An advertising network (or ad network) is an online platform that connects businesses that want to run ads (i.e., advertisers) with those that want to host ads and monetize their app (i.e., publishers).
If you're a publisher, you can use the Network Settings tab in Admin to add the ad networks you use for your app data streams to your Analytics property.
By configuring network settings for your apps, you can:
- Measure key events from those ad networks
- Configure postbacks to send some or all key event data back to the ad network to optimize the traffic they send you
Add a network
You can send key events and measure performance on advertising networks. To add a network:
- In Admin, under Data display, click Key events.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector. You must be an Editor or above at the property level to configure network settings for apps.
- Click Network Settings > New network.
- Select a network from the menu.
- Source is automatically the Network name. Some networks also offer metadata about Campaign medium and Campaign name, so no additional input is needed. For other networks, we’ve provided the Campaign medium and Campaign name fields to capture custom information. Use the generated URL as your referral link (copy and paste the URL).
- CLICK: If you’re running a campaign to drive users to download the app, use the URL you generate here.
- DEEP LINK: If you’re running a campaign to re-engage existing app users, use the DEEP LINK tab. In this section, enter the URL scheme and path information. The same parameters will be appended.
- (Optional) Turn on Configure Postback to send key event data back to the network.
- Click Save.
Postbacks
A Postback sends your key event data back to an ad network. Postbacks are optional. You may send first_open data in addition to other in-app key events. If you decide to set up a Postback, you also choose whether to send the network all key events, or just the key events that Analytics attributes to that particular network.
Postbacks help networks optimize the traffic they send you. For example, if a network knows that an app has been downloaded to a device, then it also knows not to serve that device any additional ads for that app.
If you send the network all key event data, then that network is able to optimize its own traffic based on an awareness of key events from all networks. When you send all key event data to a network, the other networks involved in delivering key events are obfuscated.
If any of 1) all property-level data, 2) individual events, or 3) specific event names or user properties have been excluded from ads personalization, then Analytics will append an additional signal (called npa) in Postbacks indicating that networks should not use the data for personalized advertising. Note that each network's treatment of the npa signal is determined by that network.
To configure a Postback:
- In Admin, under Data display, click Key events.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector. You must be an Editor or above at the property level to configure network settings for apps.
- Click Network Settings.
- In the row for the network, click
> Configure postback.
- Select the key events you want to send.
- Select Only key events attributed to this network or All key events.
- Enter the network parameters (e.g., Tracking ID, Advertiser Password). These vary by network.
- Click Save.
If you disable ads personalization per the instructions in Safeguarding your data and your user enables Postbacks, that information travels with the Postback.
Custom campaigns for Google Play apps
When you use a custom campaign for an app that you're distributing via Google Play, use the Google Play URL Builder to generate your custom URLs.