AdWords ValueTrack Parameters [List]: UTM Codes Upgraded

Written by: Chenell Basilio
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adwords valuetrack parameters

AdWords ValueTrack Parameters

AdWords ValueTrack parameters are essentially an upgraded version of your typical UTM codes. They dynamically insert values into the URLs and allow you to track more pieces of your campaign. As opposed to just a campaign, source, and term, you can track the ad the visitor clicked on or the exact device they’re using.

But when setting up a parameter template for an entire campaign, you don’t want to create separate UTM codes for each thing. This is where Google can really help.

These codes can be added to the ValueTrack template by attaching them to a dynamic landing page code as such:

{lpurl}?campaignid={campaignid}

List of ValueTrack Parameters

Here is a list of ValueTrack parameters you can use when to avoid manually adding UTM codes to each ad in your campaigns.

  • Campaign ID → campaignid={campaignid}
  • Ad Group ID → adgroupid={adgroupid}
  • Ad Network → {network} (“g” for Google search, “d” for display, or “s” for search partner)
  • Ad Creative → creative={creative}
  • Placement of Display Ad → placement={placement}
  • Device Type → device={device}
  • Model of the Device → devicemodel={devicemodel}
  • Keyword → keyword={keyword}
  • Keyword Match Type → matchtype={matchtype}
  • Geographic Location → GA_loc_physical_ms={loc_physical_ms} (the ID of the geographic location of the click)
  • Ad Position → adposition={adposition} (The exact position on the page that your ad was shown in. Example value returned: “1t4” would be 1st page, at the top, position 4)
  • AdWords Campaign Experiments ID → aceid={aceid} (The control or experiment ID from any campaign experiments you’re running through AdWords.)

For more advanced information on this list, you can check out https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6305348?hl=en

If you find that the typical ValueTrack parameters aren’t solving for something you want to track, you can also set up custom parameters.

As a best practice, make sure not to mix search and display network value tracking templates. For instance, placement is a display network parameter, so for search you wouldn’t pull anything for this parameter.

To keep everything clean, make sure you’re using two different templates: one for your display campaigns, and one for your search campaigns.

Search

{lpurl}?keyword={keyword}&matchtype={matchtype}&network={network}&device={device}

Display

{lpurl}?placement={placement}&network={network}

Where to Insert ValueTrack Parameters

ValueTrack parameters can be set at the campaign, ad group, or ad level. Keep in mind that adding these at the ad level will reset the ad statistics, so if you’ve been running an ad for a while it’s best to use these at the ad group or campaign level.

Adding Parameters at the Campaign Level

To add these at the campaign level, navigate to the campaign you want to edit, and go to the Settings page. Make sure you are on the “All Settings” tab and scroll to the bottom of the page.

campaign settings

Under Advanced Settings you will see an option to expand “Campaign URL options (advanced)”. This is where you can enter your tracking template with ValueTrack parameters included.

adwords tracking template

As you can see in the example, you’ll want to start the template with the landing page URL code: ?url={lpurl}&

The “&” at the end designates that you will be adding parameters onto that landing page tracking code.

An example might look like this:

https://conversionowl.com/?url={lpurl}&keyword={keyword}&matchtype={matchtype}

For the most part you would use this method to input tracking templates, but as mentioned before, you can set this at the ad group or ad level.

Adding Parameters at the Ad Level

To add these parameters at the ad level, when you are creating or editing an ad, you can insert the template into the “Tracking template” box on the same page:

valuetrack ad level parameters

Using the ValueTrack Parameters on your ads and campaigns can really enhance the data you collect from your campaigns. There are many more options than the standard five UTM codes we were previously able to use.

This more comprehensive data will allow you to make better informed marketing decisions in your AdWords campaigns.

 

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