Publisher Tracking Setup

If you are using publisher tracking to gather conversion and revenue information, Marin is able to automatically pull this data from the publisher, alongside your cost data.

How To Enable Publisher Tracking 

To enable publisher tracking, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Publishers tab.
  2. Next, click Manage Accounts to launch the Linking Wizard
  3. Click on a publisher client account to select it. Then, under the Publisher Data section, click Edit ('pencil icon') and select Revenue and Conversion Data.
  4. Click Save to finalize your changes and Finish to close out the Linking Wizard

Note: For Google conversions to be pulled into Marin, be certain to select the box for "Include in Conversions" on the publisher side.

How To Confirm Publisher Data Is Being Received 

If you currently utilize revenue tracking from the publisher, you can confirm that Marin is successfully importing the data. Once your account is set up, you can compare the revenue in Marin with the publisher data by following these steps:

  1. Select any Google campaign. In Google Ads, create a revenue report for a campaign for the week before last (there can be a slight delay for some conversions to work their way through the Google system; it is best not to use data from the last 2-3 days for this comparison). The export should include conversions and revenue, at the keyword level. Make sure you know the exact date range that is covered by the export.
  2. Click on the Keywords tab in Marin and filter for the desired campaign.
  3. Select the dates that match the Google report generated in Step 1.
  4. Make sure that the Revenue and Conversions columns are shown in the grid. Use the Column Selector (to the top-right of the grid) to display them if they are not shown.

    Note: Be certain that Date of Click has been selected in the Calendar Range (instead of Date of Conversion) in order to view Conversions and Revenue columns properly in the grid.

  5. Compare the revenue and conversions shown in the grid with those in the Google report. If there are any discrepancies, contact your Marin account representative for assistance.
  6. Repeat steps 1-6 for Yahoo and Microsoft campaigns, if relevant.

Search Best Practices 

Note: Publisher conversion tracking is generally better for simpler monetization structures, while the Revenue Upload approach is better for more complex structures.

Some considerations are as follows:

  1. If you have a single, simple conversion goal, such as the completion of a lead form, then publisher conversion tracking will be fine. If you have multiple different goals with different values for each, these must be aggregated into a "total value for the conversion" before loading into the application, so using the revenue upload feature and unique keyword IDs may be a better approach for your account.
  2. If you have offline conversions, such as sales that are reported or valued after the visitor has left your site, you must upload this revenue. Many affiliate marketers receive a feed from their clients with the results of leads that they passed. These are all offline conversions.
  3. If you require data independence from the publishers and don't want them to see your conversion rates or revenue amounts, you can upload this revenue or use Marin Tracker.
  4. If you are an ecommerce advertiser using Microsoft, you must upload the revenue amounts or use Marin Tracker. Microsoft's conversion counter does not support revenue tracking, only conversion tracking.

Important Notes 

If you are using publisher conversion tracking and also plan to upload revenue or use Marin Tracker, you could experience double counting issues. Notify your Marin account representative if you want to continue to include the publisher conversion tracking pixel for comparison purposes but don't want that data to come down into the platform. We can block conversions and revenue on a publisher-client account basis.

Written by Marketing @ Marin Software

Last published at: January 18th, 2024