Create Pixels

11 min

overview a pixel is an invisible snippet of code placed on a site its primary job is to monitor user behavior, collect activity data, and then sends that data back to the cadent platform pixels are also used for campaign performance mapping at the line item level, if your campaign is using a kpi that's reliant on conversions, then you are required to map at least one conversion pixel to satisfy the kpi requirements learn more about mapping for kpis docid\ kwj mdbstgcjianrdeucu pixel types and hierarchy cadent uses three types of pixels to enable performance marketing functionality two types have a parent child hierarchy and is a standalone pixel here's a visual representation of cadent's pixel hierarchy universal tag domain level tag for example com activity 1 tracks visits to example com/products activity 2 tracks visits to example com/checkout activity 3 tracks visits to example com/thank you action activity tracks a video play button click on any example com page and here's a description of each one \pixel type\ \role in hierarchy\ \description\ universal tag docid\ y5avenefmzryuctbemuo5 parent a universal tag is a single javascript pixel placed in the site's header or footer to track all page load events in order to log data from a universal tag, you must create at least one activity under it activity docid\ y5avenefmzryuctbemuo5 child an activity gives meaning and utility to the raw data collected by a universal tag you'll create activities to define specific rules for capturing data from the universal tag for example, an activity can be set to fire only on specific urls (like a 'thank you' page) to track conversions action activity docid\ y5avenefmzryuctbemuo5 standalone a separate pixel that's not part of the universal tag's parent child structure it's used to track specific user actions, such as button clicks, page views, or a custom trigger a separate action activity is needed for each specific event you want to track universal tags a universal tag is placed on a digital property to collect all page load events note that the universal tag doesn't support actions other than page loads—you'll use activities docid\ y5avenefmzryuctbemuo5 to track other types of events key functions comprehensive tracking the universal tag is designed to fire on every page load, capturing unique information from each page sub activities to refine the data collected by the universal tag, you'll create activities and action activities these allow you to define specific rules for data capture, such as matching exact urls or using 'contains' and 'excludes' terms retargeting to log fires from a universal tag and to be able to retarget users, you'll need to create an activity as a sub activity of the universal tag universal tag modifications cadent universal tags can be modified to capture custom variables, like an product sku or order id to do this, you'll configure a custom parameter and a macro (placeholder), which is then sent with the universal tag to capture specific details about a user's interactions in simpler terms a universal tag tells you simply that a user visited a page (e g , they landed on example com/product) a custom parameter tells you what they did or what they saw on that page (e g , placed an order the product they viewed was sku 12345, the category 'footwear', and the price '99 99') this additional data is passed back to the advertising platform in the form of key value pairs types of custom parameters universal tags support two types of custom parameters revenue this is one of the most important custom parameters for an e commerce or lead generation campaign, because it directly enables you to measure your return on ad spend (roas) the revenue dynamically replaces the revenue macro with the actual monetary value of a transaction when a conversion occurs this allows the cadent platform to know exactly how much that conversion was worth custom variables you can use up to four custom variables (cvs) a cv's purpose is defined by you and used to capture a specific piece of dynamic data from a site, like product name, order id, and category more about the terms the terms can be a little bit confusing, so this table clarifies the role each one plays we're using revenue as the custom parameter in this example, but other custom parameters work the same way \term\ \role\ \example\ custom parameter (key) it names the data you're sending revenue custom variable (value) the dynamic data itself, which lives on the site the number 99 99 is stored in the site's code macro the placeholder that bridges the gap between the parameter and variable %%order total macro%% complete key value pair the final piece of information sent by the tag revenue '99 99' add a universal tag follow these steps to add a universal tag in ad manager in the left navigation, click pixel click +activity > universal tag this opens the add universal tag slide out select the advertiser you want to associate with this pixel enter a name enter the domain this is the domain url that the universal tag will be placed on enter a third party postback this url is used for additional activity matching a third party postback, is a url used to send information about a conversion event from an advertiser's server directly to a third party's server, such as an ad network or affiliate platform enter custom parameters (optional) a custom parameter is a space in your activity that allows you to pass in additional variables you can add one revenue parameter and four custom variables learn more about custom parameters docid\ y5avenefmzryuctbemuo5 click +parameter select a type revenue use this parameters to pass in revenue for a transaction custom (cv 1 cv 4) a custom parameter is an extra variable that you can send along with a universal tag to capture specific details about a user's interaction that aren't available in the page url alone think of it like this the standard universal tag tells you simply that a user visited a page (e g , they landed on example com/product) a custom parameter tells you what they did or what they saw on that page (e g , the product they viewed was sku 12345, the category 'footwear', and the price '99 99') this additional data is passed back to the advertising platform in the form of key value pairs enter a name enter the placeholder macro value a macros is a system specific placeholder for a value that will be swapped in at a later point if you’ve included a custom variables or the revenue parameter in your activity, you’ll need a way to populate it with a value marcos are used to capture additional data when a pixel fires, and are unique to the system you are using to place the activities before an activity fires, the system replaces the macro with its corresponding value click add the universal tag displays on the pixels page to edit this universal tag, click the name activities an activity what you use to define the universal tag without an activity, the universal tag simply collects a large amount of page load data the activity is the tool that refines the data, making it organized and actionable sample use case conversion tracking this is one of the most common activity uses you can create an activity that fires only on a specific confirmation or thank you page when a user reaches this page after making a purchase or filling out a form, the activity logs it as a conversion, allowing you to measure the success of your campaign add an activity follow these steps to add an activity you'll need to create a universal tag docid\ y5avenefmzryuctbemuo5 before you can create an activity in the left navigation, click pixel click +activity > activity this opens the add activity slide out select an advertiser select the universal tag you want to assign this activity to enter a unique activity name set pixel fires on some page views equals the activity will fire only for the exact url you enter in the url field contains/excludes contains activity will fire if the url contains any of the terms you enter in the contains field exclude the activity will not fire if the url contains any of the terms you enter in the excludes field all page views captures all page views on the universal tag's domain click add the activity is available on the pixels screen to edit this activity, click the name action activities an action activity is a standalone pixel designed to track a specific user interaction that does not generate a new page load for example, tracking a specific action, like a "buy now" button the action activity is placed on the specific button html to be tracked sample use cases event specific tracking an action activity can be used to monitor any specific, non page load event for example, you could configure an action activity to fire every time a user clicks a "play video" button or adds an item to their shopping cart this provides granular data on user engagement with specific site features pixel retargeting the data captured by an action activity is essential for building retargeting audiences for example, you can create a segment of all users who triggered the "add to cart" action activity but did not trigger the "purchase complete" action activity this allows you to serve targeted ads to users who abandoned their carts action activity modifications like a universal tag modification, an action activity can be modified to capture custom variables review the universal tag modifications docid\ y5avenefmzryuctbemuo5 section to learn more add an action activity follow these steps to add an action activity in the left navigation, click pixels click +activity > action activity this opens the add action activity slide out select the advertiser you want to associate with this pixel enter a unique name enter the url where the action activity will be placed select the trigger type this is the action that will trigger this activity enter a third party postback this url is used for additional activity matching enter custom parameters (optional) a custom parameter is a space in your activity that allows you to pass in additional variables you can add one revenue parameter and four custom variables click +parameter select a type revenue use this parameters to pass in revenue for a transaction custom (cv 1 cv 4) enter a name enter the placeholder macro value a macros is a system specific placeholder for a value that will be swapped in at a later point if you’ve included a custom variable(s) or the revenue parameter in your activity, you’ll need a way to populate it with a value marcos are used to capture additional data when a pixel fires, and are unique to the system you are using to place the activities before an activity fires, the system will replace the macro with its corresponding value click add the action activity is available on the pixels screen to edit this action activity, click the name