Tracking Google Ads campaigns

AppMetrica allows you to track Google Ads advertising campaigns.

To enable tracking, you should link the AppMetrica and Google Ads accounts via the link identifier that is used for attributing the installation source.

How tracking works

Google Ads tracking requires collecting advertising IDs (GAID/IDFA) from devices. If the app doesn't collect advertising IDs, tracking won't work.

Android

Access to advertising IDs is granted by default.

iOS

This section explains the steps for setting up AppMetrica tracking to work with Google Ads ad campaigns.

Step 1. Get the Google Ads link ID

Create a link to AppMetrica for advertised app in the Google Ads web interface:

1. Log in to your Google Ads account, go to the page menu, and click Tools .
2. In the section menu, select Data manager.
3. On the Data manager page, click Connect product.
4. Select Third-party app analytics and click Continue.
5. Click Create link ID if you link accounts for the first time, or the + button if your account already linked AppMetrica or other third-party app analytics accounts.
6. In the App analytics provider drop-down list, select Other provider. Specify the provider ID AppMetrica — 1444794547.
7. Select the platform of the mobile app.
8. Find the advertised application using the search field.
9. Click Create link ID.
10. Copy the received link ID and use it when creating a tracker in AppMetrica.

Step 2. Create a tracker in AppMetrica

1. In the AppMetrica interface, go to Tracking → Add tracker.
2. Enter the name of the tracker.
3. Select Google Ads as the media source.
4. Specify Main as the tracker type.
5. The provider ID is already specified. Specify the link ID that you obtained in Step 1. You can find it in the Linked Accounts section of Google Ads.

Step 3. (Optional) Configure attribution

This attribution type correctly detects the source that brought users to your app and accurately links app installs to ad interactions, whether they're a click or an impression.

For more information about attribution methods, see AppMetrica tracking technology and Impression attribution.

• Reattribution — Attribution of reinstalls by pre-existing users. This option is disabled by default. For more information, see Attributing app installs.

  For test devices, reattribution is always enabled (regardless of the option status). For more information about adding test devices, see Testing attribution.

• Click settings

  • Fingerprint — Time interval of attribution (the time between the click and first start). AppMetrica uses it for the Device Fingerprint Matching attribution. The default value is 24 hours.
    Acceptable values are from 1 to 24 hours.

  • Device ID / Install Referrer — Time interval of attribution, that is used for the Device Identifier Matching attribution. The default value is 10 days.
    Acceptable values are from 1 to 90 days for clicks and up to 24 hours for impressions.

• Impression attribution, also known as post-view attribution or view-through attribution (VTA), accounts for cases where a user didn't navigate to the app store by clicking an ad but still installed your app shortly after viewing it. The option is enabled by default. For more information, see Impression attribution.

Step 4. (Optional) Configure postbacks

A postback is a request to the media source's server sent via a set link (postback URL). The request transmits data about a conversion that occurred in the app.

Postbacks are typically used when running CPI/CPA campaigns. You can add up to 10 postbacks per tracker.

If you have default postbacks configured for the selected media source, they're automatically added to the tracker. You can disable these postbacks, add templates that exist for the media source and are disabled by default, or create new ones.

For media source, postbacks for all sources can also be configured — they allow you to send event data to the media source regardless of whether the user was acquired through advertising or organically. Such postbacks are not linked to specific trackers. You can view them on the media source page.

1. Select the conversion for which you want to send a postback, then choose a sending method (POST or GET).

2. Generate a postback URL.

   To transmit additional information about the event to the media source, use macros when generating the URL.

   Some media sources can set a permanent Postback URL for their network. In this case, the postback is sent to the media source regardless of other settings. It can't be edited.

Step 5. Save your changes

Click Save at the bottom of the page.

On the right, you can find the tracker's Tracking ID.

Step 6. Import conversions

After your ad campaign launches, import the events in the Google Ads interface:

1. In your Google Ads account, go to the page menu and click Goals .

2. In the section menu, expand the Conversions list.

3. Select Summary.

4. Click Create conversion action.

5. Select Import → Third-party app analytics and click Continue.

6. Select the first_open event of the advertised application.

   You can also select target events that are sent via postback.

7. Click Import and continue.

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