- User Guide
- Tracking Link
- Creating Tracking Links
Creating Tracking Links in Bulk using the Generator Template
Written by Yeji Jeon,The Tracking Link Generator Template is a Google spreadsheet file for creating Airbridge tracking links using the tracking link API and Google Apps Script. It allows you to easily generate tracking links in bulk.
The following steps must be taken to start creating tracking links in bulk using the Generator Template.
1. Go to Google Workspace Marketplace and install the Airbridge Tracking Link Generator. We recommend logging in to your Google account first before clicking Install.
2. When the pop-up window opens asking for your permission, click Continue.
3. Choose a Google account to continue.
4. Scroll down and click Allow.
5. When the pop-up window opens confirming the install, click Done.
The App Name and Tracking Link API Token can be found on the [Settings]>[Tokens] page. You can copy the values by clicking on them.
Depending on the type of channel that you want to use the tracking link for, you need to use the appropriate template for creating tracking links. There are 2 versions of the Generator Template:
Click on the links above to create a copy of them. Make sure you are using the right one, considering the purpose of the tracking link. For example, if you want to create a tracking link to track your campaign on an Integrated Channel, you MUST use the Generator Template for Integrated Channels. If you use the Generator Template for Custom Channels instead, the tracking links may not work as intended.
To track campaigns on paid ad channels that are integrated with Airbridge, you must create tracking links for Integrated Channels. The ad channels that are integrated with Airbridge can be looked up on the [Integration]>[Ad Channel Integration] page in the Airbridge dashboard. You can also refer to this article.
Read on to learn how to create and manage tracking links for Integrated Channels.
1. Click the link below and click Create copy. The new copy will be saved in your Google Drive.
If you want to create tracking links for Custom Channels, you must use a copy of the Tracking Link Generator Template for Custom Channels. Refer to this section of this article.
2. In the [Required info] tab, enter the App Name and Tracking Link API Token, which can be found on the [Settings]>[Token] page of the Airbridge dashboard.
3. Enter the parameter values in the [Create tracking links] tab. The Channel parameter is a required field. When clicking the Channel field, the drop-down menu will show all channels that are integrated with Airbridge, which are also visible on the [Ad Channel Integration] page in the Airbridge dashboard.
4. Select [Extensions]>[Airbridge Tracking Link Generator]>[Generate Tracking Links] from the top menu bar to create tracking links.
If you don't see the [Extensions]>[Airbridge Tracking Link Generator]>[Generate Tracking Links] in the menu bar, refresh the sheet or reinstall the Airbridge Tracking Link Generator.
Editing parameters of a tracking link
Once a tracking link is created, the changes made to the parameter values in the Generator Template won't be applied. If you want to make changes to the parameters of a tracking link, delete the tracking link and create a new one.
When you create a tracking link using the Tracking Link Generator Template for Integrated Channels, up to 3 types of tracking links are generated, depending on the touchpoint type (ad_type).
Click
Impression
Server-to-Server (S2S) Click
Difference in the number of tracking links generated by Channel
Each channel supports different touchpoint types for which tracking links are generated. Therefore, the number of tracking links generated varies by channel.
For example, tracking links for only ad clicks might be generated for Channel A, while tracking links for all 3 touchpoint types might be generated for Channel B.
The tracking links created from the Generator Template can be found on the [Tracking Link]>[Tracking Link List] page in the Airbridge dashboard. Even if you delete a tracking link from the Generator Template, it will remain on the [Tracking Link List] page. For more details on how to manage the tracking links, refer to this article.
To track campaigns on owned or earned media channels with Airbridge, you must create tracking links for Custom Channels. For more details on Custom Channels, refer to this article.
Read on to learn how to create and manage tracking links for Custom Channels.
1. Click the link below and click Create copy. The new copy will be saved in your Google Drive.
If you want to create tracking links for Integrated Channels, you must use a copy of the Tracking Link Generator Template for Integrated Channels. Refer to this section of this article.
2. In the [Required info] tab, enter the App Name and Tracking Link API Token, which can be found on the [Settings]>[Token] page of the Airbridge dashboard.
3. Enter the parameter values in the [Create tracking links] tab. The Channel parameter is a required field. Only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores are supported. Do not enter special characters or spaces.
4. Select [Extensions]>[Airbridge Tracking Link Generator]>[Generate Tracking Links] from the top menu bar to create tracking links.
If you don't see the [Extensions]>[Airbridge Tracking Link Generator]>[Generate Tracking Links] in the menu bar, refresh the sheet or reinstall the Airbridge Tracking Link Generator.
Editing parameters of a tracking link
Once a tracking link is created, the changes made to the parameter values in the Generator Template won't be applied. If you want to make changes to the parameters of a tracking link, delete the tracking link and create a new one.
When you create a tracking link using the Tracking Link Generator Template for Custom Channels, 2 types of tracking links are generated, depending on the touchpoint type (ad_type).
A long link that tracks Clicks
A short link version of the long link
Attention
Short links are supported for tracking links for Custom Channels only.
If you enter the channel name of an Integrated Channel in the Generator Template for Custom Channels, short links won't be created. Make sure not to enter an Integrated Channel in the Generator Template for Custom Channels, as the tracking links may not work as intended.
The tracking links created from the Generator Template can be found on the [Tracking Link]>[Tracking Link List] page in the Airbridge dashboard. Even if you delete a tracking link from the Generator Template, it will remain on the [Tracking Link List] page. For more details on how to manage the tracking links, refer to this article.
Refer to the information below to learn more about the parameters.
The Channel parameter is a required field.
When clicking the Channel field in the Generator Template for Integrated Channels, the drop-down menu will show all channels that are integrated with Airbridge, which are also visible on the [Ad Channel Integration] page in the Airbridge dashboard.
In the Generator Template for Custom Channels, only lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores are supported. Do not enter special characters or spaces.
Campaign optimization parameters are used to collect data for campaign optimization. The parameters can be selected as GroupBys or filter option in the Actuals Report.
The sub-publisher and sub-sub-publisher parameters can only be used for specific tracking purposes. Therefore, the sub-publisher and sub-sub-publisher parameter columns shall be left blank in the Generator Template if there have been no talks with the ad channels beforehand.
Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
Campaign | Campaign name |
Ad group | Ad group name |
Ad creative | Ad creative name |
Content | Ad type |
Keyword | Ad keyword |
Sub-publisher | Sub-publisher of the ad channel |
Sub-sub publisher 1 | Level 1 publisher below Sub-publisher |
Sub-sub publisher 2 | Level 2 publisher below Sub-publisher |
Sub-sub publisher 3 | Level 3 publisher below Sub-publisher |
The destination path is the URL where users are directed after clicking on an ad with the tracking link embedded.
Destination |
Description |
Note |
|---|---|---|
Web Landing URL | The destination all users are sent to, regardless of their operating system or whether they have the app installed | If the Web Landing URL is entered, other destinations cannot be entered |
Deep Link | The in-app page that users are sent to if they have the app installed |
|
Stopover Airpage | When selecting “Add Airpage,” iOS users who click the tracking link from an app other than Safari are sent to a Stopover Airpage before being redirected to the intended destination to avoid bound-offs | |
Android Fallback Path | The destination where Android users who haven’t installed the app are sent to | - Users are sent to Google Play Store when entering - Users are sent to the Google Play Custom Store Listing page when entering the entire webpage URL starting with “http” |
iOS Fallback Path | The destination where iOS users who haven’t installed the app are sent to | - Users are sent to App Store when entering - Users are sent to the App Store Custom Product Page when entering the entire webpage URL starting with “http” - Users are sent to the desired destination when entering the URL |
Desktop Fallback Path | The destination where desktop users who haven’t installed the app are sent to | - Users are sent to the Airpage when leaving the field blank - Users are sent to the desired webpage when entering the webpage URL |
If you want to specify the campaign type, select from the options described in the table below. If you leave the field blank, the campaign data is collected regardless of the campaign type. For more details about the campaign attribution parameter, refer to this article.
Option | Description |
|---|---|
On: True | Select this option if you want to define the campaign as a re-engagement campaign. Only Deeplink Opens, Deeplink Pageviews, and the subsequent events are collected. App Installs and the subsequent events are not collected. |
On: False | Select this option if you want to define the campaign as a UA campaign. Only App Installs and the subsequent events are collected. Deeplink Opens, Deeplink Pageviews, and the subsequent events are not collected. |
The following parameters are configurable only in the Generator Template for Custom Channels.
There are 2 ways to configure the social share preview of the tracking link for custom channels.
Configuring the thumbnail, title, and description by entering values
You can configure the social share preview by entering values for the [Image URL], [Title], and [Description] fields.
Attention
If you leave any field for the [Image URL], [Title], and [Description] columns blank, unintended images, titles, or descriptions may appear.
Using the OG tags from the desktop webpage URL
When selecting “Use OG tags” for the [OG tags of the web desktop URL] field, the image, title, and description in the social share preview are pulled from the OG tags of the web landing URL or the desktop fallback URL. This option can't be used if you enter the image, title, and description into the respective fields.
When selecting “Use OG tags” without configuring the destination for user redirection (web landing URL or the desktop fallback path), Airbridge will pull the OG tag information of the website URL configured on the [App Settings] page in the Airbridge dashboard to create the social share preview.
If unintended thumbnails, titles, and descriptions appear, the following tips might be helpful.
Make sure the desktop URL is correctly entered. It must include
http://orhttps://.Make sure you don't enter any value for the [Image URL], [Title], and [Description] fields.
Make sure the OG tags of the desktop URL are properly configured. The problem could stem from the URL or network error. Refer to this article to learn more.
The social share preview settings cannot be changed using the Generator Template if you have selected "Use OG tags” for the [OG tags of the web desktop URL] field to configure the social share preview. If you need to change the settings, go to [Tracking Link]>[Tracking Link List] in the Airbridge dashboard, find the tracking link, click [Action]>[View details · Edit]>[Social Share Preview], and update the settings. If you have updated the OG tag information, click Refresh on the [Tracking Link List] page to make sure the social share previews appear accordingly.
Enter the campaign short ID for tracking link branding. If not entered, it will be randomly set and can’t be changed afterward. To be able to use this feature, you need to set your custom domain in your Airbridge dashboard. Refer to this article for custom domain configuration.
If you want to edit the parameter values of tracking links you created in the Generator Template, you can do so in the [Changing parameters] tab, which is available in the Generator Template for Integrated Channel and Custom Channel.
While the Tracking Link API is used to create tracking links in the [Create tracking links] tab, the REGEXREPLACE function allows for quick parameter value replacement in the [Change parameters] tab.
Moreover, unlike the [Create tracking links] tab, the [Changing parameters] tab is not subject to Google Apps Script's script runtime limitation.
1. From the [Create tracking links] tab, enter link names for tracking links in the Link Name column. The link names serve as the identifier for individual tracking links and shall be unique.
Link names must be unique
If a single link name is entered for multiple tracking links, you can't edit the parameter values of different tracking links in the [Change parameters] tab properly because only the first tracking link with the entered link name from the list will be considered for the parameter value replacement.
2. In the [Change parameters] tab, select the tracking link name from the Link Name drop-down list of which you want to edit the parameter value.
3. Enter the parameter values in the white fields. The grey fields indicate the parameters that are not configured in the selected tracking link.
For example, the tracking link, link 1, has the campaign, ad creative, content, and sub-publisher parameters configured. Therefore, you can enter the parameter values into the white fields of the campaign, ad creative, content, and sub-publisher parameters to change some of the tracking link's parameter values.
4. The updated tracking links appear in column O. They are click-types and are updated in real-time whenever the parameter values are updated.
Attention
Unlike the tracking links created in the [Create tracking links] tab, the tracking links updated with new parameter values in the [Change parameters] tab cannot be viewed on the [Tracking Link]>[Tracking Link List] page in the Airbridge dashboard because the Tracking Link API is not involved in the update.
The data collected by the tracking link updated in the [Change parameters] tab can be viewed in the Actuals Report, just like the data collected by the tracking link created in the [Create tracking links] tab.
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