You probably deal with traffic every day, in some form or another. While traffic during your morning commute might be a cause of stress and frustration, traffic to your brand’s website shouldn’t be! Thankfully, the team at Google has implemented an AdWords update, called parallel tracking, designed to load your landing page more quickly.
You probably deal with
traffic every day, in some form or another. While traffic during your morning
commute might be a cause of stress and frustration, traffic to your brand’s
website shouldn’t be! Thankfully, the team at Google has implemented an AdWords
update, called parallel tracking, designed to load your landing page more quickly.
Nobody wants to recreate the days of dial-up internet by sitting around and waiting for a website to load. Parallel tracking works by reducing the number of steps it takes a person clicking on your ad to reach your landing page. This is done behind-the-scenes, of course, so there’s nothing for you or your customers to do once parallel tracking is set up.
The magic in parallel tracking happens in the background while your landing page is loading for the end-user, not before. Google explains that in the background, “Google Ads click tracker loads,” “tracking URL loads” and finally, “if you use more than one click tracker, additional redirects may load.”
Does This Include Video?
Parallel tracking does not include video, at least for the time being. Google mentions that parallel tracking for video campaigns won’t be available until later this year to give advertisers more time to prepare for the changes, especially since parallel tracking will be mandatory for Display campaigns starting July 31st, 2019. If your brand works with a click measurement provider, there’s one additional step, and that is to contact that provider and verify that they are ready for this upcoming change.
On Your Mark, Get Set, Track!
Ready to reduce the time it takes for users to load your brand’s landing page from an ad? It’s a good idea to keep in mind that while there aren’t too many steps to get parallel tracking up-and-running, you do need to check the following before proceeding:
First, if your brand’s website uses a click measurement provider, contact them to make sure their system is compatible with parallel tracking. If it’s not, no dice, unfortunately. We recommend asking your provider if they have any plans to implement parallel tracking in the future since seconds matter when users are waiting for your landing page to load. In fact, according to Google, if a mobile site exceeds three seconds of load time, 53% of your visitors are likely to abandon the page. You might be thinking to yourself that your brand’s website is worth the wait, and it very well might be, but the numbers don’t lie. If users are clicking onto your website for the first time and are reaching your site through an ad versus organically, brand loyalty isn’t a factor when determining whether someone will wait a few more seconds to see your content.
Next, if you receive the green light from your click measurement provider, there’s one thing left to do! Ask your click measurement provider if you need to edit your tracking template – if not, great! If you do, they’ll guide you through the rest.
Ready for the Fun Part?
Now that your brand is ready to turn parallel tracking on, it’s time to contain your excitement and get started. First, sign into your Google Ads account. In the navigation menu, click or tap “All campaigns.” Then, on the left-hand side, in the page menu, click “Settings.” Next, click “Account Settings,” then “Tracking,” and now, the moment you’ve been waiting for, click the switch next to “Parallel tracking”- all done! Well…almost. Make sure this new setup is working correctly by clicking the “Test” button. Now it’s time to kick back and relax, knowing that users that click on your brand’s ads will arrive lightning fast!
Are You Sure Seconds Matter That Much?
Yes, they do! In today’s technology focus society, up to 70% of web traffic can occur on mobile devices. Google is trying to improve the mobile web experience, not only through the use of parallel tracking, but also through the use of micro-moments, AMPs, or Accelerated Mobile Pages. In this shift from accessing the internet primarily from computers to smartphones, consumers don’t want to spend time staring at their phones; they want answers and search results instantly.
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