Marin seamlessly connects to the Google Analytics API to retrieve conversion and revenue data, which into the platform daily for reporting and optimization. Google Analytics is considered a trusted source for conversion and revenue data and tracking is simple to implement, as URL tagging is not required to get started.
Considerations & Requirements
Your platform data may differ for Premium (paid) and Standard (free) Google Analytics accounts. Standard users may see differences in platform data looking back two or more days.
Supported Metrics
- Goals (conversions & revenue)
- Ecommerce Transactions (conversions & revenue)
- Web Analytics Metrics (such as sessions, bounces, etc.)
- Events (such as downloads, mobile ad clicks, gadgets, Flash elements, and video plays)
- See Google Analytics’ full list of available metrics
Unsupported Metrics
- For calculated metrics, such as Bounce rate or Session duration, see the Custom Columns section of this article below.
- Sub-segment data (e.g. Ecommerce Transaction = Sale, sub-segments = existing customer and new customer)
- Ecommerce with no goals set up (set up placeholder goal if needed)
- Deprecated Web Analytics Metrics (e.g. visits, new visits, visitors)
- Anything other than last-click attribution & date of conversion data
- Auto-tagging for Shopping Campaigns. To track Shopping Campaigns you will need to enable Manual-tagging Override in Google Analytics and tag your Shopping Campaigns with UTM parameters (we'll provide more details about this in steps 2 and 3 below).
Step 1: API Access, Profile ID, And Goals
There are four main steps involved with setting up your Google Analytics account. For the first step of the installation process, you will need to make sure your Google Ads account is linked to your Google Analytics profile (see Google's help article).
Grant API Access
- Log into Google Analytics and click Admin at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
- In the Account column, select the profile you wish to track in the drop-down.
- Select User Management.
- Click the plus sign, select Add new users and enter the email address ga-api@marinsoftware.com.
- Turn on access to Collaborate and Read & Analyze.
Identify Google Analytics Profile ID(S)
- Click Admin > View Settings (located under the View column).
- Under View Settings you will see the View ID (sometimes referred to as the Profile ID).
Note: The View or Profile ID is also located in your URL when viewing the Home page, located after the “p” in the URL string.
Identify Goals And Metrics* To Track
- Login to Google Analytics > Admin.
- In the View (Profile) column select Goals.
- Make a note of the Goal Name and Goal ID number.
- Make a note if you are using an Ecommerce tag.
*Marin is best used to track Goals and Ecommerce. Reporting on rates and averages requires Custom Columns (see steps below).
Add A New Conversion Type For Each Google Analytics Goal Or Metric
- In MarionOne, navigate to the Admin section from the left-hand side.
- Click on the Revenue & Tracking tab, then select Conversion Types.
- Use the Create button to add new conversion types.
- Use the chart below to review common conversion type settings.
| Setup Item | Setup Requirements |
|---|---|
| Conversion Type | The conversion type name - this should indicate what the conversion event is (e.g. Sales) |
| ID |
The conversion type ID - this should be the goal and goal number (e.g. goal2) or Ecommerce transaction (e.g. transaction) The conversion type ID will be used to complete the integration with Customer Support. |
| Column Header | The column header name is what will be displayed in Marin. This should indicate what the conversion event is and can match the conversion type name (e.g. Sales) |
| Include in Total | In order to bid on specific conversions and/or revenue, you must include them in the totals. |
| Track Conversions on |
For a Google Analytics integration, this should always be set to Date of Click Please note: You will, in fact, see Date of Conversion tracking data in Marin. Setting conversion types to Date of Click is a display setting, as our system uses data in the Date of Click field for bidding optimization. Please note: We pull in the Date of Conversion data from Google Analytics, and that is what you will actually see in Marin. Because our system uses the Date of Click field for bidding optimization so you must set conversion types to Date of Click. |
| Conversions per click | This is based on your tracking requirements. |
Creating Custom Columns (Only Needed If You Want To Track Averages And/Or Rate Metrics)
For calculated metrics (such as bounce rate, average session duration, % session duration, etc.), you can create Custom Columns. For information on how to set these up, check out our dedicated article.
Custom Column Formulas
- % Bounce Rate = Bounces / Sessions
- % New Sessions = NewUsers / Sessions
- Page views per session = PageViews / Sessions
- Average Session Duration = SessionDuration / Sessions
Note: Time metrics, such as Session Duration, will show up as Conversions with the number of conversions representing the duration in seconds (e.g. 1500 Conversions = 1500 seconds).
Step 2: Determine Tracking Method
Auto-Tagging Overview
- Tracks data using Google Ads’ GCLID parameter so you will not need to tag your URLs
- Available for Google only (See Manual-tagging below for Microsoft tracking)
- Best practice is to choose one tracking method, either auto-tagging or manual, but it is possible to have Auto-tagging with Manual-tagging Override turned on in Google Analytics. Some specific use cases for using Manual-tagging override can be found in Google’s help article here.
- To verify if you are using Auto-tagging:
- Go to Google Ads > All Campaigns
- Click Settings > Account Settings
- Here you can set Auto-tagging to be ON or OFF
Manual-Tagging Overview
- Higher accuracy for bidding purposes
- Required to tag your URLs with tracking parameters in Marin (Instructions in Step 3)
- Make sure that Manual-tagging override is turned off in Google Analytics
- Go to Google Analytics and click Admin > Property Settings (under the Property column in the Admin section).
- Under Advanced Settings, you can see this as a checkbox labeled Allow Manual-tagging (UTM values) to override auto-tagging (GCLID values) for Google Ads and Google Search Ads 360 integration.
Step 3: Set Up Tracking And URL Configuration
Add Tracking Template And Custom Parameters To URL Builder
- Go to Marin > Settings > Revenue & Tracking > URL Builder > Select Publisher to edit tracking templates and create custom parameters - Link to Revenue Hub (Tracking Templates and Custom Parameters)
- See the chart below for standard Google Analytics options
Standard URL Builder Settings
| Publisher | URL Structure |
|---|---|
|
Auto-Tagging (GCLID used): No URL Builder setup required Manual-tagging: Account Level Tracking Template: {lpurl}?utm_source=[publisher]&utm_term=[keyword_text]&utm_campaign={_campaign}&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content={ifsearch:s}{ifcontent:c}{_mkwid}_d{device}|pcrid|{creative}|pkw|{keyword}|pmt|{matchtype}|grpid={groupid} Custom Parameter: {_mkwid}=[uniq_id] at keyword, creative, product group and placement level; {_campaign}=[campaign] at campaign level NO CUSTOM PARAMETER REQUIRED FOR SITELINKS |
|
| Microsoft |
Manual-tagging option ONLY Account Level Tracking Template: {lpurl}?utm_source=[publisher]&utm_term={Keyword}&utm_campaign={Campaign}&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content={_mkwid}_d{Device}|pcrid|{AdId}|pkw|{Keyword}|pmt|{BidMatchType} Custom Parameter: {_mkwid}=[uniq_id] at keyword, creative, product group and placement level NO CUSTOM PARAMETER REQUIRED FOR SITELINKS |
|
Yahoo Gemini Other |
Manual-tagging option ONLY **Upgraded URLs are not supported for Yahoo Gemini or other publishers.** Edit URL Parameters: ?utm_source=Gemini&utm_term={Keyword}&utm_campaign={Campaign}&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content={_mkwid}_d{Device}|pcrid|{AdId}|pkw|{Keyword}|pmt|{BidMatchType} Publisher dynamic parameters, indicated by curly brackets, must follow the publisher’s specific terminology. For example, using {creative} for Google vs {adid} for Microsoft (other publishers have their own terms, and Gemini’s is the same as Microsoft). Yahoo Gemini does not support some Marin Macros, indicated by square brackets, like [publisher]. Therefore, you need to hard-code Gemini for the utm_source parameter in the example tracking template above. NO CUSTOM PARAMETER REQUIRED FOR CLASSIC URLS |
Set Up Tracking ID Parser Settings
- Go to Marin > Settings > Revenue & Tracking > Tracking IDs
- See the chart below for a standard Google Analytics setup
Standard Tracking ID Parser Settings (Only Required for Manual Tagging)
- Go to Settings > Revenue > Revenue & Tracking > Tracking IDs
| ID | Start after these sequences | Stop after these sequences | Device Type Appended? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracking ID | utm_content | | | Yes - with underscore (_) |
| {keyword} Parameter | pkw | | | |
| {creative} Parameter | pcrid | | | |
| {placement} Parameter | |||
| {matchType} Parameter | pmt | | | |
| {device} Parameter |
Step 4: Contact Customer Support To Complete Google Analytics Integration
When you are ready, please contact Customer Support with the following details:
- Google Analytics Profile ID(s): i.e. 123409870
- Google Analytics Goals: i.e. goal4, goal8
- Marin Conversion IDs
- Publisher(s) to Track: i.e. Google, Microsoft or Other
- Tracking Method: Auto-Tagging or Manual-tagging
QA And Troubleshooting
While the integration process can come together easily, there are times when you run into challenges. We’ve outlined three of the most common troubleshooting topics below to help you resolve them.
Data Discrepancy Between Google Analytics And Marin?
Apply the proper filters to accurately compare the data.
Note: Because Google Analytics reports on all tracking data (e.g. direct, organic, paid search, etc), you will need to be sure you are looking specifically at Paid Search when comparing conversion data with Marin.
Google Analytics platform
Auto-Tagging:
- Log into Google Analytics and click Acquisition > Campaigns > Paid Keywords
- Click Advanced Segments
- Select the Paid Search Traffic filter
- Click Apply
- Select your date range
- Filter for campaigns, groups, etc.
- Select your Goal ID
- Compare data to the Marin platform
Manual-tagging:
- Log into Google Analytics and click Acquisition > Campaigns > Paid Keywords
- Click Advanced Segments > Custom Segments > Edit
- See if “utm_content contains |” segment is a filter option
- If this is already a filter option select it and click Apply
- If this filter is not an option
- Click Create New Segment > Advanced > Conditions
- Insert the following definition “Include Ad Content Contains |”
- Then click Save
- Select your date range
- Filter for your desired campaigns, groups, keywords
- Select your Goal ID
- Compare data to the Marin platform
Product Group:
- Log into Google Analytics and click Acquisition > All Traffic > Source = Medium
- Filter by ‘google_shopping / cpc’
- Filter by Account, Campaign, Group, etc
Not Seeing Data In Either platform?
Confirm URL Tracking
Auto-tagging
- Contact Customer Support to investigate, as no URL tagging is needed
Manual-tagging
- Go to the Activity Log to confirm bulk uploads were processed and posted successfully in Step 3
Confirm URLs and Tagging
- In Marin, go to the trackable object level (e.g. keywords, creatives)
- Add the Destination URL column
- Filter for ‘does not contain'=utm
- If there are any missing, create a report and upload the Landing Page to build URLs
- Re-confirm the above steps and post the activity in the Activity Log
Confirm Custom Parameters, particularly the unique tracking ID
- In Marin, go to the trackable object level
- Add the Custom Parameters column
- Filter for ‘does not contain mkwid’ (or if not mkwid, the name of your unique ID parameter)
- If there are any missing, create a report with the required editing columns and upload a blank Custom Parameters column to build URLs
- Re-confirm the above steps and post the activity in the Activity Log
Confirm Tracking Template
- If you have an Account-level tracking template, go to the Publishers tab, add the Tracking Template column (for tracking templates at other levels in the hierarchy, go to the corresponding tab to view at that level)
- Confirm the tracking template with the necessary tracking parameters is in place (see Step 3)
Goal Completions Showing (not set) in Google Analytics
- Review the Google Ads help article for more details (you will typically need to tag a missing UTM parameter)
Review Revenue Upload Files
- Go to the Activity Log and review the revenue files (See more details here)
Check for Objects in Sync Error
- Check your Campaigns, Groups, Keywords, and Ads tabs in the platform
- Filter for objects in sync error or editing status (review the article here)
If you need additional assistance, please contact Customer Support.
Adjusting Your Google Analytics Integration
Please contact the Customer Support team to adjust the following:
- Add/remove goals
- Add/remove metrics
- Add/remove eCommerce transactions
- Add/remove a Profile ID/View ID
- Change Tracking Method to or from Auto-tagging or Manual-tagging
