Remarketing tag validations and alerts

30/11/2019
This article applies only to the previous AdWords experience. If you’re using the new Google Ads experience, read how to fix remarketing tag and list issues.

After you’ve added the remarketing tag across your site or app, you can use the remarketing tag validator to see if it's implemented correctly.

This is what you can find in the remarketing tag validator:

  • Status of your tag
  • Information that can help you identify issues, fix problems, and optimize your tag setup
  • Tag validation reports which you can email to yourself or others
  • Your tag code and instructions which you can email to yourself or others

Why validate your tag?

Use remarketing tag validation to get details on how your remarketing tag is working. Tag validation provides statistics related to your remarketing tag. If there are any problems with your tag, it shows some common solutions that might help you.

You'll find answers to these questions:

  • Is your remarketing tag active?
  • Are the custom parameters from your remarketing tag implemented correctly?
  • Is the ID parameter activated? If so, how often do the IDs passed as a result of page visits match your feed IDs?

Find your tag and check that it's working

  1. Click Campaigns.
  2. From the left navigation bar, click Shared library.
  3. Under "Audiences," click View.
  4. In the remarketing tag validator at the top of the page, you'll see whether or not your tag is active if you already have at least one remarketing tag on your site.
  5. Click the Tag details button and you'll find two sections: Details and Setup.
    • Details: Get information on whether your tag is active. You'll find trends in visits over the last day, week, or two weeks. Use these statistics to identify problems with your tag implementation. Lower percentages may indicate potential issues or areas for improvement. If you're using dynamic remarketing, you might also find alerts about the custom parameters on your tag. You'll also see an alert indicating whether each parameter is active, inactive, or there's an error.
    • Setup: Click on View Google Ads tag for websites or View Google Ads tracking ID for mobile apps to find your tag and instructions on how to add it to your site or app. If you're setting up a dynamic remarketing tag before you've created a campaign, make sure you select your business type here so that your tag includes the right custom parameters.
  6. Click Done.

Tips

  • During tag implementation, validate your tag using Google Tag Assistant (available in English only). This tool will catch most syntax errors. Download and install Tag Assistant.
  • We recommend using the remarketing tag from the new Google Ads experience which is easier to set up, even though the tags from the old Google Ads experience will still work with rule-based lists (for example tags that have the conversion_label variable which has been removed from newer versions of the tag). You'll find this newer tag in your Shared library.

How to fix issues with remarketing tags and lists

If your automatically-created dynamic remarketing list isn’t populating, or if the remarketing tag validator says the tag hasn’t been detected, the following steps can help troubleshoot find the source of the problem.

Check the remarketing tag validator

If you've recently added the remarketing tag to your website, you can see validation errors as the Google Ads interface syncs with your new tag.

  • A new remarketing list can take 24-48 hours from the time it’s created to populate. 
  • The tag validation tool can also take 24-48 hours from when the code was placed on your site to update.

Wait 48 hours from when you put the tag on your site in order to see if the tag is working. After 48 hours, check that your dynamic remarketing list is populating and that the tag is active according to the tag validation tool. In the meantime you can always check your implementation using the Tag Assistant Extension.

After 48 hours, if you still see tag validation alerts, read below to understand and fix each message.

Note

Keep in mind that custom parameters are case sensitive. For example searching "ecomm_prodID" will not detect the "ecomm_prodid" parameter.

Understand the messages in the "Details" section of the remarketing tag validator

Question: Is your remarketing tag active?

If active, you'll see trends in recent visits. You'll also be able to download a report of the top 500 URLs with tag activity.

If the tag is not active, there won't be any statistics, and you'll see this message: "We haven’t detected a tag on your website or in your app." Under the "Recommended actions" section, you'll find a link to an article with instructions on how to implement the remarketing tag.

 

Question: Are the custom parameters in your dynamic remarketing tag set up correctly?

If no custom parameters are found, you'll see this message: "We haven’t detected custom parameters," along with a recommended action to review the remarketing tag implementation guide. If you're not implementing dynamic remarketing, custom parameters are optional.

If custom parameters are found only in a few of your sites URLs you'll see this message: "We found the tag with custom parameters on very few pages," along with the recommendation to confirm that the remarketing tag has been implemented across your entire site, and to check the top 10 URLs with missing custom parameters. You can also download the top 500 URLs with missing custom parameters.

If some problems are detected with your custom parameters, you'll see this message: "There are problems with some of your custom parameters," along with a recommended action to review the remarketing tag implementation guide. You'll also be able to expand and see which which custom parameters are activated and how often they get activated, and which aren't.

If everything is OK with your remarketing tag, you'll see this message: "Custom parameters are active," and you won't get any recommended action. You'll also be able to see the top 10 values per custom parameter and the status of each specific custom parameter.

Question: Is the ID parameter in your dynamic remarketing tag set up correctly?

If no id custom parameter is detected within the remarketing tag on your site, you'll see this message: "We didn't find the custom parameter id," along with a recommended action to review the remarketing tag implementation guide. The id custom parameter is required to enable dynamic remarketing.

You'll also be able to see the top 10 URLs without the parameter, and download the top 500 URLs missing the parameter.

If the parameter is found in only a few of your sites URLs, you'll see this message: "We found the custom parameter (your business type)_id in very few pages," along with a recommended action to add the parameter on all of your sites webpages containing product information. You'll find a link to the tag implementation guide, and a list of the top 10 URLs without the parameter. You'll also have the option to download the top 500 URLs missing the parameter.

If the id parameter is found on the site but none of the values match the feed, you'll see this message: "Custom parameter '(your business type)_id' and feed values don't match," along with a recommended action to check that the id matches your feed product or service "ids" or the "item_group_id" of the product.

You'll also have the option to download the Tag Assistant extension for your Chrome browser to help you validate the match between the parameter and the connected feed. You'll see the top 10 products that don't match the associated feed, and will be able to download the top 500 products that don’t match the feed.

If there are only a few page visits with IDs matching the product IDs (or item_group_id) in the connected feed, you'll see this message: "Only x of y page visits that have passed an ID (or z %) match IDs in your feed," along with possible reasons for the low match.

You'll also find the recommendation to validate matching product IDs using the Tag Assistant extension for your Chrome browser, and to review your tag implementation guide that includes a sample of 10 products from your feed and correct product or service IDs that should match on your site. You'll also be able to see the top 10 URLs without the parameter, and download the top 500 URLs missing the parameter.

If there are sufficient page visits with ids matching the product IDs (or item_group_id) in the connected feed, but just a few of these matches can be shown in dynamic ads, you'll see this message: "Only x of y page visits that have passed an ID (or z%) match approved IDs in your feed," along with a brief explanation that some products in the feed might be filtered out because they're removed, have unavailable images, or because of the sensitive nature of the products.

Note: You'll see this message If you've just enabled your campaign (with ad groups and dynamic ads) and your feed hasn't yet been reviewed. Feed review can take up to 3 days.

If the id is found on the page, correctly activated, and matching a majority of product in the connected feed, you'll see this message:"Custom parameter '(your business type)_id' is active." No recommended actions will be provided, and you'll see the top 10 values sent through the custom parameter.

Question: Is the pagetype parameter in your dynamic remarketing tag set up correctly?

If no pagetype parameter is found in the remarketing tag, you'll see this message: "We didn’t find the custom parameter '(your business type)_pagetype,' along with the recommended action to check the tag implementation guide to ensure proper setup. You'll also see the top 10 URLs without the pagetype parameter, and will have the option to download the top 500 URLs missing the parameter.

If the pagetype parameter is found in only a few of your sites URLs, you'll see this message: "We found the custom parameter '(your business type)_pagetype' in very few pages," along with a recommended action to place the pagetype parameter on all of your sites webpages that contain product or service information. The tag implementation guide will be provided, as will the top 10 URLs without the parameter and the option to download the top 500 URLs missing the parameter.

If at least one of the expected pagetype parameter values isn't found in the tag (for example, home, product, cart, purchase), you'll see this message: "Some values for custom parameter '(your business type)_pagetype' are missing," along with the recommended action to review the tag implementation guide and add these four pagetype values to the site depending on the content of the page.

You'll see details of the number of page visits by pagetype, the value being passed, and a link to download the Tag Assistant extension for Chrome, to let you see what values your tag is sending.

If pagetype is found on the page, activated across the site, and passing the correct values, you'll see this message: "Custom parameter '(your business type)_pagetype' is active." There will be no recommended actions, and you'll see the top 10 values sent per the pagetype custom parameter.

Question: Is the totalvalue parameter in your dynamic remarketing tag set up correctly?

If the parameter totalvalue isn't found on all pages of the website where the pagetype parameter passes "cart" and "purchase," you'll see this message: "Some cart pages are missing the custom parameter (your business type)_totalvalue," along with a recommended action to check that the tag was implemented correctly. The top 10 URLs for the "cart" pagetype that are missing the parameter will also be provided, along with the ability to download the top 500 cart URLs missing the parameter.

If at least one totalvalue parameter passes a non-numeric value, you'll see this message: "Some values for the custom parameter (your business type)_totalvalue are invalid," along with the recommended action to make sure the totalvalue parameter only sends in numeric values.

This is the information you'll find:

  • Details about the top 10 cart URLs with an invalid totalvalue
  • The ability to download a report of the top 500 URLs with an invalid totalvalue
  • A link to download the Tag Assistant extension for Chrome. Tag Assistant will assist you in identifying the error

If totalvalue is found on all the cart and purchase pages and sending numeric values, you'll see this message: "(your business type)_totalvalue is active." There will be no recommended actions, and you'll see the top 10 cart values, and the option to download the top 500 cart values.

* Nguồn: Google