A New Way to Track AdWords in Pardot

A few changes are coming your way if you're using AdWords and Pardot.

The first change is cosmetic; Google shortened the name AdWords to Ads in June, so the product is now called Google Ads. The main reason for the change is that the ads can be more than just words across the different channels, formats and screens.

The second change is that Google Ads has launched a new way to track ads, called Parallel Tracking. Today, Pardot is using Google's Tracking Template feature to integrate the two platforms. The most significant difference between Parallel tracking and the tracking template is that with parallel tracking, your web pages will load a lot quicker, which will improve the customer experience and lead to more visits, more clicks and more conversions.

As of October 30, 2018, parallel tracking will be required for all Google Ad accounts, so Pardot has launched a new way to stay integrated.

How to implement Google Ads Parallel Tracking with Pardot

Here are the steps you can share with your administrator to implement the new Pardot - Google Ads integration before Tuesday, October 30, 2018:

Remove the Pardot tracking template from Google Ads settings. The tracking template can be placed at the ad group, campaign, or account level. Make sure the Pardot tracking template has been removed at whatever level you've placed it in the past. You must have Google Ads admin access to make this change.

Remove the Pardot Tracking Template.

Log into Google Ads and follow the steps below:

• Go to your Settings at the ad group, campaign, or account level.
• Go to the URL Options for that level.
• Remove the existing template found in the "Tracking template" field.

Now add the new Pardot Final URL Suffix.

Below the "Tracking template" field, find the “Final URL suffix” field and paste in Pardot’s Custom Final URL suffix and Save:

creative={creative}&keyword={keyword}&matchtype={matchtype}&network={network}&device={device}

Make sure you delete the tracking template once you've added the Final URL Suffix otherwise you may double all your tracking results! For more details on adding the Final URL suffix, visit Google Support.

If your Google Ads direct your prospects to third-party (non-Pardot) landing pages, be sure to have your webmaster add the Pardot campaign tracking code to the page. This code will allow you to track page visits and tag the primary campaign to (net) new prospects. Visit Salesforce help for more details.