Tracking Pay Per Click (PPC) advertisements What are PPC ads or sponsored links?

Would you like to update your AdWords campaigns conveniently through Snoobi or have you already done the AdWords integration?

By tracking Pay Per Click advertisements (sponsored links in search engines), it is possible to determine which paid keywords have been most successful at drawing visitors to the site. The tracking will also reveal which search words have brought purchases, active or genuinely interested visitors. The most common form of PPC ads are Google's sponsored links, AdWords.

 

Requirements for tracking sponsored PPC ads

Ad tracking is a four-step process, which often needs input from a couple of different persons.

STEP 1. Make sure that the Snoobi tag has been installed into the ad's target page »

STEP 2. Edit the ad link by placing an extra identifier into the address »

Snoobi tracking is largely based on the storing of URL addresses. For this reason, the target page of the ad needs to be given a unique address, so that Snoobi can connect the right visitors to the right ad.

STEP 3. Test the new target address to make sure that it works »

STEP 4. Copy the identifier into Snoobi's settings »

If an advertisement has not been configured into Snoobi's advertisement settings, then Snoobi's report will display them as organic search terms.

 

We recommend that the identifier is added to the advertisement before it is published! • If the ad goes live without the identifier, organic and sponsored search engine visitors cannot be separated from one and other. Visitors that have have clicked on an ad before it contained an identifier cannot later be redefined as PPC visitors.  • Changes to the advertisement's target URL address are to be avoided, due to the fact that these changes will erase the CTR (Click Through Rate) history, thus risking a decline in the positioning of the ad.

 

STAGE 1. The Snoobi tag

Make sure that the landing page of the ad has a Snoobi tag installed into its source code. The ad tracking will fail if the ad directs to a page that does not contain Snoobi.

If it's not possible to add the Snoobi tag onto the landing page, begin by creating a redirect page through Snoobi's settings and utilize the redir link as the target address in stages 2-4.

 

STAGE 2. Changes to the PPC management / PPC settings

The second stage of the ad tracking process is usually implemented by a third party, who has produced the PPC campaign. Most likely it's an advertising agency or a company specialized in search engine optimization, though it is also possible to make the necessary adjustments by yourself, if you or a collegue have administrator privileges to the campaign management.

1. Log into the PPC management

Log into the PPC management account where the ad has been configured. Google AdWords' management settings can be found from http://adwords.google.com

 

2. Modify the ad's landing page

Find the setting for defining or adjusting the landing page or target page.

Image 1. An example from Google AdWords; how the ad is added to the target address

AdWords users: Click here if you want see a detailed description on finding the landing page setting in your AdWords account.

3. Annex an ad identifier to the end of the target address

We recommend using the ?ad=xxx or &ad=xxx parameter as the ad’s identifier, but other identification tags can be used as well, as long as they do not affect the functionality of the landing page.

The landing page can be any page on the site (front page, sub pages...). Let’s say that the landing page is
http://www.company.com/manufacturers/

In this case, the ad identification tag is added right after the target address, as follows:

If landing address does not contain a question mark -> ?ad=Google_product
Example:    www.company.com/manufacturers/?ad=Google_product

If landing address already contains a question mark -> &ad=Google_product
Example:    www.company.com/index.php?lang=1&ad=Google_product

 

Supported characters

Replace the “Google_product” with an id tag of your choice, though it is wise to include information about the search engine's name, campaign and date.

Note! The identifier will be visible for those that click on the ad, so use discretion!

• Avoid using non standard letters (such as å, ä, é, ü) and special characters (such as +, & and #). Replace empty spaces with dashes or underlines.
• The basic rule is to give each ad a different identifier, which means that you can inspect them as separate ads from Snoobi's report.

Is it necessary to place a slash before the identification tag?

The clearest way to find out is to let the page fully load itself. Once the page has loaded, copy the address from the browser in its entirety and add the identification tag behind it.

If the browser displays the address with a slash at its end, add the identifier after it. If the address doesn't end with a slash, don't spontaneously add one.

 

STAGE 3. Testing and publishing the new ad link

At this point it is useful to check that the link is still working. This can be done by visiting the target address: copy the target address with identifier and all (e.g. http://www.company.com/manufacturers/?ad=Google_products) into the address bar of the browser.

The ad tracking will work if the page loads normally and the id tag remains in sight on the address bar. If the ad identifier disappears, the ad tracking will not work.

 

If the ad's new address doesn't work

If the ad identifier disappears from the target address, a solution is to carry out the ad tracking through  a redirection, which can easily be made through Snoobi's settings. After you've made a redirect, replace the ad's original address with the direct address.

When using the redirect address, no extra identifier is needed! The redirect address is complete as it is and can be copied into the search engine management. Snoobi's redirect pages look similar to: http://redir.snoobi.com/redir.php?account=company_com&id=qrstuvxyz

 

Image 2. An example of how the ad's address will look like after the addition of the identifier

 

Repeat process with all advertisements or campaigns

If you have more than one ad defined into the PPC management, repeat the process with each of these ad groups in order to enable tracking for all of them.

If you have a large number of AdWords campaigns and it is no longer feasable to add an identifier to each manually, consider making an AdWords integration into your Snoobi account. It's free, and it will automatically add identifiers to each ad, speeding up the process considerably.

 

STAGE 4. Changes into Snoobi's settings 

This stage is usually done by the Snoobi user / end user, since it requires an administrator username for Snoobi. The account owner (who ordered Snoobi) has this type of username. The advertisement agency responsible for the ad campaign often lacks the necessary user privileges to apply these changes.

1. Login to  Snoobi's Advertisement settings

2. Add the identifier into the settings alongside with percent marks

Ad name

Give a self-explanatory, clear name to the ad. The name should ideally contain information about where the ad is located, when it is being shown and what it is all about. The name will only be shown to Snoobi users, ad visitors cannot see it.

For example: AdWords: tennis rackets (spring 2011) or Google: sports equipment campaign for kids

If two ads are named identically, the results of these will merge; Snoobi will report their combined visitor numbers and other data.

 

Ad identifier

Use the same ad identifier that you selected previously and add percentage signs before (and after) the ad identifier!

Example: %ad=Google_tennis%

Using a percent mark in the settings identifier

The % sign in front of the identifier is always necessary, because no address begins with the identifier and we want to allow any characters to precede the identifier. 

The % sign after the identifier is only necessary if the ad's the identifier isn't he last thing on the ad's target address (in some occasions, the website may add a session ID or some other identifier after Snoobi's identifier).

If you have outsourced the PPC campaign, make sure they've done all necessary changes and check which identifier they have used!

 

Ad type

Choose the channel in which the ad is dislayed. The ad type is a kind of grouping; in the report, you can sort the advertisement data according to ad type or ad media.

 

3. After saving

Ad media

The media is an optional way of grouping ads. The media can be Google, the ad producer, the ad's target group or the campaign's name. Defining a media makes it easier to compare the success between several ads that have been published or created by the same media.

You can assign the media by editing the ad ( icon).

 

Ad cost

Finally, you can define a total cost for the ad as well as how many impressions you've purchased, if you've bought a package with a certain amount of ad impressions. Define the cost by editing the advertisement from the edit  icon .

Based on the given cost, Snoobi calculates the average price for a visit.

Image 4. The ad view from the Main report