Overview
Google Ads is an online advertising platform where businesses can display ads on Google's search engine results pages, YouTube, and other partner websites. It uses a pay-per-click (PPC) model, allowing advertisers to bid on keywords relevant to their products or services. Google Ads offers extensive targeting options, including location, device, and audience type, to reach potential customers effectively.
Integrating Google Ads with Triple Whale allows for seamless tracking of ad performance and conversions. This integration provides a unified view of advertising metrics, facilitating better budget allocation and campaign optimization based on real-time data.
Get Connected
A brief walkthrough video of connecting Google ads to Triple Whale.
To set up your integrations, head to Settings > Integrations.
When you click Connect, you'll be redirected to Google Ads. Make sure you're already logged into Google using an account that has admin privileges to the Google Ads account you'd like to connect with Triple Whale. (An MCC account is also acceptable.) Check ALL the boxes, then click Continue to approve the connection.
Once you are back to Triple Whale, a popup will prompt you to select the Google Ads account/s you'd like to import to Triple Whale.
We will automatically add tracking parameters to all your Google campaigns and adgroups, so that our Pixel can track all your ads. If you'd rather manually add these tracking parameters, you may uncheck the box and follow the guidelines below.
UTM Setup
A Tracking Parameter is a snippet of code that you can add to the end of a URL to track the performance of campaigns and content. By using Triple Whale's custom Tracking Parameters in your Ads Manager accounts and marketing content, each visitor will be informing our Pixel exactly which ad they just clicked on before arriving at your store.
To learn more about Pixel tracking & attribution, visit: How the Triple Pixel Works
As mentioned above, when you connect Google Ads to Triple Whale we will automatically begin adding tracking parameters to all your Google campaigns and adgroups. However, if you wish to manually input tracking parameters on all your Google Ads, follow the instructions below.
Copy the following tracking parameters and add them to Account Settings and Campaign & Adgroup Settings in Google Ads. These parameters should be placed in the URL Parameters field.
REQUIRED TRACKING PARAMETERS:
{lpurl}?tw_source=google&tw_adid={creative}&tw_campaign={campaignid}
ACCOUNT SETTINGS:
To add these UTMs to your Google Ads Account Settings, head to Admin > Account Settings > Tracking. Paste the UTMs into the Tracking Template field as seen in the screenshot below. Click Save.
CAMPAIGN & ADGROUP SETTINGS:
To add these UTMs to your Google Ads Campaign & Adgroup Settings, head to:
— and select the campaigns/adgroups to which you would like to add tracking parameters. Click Edit, and select Change tracking template.
Paste the UTMs into the Tracking Template field as seen in the screenshot below. Click Apply.
YouTube Advertisers
Oftentimes, applying custom tracking parameters to YouTube ads will require you to first duplicate the video ad and, only then, add our tracking parameters to the end of your Destination URL.
Please ensure that you use a
?to separate your Destination URL and the tracking parameters. An example of this would be www.triplewhale.com/sonar?tw_source=google&tw_adid={creative}&tw_campaign={campaignid}
ClickCease Users
ClickCease customers can continue using ClickCease while also upholding the tracking parameters required by Triple Whale. Please follow the recommended setup below, as confirmed by the ClickCease team:
Step 1: Ensure ClickCease HTML code is installed on all pages and landing pages.
Step 2: Use the following tracking parameter settings:
Account Settings:
Tracking Template: {lpurl}?tw_source=google&tw_adid={creative}&tw_campaign={campaignid}
Final URL Suffix: kw={keyword}&cpn={campaignid}
Campaign Settings:
Tracking Template: {lpurl}?tw_source=google&tw_adid={creative}&tw_campaign={campaignid}
Final URL Suffix: kw={keyword}&cpn={campaignid}
AdGroup Settings:
Tracking Template: {lpurl}?tw_source=google&tw_adid={creative}&tw_campaign={campaignid}
Final URL Suffix: kw={keyword}&cpn={campaignid}
NOTE: You can add the Campaign and Adgroup tracking templates automatically through the Triple Whale tracking settings page, but you will need to manually add the ClickCease final URL suffix field through the Google Ads Manager as outlined above.
Google Data Library
Once you've connected your Google Ads account, you will be able to access a rich collection of metrics and pre-built dashboards across Triple Whale. Unlock new insights and optimize your paid strategy using the Pixel Google dashboard:
Looking for a specific metric? Explore the full range of metrics, populate new dashboards, and build custom metrics from our Metrics Library:
Frequently Asked Questions
1. I'm already using different UTMs, what should I do now?
If you're already using UTMs for another purpose, you can simply add these parameters to the end of that string - just be sure to write
&before pasting these parameters.EXAMPLE: If your existing UTMs in place are:
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=agency_name+google_shoppingthen you would simply add Triple Whale's UTMs to the end, preceded by &RESULT:
{lpurl}?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=agency_name+google_shopping&tw_source=google&tw_adid={creative}&tw_campaign={campaignid}
2. Can I bulk edit UTMs for all my Google ads?
Every ad that you want to track with the Pixel will need our recommended tracking parameters in there. Good news: you can also bulk edit your campaign UTMs within Google Ads, so you won't have to update UTMs one ad at a time.
In Campaigns > Settings, select all campaigns, click Edit, and select Change tracking templates. Paste Triple Whale's UTMs into the New tracking template field, and click Apply.
3. Where can I check if my UTMs are properly set up?
Visit the Tracking Settings page where we will provide a full list of any live ads that are missing the required UTM tracking parameters.
4. Why do some metrics not seem to match up?
It's important to understand the different types of data you will find in Triple Whale, and how to interpret various reports. Generally speaking, a metric imported directly from an integrated source (such as: Google CPC) should appear in Triple Whale as it does in Google. However, some dashboards include Triple Whale's first-party data, which can differ significantly from channel-reported metrics. Additionally, a subtle formatting error in ad link UTMs can prevent proper tracking. For a deeper dive into the various metrics available in Triple Whale, explore our Data Dictionary.
5. What is sag_organic and why is it showing up under Google?
SAG (Surfaces Across Google) Organic refers to Google's attribution of organic traffic; meaning, traffic that was organically driven from a Google service such as Google Shopping, Google Images, etc. Because of this, the touchpoint is attributed as an Organic Touchpoint,since there were no interactions tracked from a paid ad with a UTM parameter.