In an earlier post last month, I explained how to dynamically pass keyword information into Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and Microsoft Ad Center (Using Google Analytics To Track Yahoo & Adcenter Paid Keywords). However, I did not fully example how to set the destination URL so that session data can be passed into the Mongoose Metrics system.

Setting up the destination URL for your paid search campaigns is pretty straight forward. It may seem like a lot of work, but the actual process flows quickly and easily.

For Google Adwords:

First, if you don’t already have it, download the Adwords Editor and open it.  Then select the campaign that you want to track and highlight all of your keywords or ads. With everything highlighted that you wish to track, change the destination URL to the correct string. There is some flexibility within the string as to what you can label each identifier, but for Google Adwords use the following:

http://www.mysite.com/?mm_campaign=a0i4ah0i23t0i20ti2302&keyword={keyword}&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Adwords

The “mm_campaign=” string is your campaign ID which can be found in your account under instructions.

For Microsoft Adcenter:

There is an application currently in beta testing that allows you to change destination URLs in Adcenter via a similar method as Adwords Editor. To get it you either must email or call Adcenter support and ask for the download link.  Once installed, the steps are just like in Adwords. Highlight all of the keywords or ads and add the following string to the end of the destination URL:

http://www.mysite.com?mm_campaign=a0i4ah0i23t0i20ti2302&utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=AdCenter&utm_term={keyword}&utm_source=Bing

The “mm_campaign=” string is your campaign ID which can be found in your account under instructions.

For Yahoo Search Marketing:

Yahoo is slightly different from both Adwords and Adcenter, as there is no bulk editor. However, if you have a high spending account you have the bulk upload feature that allows you to upload all your destination URL’s in an Excel spreadsheet. If you are not a big spender you can simply send in your account by emailing support with the same Excel spreadsheet and asking them to upload it. Be careful with this process as you are ‘technically’ only supposed to have one bulk upload per campaign. In either case, download your campaign and simply copy and paste a string like the following into the destination URL column:

http://www.mysite.com?campaign=a0i4ah0i23t0i20ti2302&keyword={OVKEY}&utm_source=YahooSM&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=SearchMarketing

The “mm_campaign=” string is your campaign ID which can be found in your account under instructions.

Setting up destination URL’s for the first time can seem somewhat complicated, but follow the instructions listed above and it should go smoothly. If you have any questions please email or call our support line.

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