How Ad Tracking Technology Works
Hello there people. I’m Alex Becker, CEO of Hyros, and we’re going to discuss ad tracking, what it is, and how it all works.
If you’re running any marketing online, you need to understand ad tracking, how it’s done and what you’re probably doing wrong, costing you tons of money and opportunities.
And you know what’s worse than wasting money? It’s worse when you waste money when you could have prevented it and made more by simply doing things right.
Look, ad tracking is crucial for your success. But most people get it wrong. They look at the incorrect data and wrong attribution and spend more for ads that aren’t working as well as they look for and kill ads that are doing better than they appear.
How does that happen? Because they’re using the wrong ad-tracking software.
What Is Ad Tracking?
Ad tracking is a method of data collection that creates a profile of who, where, and when a person clicks your opt-in or sets up a sales call. Most people will track their ad performance with either first-click, last-click, or multi-click attribution.
First-Click Attribution: First-click attribution is a way to track ad performance and give credit to the first time a target clicks your ad, opts in, or sets up a call. It won’t matter if they check out a ton of other content or ads before they convert; with this model of ad tracking, the first click gets the credit.
The problem is that a person may have interacted with all your content for a long time before converting. They may have checked out tons of videos on YouTube or other content, and those behaviors are lost in this type of model.
So if you have a funnel and the first click is all that’s getting credit for the conversion, how can you optimize or scale ads along the way that may be better performing? With first-click attribution, you’d be lost in figuring out what’s working for you through the buyer’s journey.
Last-Click Attribution: Last-click attribution is similar in that credit for any conversion goes to the last click.
This model is the way most people track their ads, and most software likes to give this type of credit in their reports. But it’s the lazy way of tracking ads.
Tracking your ads to the last click attribution may show that your messaging and CTA are doing alright, but again, you’re missing out on everything that brought your target to the final ad and all their behaviors along the way.
Facebook likes to utilize this type of attribution model in its reporting. When they do it, it makes Facebook look good to advertisers. Facebook wants to give credit to the last click model because what it does is ignores all the other times a target interacted and engaged with your content along the way.
It’s a way of saying if it’s not one stop away from Facebook, then it doesn’t exist. Which can lead you to make some serious mistakes in your ad buy if all you do is follow the data that the Facebook platform gives you.
Multi-Touch Attribution: Finally, there’s multi-touch attribution. This model gives a ton of credit to both the first and last touch, with a limited amount of credit to the other ads along the way.
Multi-touch attribution gives a lot of credit to first and last clicks, with little attention given to all the interactions in between.
The problem is that if your target has been checking out your content for some time, there may be a key piece of content that keeps them involved and interested.
Maybe the last click was when they finally decided it was time to buy, or they got their finances in order.
Whatever the reason they converted, look, multi-touch is a decent model, but you want to go much more expansive in your ad tracking and the only software I know of that can do that is Hyros.
The right type of ad tracking software will show you when your target engaged with your content and what led them to convert. But also, along the way, all the actions and behaviors that they took before the last click.
It’s like digging for water. I don’t know why you’d want to search for water. Maybe you’re a cattle rancher or farmer; I don’t know.
But if you only dig a foot under the surface, you’re probably not going to be too successful. And if you dig a little bit deeper and strike water, you may think you’ve found a water source. And you may have, but if you dig deeper, you’re bound to hit the water table and have as much water as you need.
And your ad tracking is similar. You can get lucky with some ad tracking, but if you really want to dig that well, you need to get deeper in your ad tracking.
Okay, I know it’s a lousy metaphor, but it’s true. Getting better ad tracking data is crucial to being more successful in your ads.
3 Main Types Of Ad Tracking
With ad tracking software, you’ll choose between 3 main types of ad tracking methods. The main 3 types of ad tracking include;
- Tracking URLs
- Cookies
- Tracking Pixels
Understanding these three types and how they provide you with the type of information you need to make better ads is really important here, people.
These methods don’t require a ton of technical knowledge to set up but can be tricky if you want to refine them without some coding knowledge.
So it’s better to get tracking software to implement and install these tracking methods for you.
Track URLs
A tracking URL is a dedicated page with its URL on a website that has a piece of code on it. The tracking code at the end of a URL determines where a person came from, whether it’s an ad, PPC, organic search, or other campaigns. Tracking URLs will show you some behaviors, insights, and the exact ad they came from.
Cookies
Cookies are code in a browser that files and stores a user’s information like behaviors, location, preferences, and more. When used correctly, cookies will give you broad insights into what your target does and likes, giving you a more defined idea of your ideal target.
Keep in mind that cookies can also be a little creepy or even illegal in some cases, so having a disclaimer about their uses of them and a privacy policy is a good idea.
Tracking Pixels
Pixels are small bits of code that are often tiny little pictures that are transparent and placed in your ad, email, or landing pages.
These are great to use when trying to determine the results of an A/B test of your ads. The benefit of pixels is that when placed on an ad, it allows you to see if the ad generates traffic or conversions.
This data is crucial in determining if you need to optimize or kill an ad altogether.
Ad tracking technology can be great, but it takes a lot of time to set up the report parameters, and even then, you could be staring at the wrong type of data. So instead, you want to get granular details about who, where, when, and how people are checking out your content, and there’s only one way I know to do that, and that is by using Hyros.
Why Is Ad Tracking Important?
Look, tracking your ads are critical to your success rate.
Why is ad tracking important? Because by tracking your ads correctly, you can make better decisions on the ads you want to scale, optimize your messaging and targeting, and get better conversions.
With better information and data, you will know which ads to scale and which ones to kill off. As a result, you’ll be more effective and make more money.
It’s a simple equation.
Better data = better decisions. Better decisions = more money.
Ad tracking also allows you to understand your audience better, their behaviors, and where they are coming to you from. These insights will enable you to optimize further and personalize your content, refining your targeting and making a better offering as a result.
Finally, with better insights that come from tracking, you can boost your conversions by providing more relevant content to your audiences.
But too often, people think that their tracking data is good when it’s last-click attribution. Unfortunately, that’s what Facebook uses, last-click, so if you’re running ads on multiple channels, Facebook won’t do much as far as giving credit to all the ads before the target comes to Facebook.
And if you make your scaling decisions based on limited data, you might get lucky, but you’ll probably spend a lot of money on underperforming ads.
Here’s the thing. You can track through Facebook or Google and get some ok insights and data. Then, using that information, you can make decisions on your various ad campaigns and hope for the best.
But, if you’re serious about getting a great ROI on your ads, you need to get granular on the types of ad performance and target behaviors, and the only way I know of to do that effectively is through Hyros.
And if you’re really into learning about scaling and tracking your ads, you should visit our Facebook mastermind group. We have over 50 million in ad buys there, and the expertise is off the charts. It’s simply the best online mastermind you’re going to find.
There are serious heavy hitters in there offering all types of information.
That’s it for this post. But if you want more content like this, subscribe to my YouTube channel, where I upload this type of stuff every day.
So check out the mastermind group, subscribe to my YouTube, and check out Hyros to track your ads. By using Hyros, you’ll get 20-30% ROI; if you don’t, you won’t pay. It’s free to schedule a call, so check us out today.
HYROS TRACKING
If you are interested in obtaining the same stats I showed in this video and even having us help you set this up, GO HERE to get more information on HYROS.
Ad Training and Tactics
While I do not sell courses, I do offer a private coaching program where I train people on the ad strategies I have used to build multiple 8 figure and 7 figures businesses. You can get more details on that HERE.
HYROS Facebook Group
It’s really simple. This group is the best media buyer Facebook group online because we make sure that every member is spending significant ad spend before joining. It’s for veteran ad buyers only and because of that the networking/information being shared is on another level. You can apply to join HERE
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