Advertising Editor Advertising Intelligence

Test your tracking templates

Learn how to test your tracking template to make sure it will send customers to the right landing page.

If you use tracking templates, you can test them to make sure:

  • They will send customers to the right landing page.
  • They are set up correctly for parallel tracking.

The tracking template test button is now available at the account, campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, and sitelink extension level.

How to test your tracking templates

You can test your tracking templates on the:

Account level

  1. From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Settings > Account level options.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Settings > Account level options.

  2. Select the Test button. Microsoft Advertising will sample 10 URLs from your account and test them.
  3. Check the resulting message below the Test button for a brief description of the results.
  4. Hover over the message to see the full test results.
Ad group level

You can test tracking templates at the ad group level either in an ad group's settings page or inline in the ad group table.

Ad group settings page

  1. From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ad groups > Ad groups.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Ad groups > Ad groups.

  2. Select the name of the ad group whose tracking template you wish to test.
  3. From the page menu on the left, select Settings.
  4. Under Ad Group URL options, select Tracking template.
  5. Enter your tracking template URL in the box.
  6. Select the Test button.
  7. Check the resulting message below the Tracking template box for a brief description of the results.
  8. Hover over the message to see the full test results.

Ad group table

  1. From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ad groups > Ad groups.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Ad groups > Ad groups.

  2. Make sure that the Tracking template column is visible. If it isn't:
    1. On the top of the table, select Columns > Modify columns.
    2. Select Attributes.
    3. Next to Tracking template, select Add.
    4. Select Apply.
  3. Hover over the Tracking template column of the appropriate ad group and select the pencil icon.
  4. Enter your tracking template URL into the box.
  5. Select the Test button.
  6. Check the resulting message below the Tracking template box for a brief description of the results.
  7. Hover over the message to see the full test results.
Ad level
Note

Ad level testing is only supported for expanded text ads.

Important

After February 1, 2023, you will no longer be able to create new or edit existing expanded text ads. For more information, see About responsive search ads.

  1. From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ads & extensions > Ads.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Ads & extensions > Ads.

  2. Either:
    1. New ad: Select Create ad. Select an ad group from the Ad group dropdown menu. Select Ad URL options to expand the section.
    2. Existing ad: Select the checkbox next to an existing ad. Select Edit > Change URL options.
  3. Enter your tracking template URL in the Tracking template box.
  4. Select the Test button.
  5. Check the resulting message below the Tracking template box for a brief description of the results.
  6. Hover over the message to see the full test results.
Campaign level
Note

Campaign level testing is supported for any ad with a final URL and tracking template, except for dynamic search ads.

  1. From the collapsible menu on the left, select Campaigns.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, select Campaigns.

  2. Select a campaign name.
  3. From the page menu on the left, select Settings.
  4. Under Campaign URL options, select Tracking template.
  5. Select the Test button. Microsoft Advertising will sample 10 URLs from your campaign and test them.
  6. Check the resulting message below the Tracking template box for a brief description of the results.
  7. Hover over the message to see the full test results.
Keyword level

  1. From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Keywords > Keywords.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Keywords > Keywords.

  2. Make sure that the Tracking template column is visible. If it isn't:
    1. On the top of the table, select Columns > Modify columns.
    2. Select Attributes.
    3. Next to Tracking template, select Add.
    4. Select Apply.
  3. Hover over the Tracking template column of the appropriate keyword and select the pencil icon.
  4. Enter your tracking template URL in the box.
  5. Select the Test button.
  6. Check the resulting message below the Tracking template box for a brief description of the results.
  7. Hover over the message to see the full test results.
Sitelink extension level

  1. From the collapsible menu on the left, select All campaigns > Ad groups > Ad groups.

    If you're using the new Microsoft Advertising navigation, from the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Ad groups > Ad groups.

  2. In the table, selet the campaign or ad group you want to add an extension to.
  3. From the page menu on the left, select Ads & extensions.
  4. From the top menu, select Extensions.
  5. If not already selected, select Sitelink Extensions from the dropdown menu.
  6. Select Create Ad Extension > Add new Sitelink Extension.
  7. In the panel on the right, select Sitelink Extension URL options to expand the section.
  8. Enter your tracking template URL in the Tracking template box.
  9. Select the Test button.
  10. Check the resulting message below the Tracking template box for a brief description of the results.
  11. Hover over the message to see the full test results.

What the full test results show

Results message
The message indicates whether a problem was encountered with the landing page or parallel tracking URL and provides the landing page URL that the testing tool returned. See the next section for more information on results messages.
Click URL
The click URL is passed to your website server or third-party tracking system when the search user clicks the ad. The testing tool constructs the click URL by appending the tracking template parameters and their values to the final URL.
Tracking template
This is the tracking template that will be applied when the ad is served. We also show what entity level the template is coming from.
Final URL
This is the URL you entered when you created the ad.
Attributes
The listed URL and custom parameters and their values will be passed to your third-party tracking system when the ad is served.

What the results messages mean

Landing page results messages
  • Landing page found: You're all set. The testing tool successfully found your landing page.
  • Page not found: The testing tool found no results for this URL. Please make sure your tracking template, custom parameter(s), and final URL are correct. Note: The testing tool always returns a "Page not found" message for shopping campaigns.
  • URL mismatch: There is a mismatch somewhere in your URL, which is not allowed. Your landing page and final URL must share the same domain, the URLs in your redirect chain must begin with your final URL, and the redirects after your final URL must stay on the same domain. Please review your URL and make sure it meets the requirements listed in the Microsoft Advertising URLs and landing page policies page.
  • Page unreachable: We couldn’t reach the landing page. The request may have timed out. Please try again.
  • System error: We encountered an error while testing your landing page. Please try again.
Tracking URL results messages
  • Tracking call successful: You're all set. The testing tool was able to successfully call the tracking URL created in the parallel tracking scenario.
  • Tracking call unsuccessful: The testing tool was not able to successfully call the tracking URL created in the parallel tracking scenario. Make sure your tracking template and any custom parameters are correct.

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