One tool may not be enough to fully measure paid search. This is especially true if you’re trying to track paid search ad variation performance and rely on Google Analytics.
As I mentioned in my previous post, 3 Ways Google Analytics Fails Paid Search Marketers, Google Analytics only shows you the ad title of your ad variation. This doesn’t tell you much if you’re testing the other lines or display URL.
You’ll have to supplement your web analytics program with the Google AdWords conversion tracking. Full documentation about AdWords conversion tracking and the place to get the code are here (you need to be logged into AdWords).
Unfortunately, Google AdWords conversion tracking and your analytics tools won’t always report the same results. You’ll never get them to match exactly but here are:
5 Tips to Improve the Accuracy of AdWords Conversion Tracking
1. Put The Codes on the Same Page – I know this one is fairly obvious. Your AdWords and Google Analytics code need to be on the same page.
2. Users First, Conversion Second – The generally accepted standard is that you place web analytics code at the bottom of a page. That way, the page code that matters most to the user loads first. Even Google agrees:
The code snippet should be placed between the <body> tags, closer to the </body> tag so that the image appears further down the page. You should NOT place the code in the header or footer of your page. This could overstate your conversion statistics and defeat the purpose of tracking.
3. Place The Codes Near Each Other – Just as both tracking codes, both Google AdWords and Google Analytics conversion code should be as close to each other as possible. Any distance between them could jar the count.
4. Pick the Right Code – AdWords gives you a variety of choices of code. Make sure you pick the one that’s right for your site goals. In particular, remember that secure pages require that you select the secure (https) code snippet from AdWords.
5. See No Image, Get No Tracking – Google AdWords conversion tracking produces as small image on your conversion page. Make sure the verification image is showing up.
