Tracking Digital Ads – Live 2021

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This course is no longer live but can be purchased to watch the lessons on-demand.

Digital ad platforms like Facebook and Google have made advertising more affordable and accessible to nonprofits. But just because it’s easy to run ads, doesn’t mean measuring them is a piece of cake. 

If you work in marketing or fundraising, you’ve probably heard this old adage: “Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The problem is I don’t know which half.” It’s an often-repeated quote for a reason. Even today with digital advertising channels providing more data points than we could ever monitor, determining whether a campaign is actually driving donations or new email acquisition – and at what cost – isn’t easy. It requires set up work, an understanding of the data, and staying on top of developments in the field. 

This class will give you the technical background to understand what buzzy terms like “remarketing” and “third-party cookies” mean. It will also provide the practical, hands-on experience you need to set up tracking for your organization’s digital campaigns. 

Sessions

5 weekly classes, 50 minutes each 

Wednesday, June 2nd – June 30th, 2021 @ 4ET / 1PT

Class 1: How ad tracking works: 

  • Why is it important to track your ads – even for nonprofits
  • Pixels? Cookies? ROI? What does it mean? And how does ad tracking work? 
  • Different measurement models: First click vs. last click

Class 2: Google Analytics campaign tagging:

  • Direct Traffic – What is it? Why is it a problem? 
  • How to create campaign-tagged Links
  • How to use campaign-tagging to track email, social media and ads
  • Words of warning
  • Campaign tags beyond Google Analytics (Convio, Salesforce)

Class 3: Use Google Tag Manager to track website conversions:  

  • What is a conversion? Picking conversions
  • What is Google Tag Manager? How does it work
  • Installing ad pixels 
  • QAing your tracking 
  • Overview of more advanced tracking and resources

Class 4: Test ads variations with A/B testing:

  • What is A/B testing?
  • How to design a good A/B test
  • How to in Facebook Ads
  • How to Google Ads 

Class 5: Retargeting and future of ad tracking

  • Retargeting/remarketing? What does it mean? 
  • How to build retargeting/remarketing audiences
  • Changes in ad tracking and how they impact us. What to expect in the next few years.

Course Content