Tracking Adsense Backup Ads

[ChanandlerBong]

Due to Adsense's new Ad Slider [webmasterworld.com], I've been putting more work into the backup ads URL and trying to track it with GA events.

I created backup-ads.html which is a rotating set of 300x250 ads with links.

Now the problem is, I can't do a direct test, because I'm in UK and never get to see backup ads.

I added event tracking to each link but after two days, nothing in GA and I'm thinking it might be with how the main GA code is included in the page. When I add the GA code in the head of the backup ad URL, within half an hour, I had some events showing up.

So how is google adding backup-ads.html to the main page on which the adsense code is found? If I want to properly track events, do I need to include the entire GA js code in backup-ads.html HEAD, as my testing seems to confirm? Or should it work anyway?

[NickMNS]

So how is google adding backup-ads.html to the main page on which the adsense code is found?

in an Iframe

If you want to see how many ads are served you probably need to look at your server logs for the site where the bacukp-ads.html is located. As for the tracking code for links, I have no idea as I have never used event tracking. But I will say that links from the ads are reported as direct traffic in analytics.

FWIW Over the past couple of weeks I have had very little traffic from my back-up ads. I am seeing a click through rate of about 1 in every 2000 impressions. I have only one backup ad that points to another website that I own that is unrelated to the niche of the site were the ads appear.