Parallel Tracking in Google Ads
Google Ads after Oct 30, 2018 required parallel tracking in all Ads accounts. Why are they doing this and what does it mean?
Google wants fast load times for users, and they definitely DON’T want slower load times for people using their Ads platform. Advertisers who use click tracking platforms, might be slowing down the user a tiny bit or a lot depending on the platform. Parallel tracking removes this barrier by sending the user directly to the site as well as having the browser send a beacon to the parallel click tracking path (the click tracking URL). That’s why they’re mandating use of parallel tracking.
Depends on how you have things set up, but you probably don’t have to do anything at all.
You can get campaign tracking within Google Ads by using ValueTrack parameters (Google Article on ValueTrack). This also adds some great detail to ActiveDEMAND contacts who engage with Google Ads. No Google Ads changes are required, since you’re still just using 1 URL with no additional click tracking redirects.
Technically, if you were using shortened links in your Google Ads campaigns, you might have to use parallel tracking, but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense anyways, because you should be getting user campaign interaction data from ValueTrack parameters instead.
If you want additional information on Google’s change to Parallel Tracking, check out their FAQ.
Parallel Tracking in Google Ads
Increasing Page Load Speed for Click Tracking Platforms
Google wants fast load times for users, and they definitely DON’T want slower load times for people using their Ads platform. Advertisers who use click tracking platforms, might be slowing down the user a tiny bit or a lot depending on the platform. Parallel tracking removes this barrier by sending the user directly to the site as well as having the browser send a beacon to the parallel click tracking path (the click tracking URL). That’s why they’re mandating use of parallel tracking.
What does this mean for ActiveDEMAND Users?
Depends on how you have things set up, but you probably don’t have to do anything at all.
Use ValueTrack Parameters
You can get campaign tracking within Google Ads by using ValueTrack parameters (Google Article on ValueTrack). This also adds some great detail to ActiveDEMAND contacts who engage with Google Ads. No Google Ads changes are required, since you’re still just using 1 URL with no additional click tracking redirects.
Using ValueTrack Parameters in ActiveDEMAND
Technically, if you were using shortened links in your Google Ads campaigns, you might have to use parallel tracking, but that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense anyways, because you should be getting user campaign interaction data from ValueTrack parameters instead.
If you want additional information on Google’s change to Parallel Tracking, check out their FAQ.
Updated on: 29/10/2022
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