How can I find out EXACTLY WHICH Google Adwords ads are leading to which orders?

Question

I've had Google Analytics set up for my account and I've had some orders since. But now that the account is set up, I want to know exactly WHICH ad a particular customer clicked on to get to my site when they made a purchase?

Answer 1

There are two ways to do this. The simplest is to implement "conversion tracking" by placing the Google "conversion tracking code" on your order-confirmation page. Then, your AdWords data should show you which keywords led to orders.



A second strategy is to use destination URLs that embed your keywords, so that when someone searches for "green widget" and clicks on your ad, the destination URL for that keyword might be

  X.net/w8.htm?k=green+widget



This second method does not provide automatic reporting, but it's possible to view your log files to determine how each customer got to your web site. (Sometimes your e-commerce solution provider may have special tools for tracking, and if you have implemented an "affiliate program" then your affiliate solution may also provide for some method of keyword tracking and reporting.)



You might also consider setting up Google Analytics for your site, but it has a steep learning curve for most folks.

Answer 2

The conversion tracking in google is much easier to get set up I agree.



The first person talking about channels is talking about adsense and didn't read the question properly.

Answer 3

You need to assign each ad to a different channel. You can do it in your account during the process where you choose the sixes, colours and themes etc.



At first, just use a different channel for every ad you create and you'll be able to tell precisely which ones are working and which are not.



Later (when you run out of channels!) you can take the ones you know are working and group them all into one channel to free up a few more.



All the best.



J.