor. Open the editor, select the company we need in the upper left window Companies(it must be previously loaded into the editor from our account), then in the lower left window Control select the element to which we will assign the template - it can be a company, ad group, ad, keyword or ad extensions. Next, in the lower right window we find the tab OptionsURL, and write there the UTM label already known to us

Manual settingUTMtags in each link

If, for some technical reason, you cannot use the tracking template, or you need the initial presence of UTM tags in the links of your ads, then this task can be easily solved using standard Adwords tools.

AddendumUTMlabels for links through the web interfaceGoogle AdWords.

In the left column, select the company whose links we want to assign a UTM tag to, then the Ads tab, check all or several ads, click the "edit" drop-down button. After that, a menu will open in which we need to select the item "Edit ads"

Next, in the window that opens, select "Replace", select the element we need, where we add the label - "Final URL", and also note that we want to add our UTM label after the existing link text. This time, our label will look a little different: ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=(keyword)&utm_content=(creative), because we removed from it (lpurl).

AddendumUTMtags to links throughAdWords Editor.

In the left windows, select the company and ad level we need, then in the main window, select ads to the links of which we will add tags. Above the ads, click the "Edit" button, in it select the item "Edit URL"

In the window that opens, select the part of the ad in which we are making the change, in our case this is the final URL, select the tab "Add", and insert the already familiar UTM label