Updates to Google Adwords

Google recently announced changes in how Adwords will manage its URL’s. Google says they improved URL management to make Adwords campaigns easier to track. What it does is that it more accurately measures the success of your campaigns and the traffic flow into your site by adding unique identifiers to the destination URLs. Tracking using Adwords URL is executed side by side with your Google Analytics account as well.

The web address you use for people to click on and arrive at your landing page is called the destination URL. This destination URL feed is used to track parameters you’ve set up using Adwords URL tracking. Google is replacing the destination URL field with the final URL field along with a new field that tracks management.

Given their reach and influence, any Google updates generally cause nothing less than a mild upheaval in the industry, but this update won’t be as invasive as an overhaul of their algorithm. Webmasters and site owners need not be concerned too much about how these changes will affect what they’ve been building for so long, since what Google is trying to do is improve Adwords for users like you. What this update will do is provide a better way for Adwords users to track campaign progress. Google assured it is doing its best to make sure people’s hard work on their campaigns won’t be reset with the URL updates.

If you are currently using Adwords URL tracking, Google recommends you upgrade your URLs before July 1st, when the changes are set to roll out. If you don’t use Adwords URL tracking, you don’t have to do anything as Google will upgrade you URL’s for you. Moreover, later this year, only the final URL field will be able to be the landing page option. Google will eventually retire Direct URL to replace it with the most efficient Adwords URL tracking.