Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Google URL Builder / Campaign Tracking on two Different Domain using the Same Analytics Code
-
Hey Everyone,
I think I know the answer to this but I'd like to get some confirmation.
I currently have a landing page at "www.xyz.com", it's a separate domain in which only the landing page exists and not a vanity URL which redirects. However, the navigation and all the links on "www.xyz.com" actually link out to "www.abc.com". The domain / landing page "xyz" has the same analytics tracking code as domain "www.abc.com".
My question is this, if I use Google URL builder to create custom URL's to track for each ad that I'm running in Adwords, will this data show up in the analytics of "abc" even though it's a separate domain because it has the same analytics code?
In other words, does campaign data show only if the domain and the google analytics code line up, or does the domain not matter and as long as you have the same analytics code (despite two separate domains) that campaign data (built through Google URL builder) will show?
My hunch and best guess it that as long as the analytics code is the same (regardless of a separate domain) that the data in campaign will show with the custom URL's I build. I'm aware that I can test this and I will but I'd like to get an idea from the community first to make things easier. Anybody have experience with this? Answers greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
-
Thanks Tom, I'll try to implement this.
The link for http://psgrep.com/ isn't working? If I implement the solution for cross domain tracking above, will my adwords data flow through? Right now I'm getting no behaviour data even though my adwords and analytics are linked up or is there additional work I will need to do that is available on the link that isn't working?
Thanks!
-
Hey Jon,
I hope what is written above is more helpful and explains I do not want to copy the instructions Word for Word.
But I think this will give you enough to understand if you have implemented these changes you are all set if not please make the changes.
Because there are code changes that should be in place to use to different domains in order to track them you need to set up her primary and secondary.
You are on the right track I hope the information above gives you what you need if it does not.
Let me know and I would try using http://www.analytics-debugger.com/en http://memo.suan3se.com/?p=643 & http://psgrep.com/
in order to set up and know that it set up properly.
Sincerely,
Thomas
-
HI Jon,
There are because
Because cross domain tracking is dealing with a primary and secondary you do have to change the tracking snippet
For Adwords
by following the steps in the link above you will be able to set up Adwords
I have pasted example below using example1.com as well as example2.com represent the different domains. One of the easiest ways to set this up is to simply use the Google analytics debugger it is available in the chrome store as well as a this incredible resource
Here is exactly what you need to do for ad words because it is slight differences you will need to use Google auto linker plug-in
Step 1: Set up a property in your Google Analytics account.
autoLink plugin
to your tracking code, it automatically loads with your pages and does a substring match on all your links. It then recognizes any links that include a domain name that you’ve specified in your tracking code. Any traffic that clicks a link to those domains get counted as cross domain traffic.
The tracking code snippet must contain these changes every place it appears on your secondary domain.
For three or more domains
Follow the example above, but add the other domains to the autoLink plugin. Even the additional comma here is important:
ga('linker:autoLink', ['example-1.com', 'example-3.com'] );
See what this looks like in full context
The tracking code snippet on your secondary domain(s) should look like this:
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cross-domain
for GA
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1034342?hl=en&ref_topic=2772342
For cross domain tracking, set up one property in your Google Analytics account. Use the same tracking code snippet and tracking ID from that property for all of your domains.
You need to edit the tracking code snippet for cross domain tracking to work. If you haven’t already included the snippet on all your webpages, you might want copy and paste it into a text editor before continuing with the instructions here. This way, you only have to make the changes once before including the modified snippet on all your webpages.
For details on setup help, follow the instructions on how to set up the web tracking code, but remember: You must customize the snippet using the instructions in this article for cross domain tracking to work properly.
Step 2: Edit the tracking code for the primary domain.
Find the create line in the snippet. For a website called example-1.com, it looks like this:
ga('create', 'UA-XXXXXXX-Y', 'example-1.com');
Make the following changes to the snippet (the changes you need to make are in bold red text
ga('create', 'UA-XXXXXXX-Y', 'auto', {'allowLinker': true});
** ga('require', 'linker');**
** ga('linker:autoLink', ['example-2.com'] );**
Remember to replace the example tracking ID (UA-XXXXXX-Y) with your own tracking ID, and replace the example secondary domain (example-2.com) with your own secondary domain name.
http://www.analytics-debugger.com/en
https://www.google.com/search?q=google+analytics+debugger&oq=google-analytics-debugger
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-analytics-debugger/jnkmfdileelhofjcijamephohjechhna
I hope this is more helpful and explains I do not want to copy the instructions Word for Word.
But I think this will give you enough to understand if you have implemented these changes you are all set if not please make the changes.
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1042508
TRACKING ACROSS MULTIPLE DOMAINS
autoLink plugin
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/4627488
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/cross-domain
I hope this will tell you yes or no
let me know,
Tom
-
Hey Thomas,
Just to be sure, could you answer the question whether my assumption is correct or not? I'll read through the resource you sent but your opinion would be great.
Thanks!
-
here is a detailed answer to your question.
https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/gajs/gaTrackingSite
https://developers.google.com/analytics/resources/concepts/gaConceptsDomains
Please let me know if I can be of more help,
Thomas
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Unsolved How should I update the grouping of keywords in a google ads account
hi, I have a google adwords account running for a while in a fairly competitive market in a major city so there is only one geo location with many suburbs or council areas as popular searched. I have keywords that are 2-4 words long and very similar. I have had one keyword in its own campaign, several in one campaign and a location campaign. The location campaign has several adgroups for specific suburbs. My question is that the most popular search terms are similar but in different campaigns and I am wondering if this is not the best way. for example I have these keywords in separate campaigns as exact match and phrase match
Paid Search Marketing | | salliWW
rubbish removal
rubbish removal near me
rubbish removal Washington But the way google uses exact match seems to be changing and I am concerned these would be best in one adgroup. Also these keywords trigger similar phrases, for example, waste removal. Is it best to put them in one campaign with one ad group or one campaign with separate adgroups, or leave as is. As competition has increased I need to bid for top of page now and need to keep budget rises as little as possible..0 -
Adwords Conversions - Trying to track button clicks that fire when Bootstrap modal contact form clicked/opened
Hi there, I'm trying to implement google adwords conversions on a particular client's website. They have used bootstrap as the framework for their site and mainly open up contact forms within a bootstrap modal, after a button is clicked. See here: http://www.gtwstorage.co.uk/ I thought I had successfully implemented the adwords conversion tracking however it has been a week now, and my conversions still say they are "unverified". I wonder if anyone else has encountered this before and knows what I might be doing wrong. Thank you in advance, Darren
Paid Search Marketing | | SEODarren0 -
Does having redirects in a Adwords text ad destination URL hurt quality scores?
I recently noticed that one of my clients had several redirects in their Adwords text ad destination URLs. I updated the destination URLS to land on the final location (thereby losing all the text ad history). However I'm wondering if this could have any impact on the text ad quality scores (none of them were disapproved).
Paid Search Marketing | | RosemaryB0 -
Using multiple domains in one Adwords account
Hi, I am currently setting up an Adwords account and wanted to know if you can run multiple websites through one account. We have 2 domains each promoting a different one of our brands and i was wondering the best way to run the account. Regards Ben
Paid Search Marketing | | benjmoz0 -
Near-duplicate content for landing pages - use noindex?
We want to create 5-10 near-duplicates of our homepage to use as landing pages – nearly all same text, but some different images. We want to make sure Google doesn't ding us for duplicate content. Is the best way to do that to tag each of these pages with "noindex"?
Paid Search Marketing | | HopeIndu1 -
CPC or CPM for Google Display Network?
HI all I'm setting up my first Remarketing campaign on the display network. I'm targeting those that have visited a specific product page at the moment and therefore there won't be a massive amount of traffic to remarket to - roughly no more than 50 clicks/day. My question is - what is the best bidding option for a campaign like this? Not sure whether to go for CPM or traditional CPC. I have previously found CPM much better for Facebook but obviously thats very different to Google. All help appreciated!
Paid Search Marketing | | SamMaley0 -
Broad vs. Exact in Brand Campaign
Hey guys, I was looking through my "Brand" campaign, and I noticed that my costs are running a little higher than I'd like to be spending. I've got my brand search term (Strutta) set on broad, since I just recently started the brand campaign about 2-weeks ago. However, I've noticed that I'm spending around $1 on most clicks even though my QS is at 9/10. In my previous experience, I've been able to pay pennies on brand search terms. I know that I have a competitor that's trying to snipe my brand searches, but I don't really want to be paying this much for branded clicks. Would it be a good idea to check my search terms, build out a larger list of exact match terms, and just go with exact match? Do you guys usually use broad in your Brand campaigns, or exact?
Paid Search Marketing | | danny.wood0 -
Increasing Google Ad spend - is it worth it
Hi We are currently spending approx £500 pcm on google ad words however if I increased this spend to £4000 pcm what kind of results would this achieve? For example would it just be more visits per day as the budget is larger? Also what is the best way to track the success of an adwords campaign - the ultimate goal of the campaign would be to generate a lead whether this be a phone call, email or using our book an appointment form. Our service covers a geographical area (Scotland) and for organic search we are doing well 1st pages listings for searches such as pvc doors edinburgh etc so I am unsure whether it's worth increasing my PPC spend or put more resource into SEO, or even Facebook ads?
Paid Search Marketing | | ocelot0