For a third-party or custom creative to record clicks in Google Ad Manager reports, you need to insert a special click-tracker, or "macro", into the creative's code snippet. When the creative serves, Ad Manager replaces the click macro with a text URL that counts a click and then redirects the visitor to the landing page.
The most common reason a creative doesn't track clicks is that the click-tracker isn't implemented correctly.
Add a click-tracker to your creative's code snippet
When you paste the creative code snippet from your advertiser or agency into Ad Manager, the system will try to recognize the code. If the creative code is from a recognized creative vendor, click Insert macros to automatically insert the appropriate click-tracker and other macros into your code snippet.
If, however, Ad Manager cannot recognize your creative code snippet, you need to add the click-tracker macro manually. Contact your creative code provider for guidance about where to insert the click-tracking macro.
Implement a click-tracker manually
For most creatives, you can use the standard click-tracking macro: %%CLICK_URL_UNESC%%. This macro should be placed where the click-through URL is triggered, just before the click-through URL.
<a href="http://example.com">Click here</a> |
 |
<a href="%%CLICK_URL_UNESC%%http://example.com">Click here</a> |
If the click-tracker is a parameter of another URL, use the %%CLICK_URL_ESC%% click-tracker macro. This macro produces an escaped version of the click-tracker. Learn more about escaped and unescaped macros.
Test your creative's click-tracking
Preview your creative in Ad Manager to confirm that click-tracking is implemented correctly. When you click on the previewed creative, you should see an intermediate page confirming your click was recorded. If you do not see this page, try using the alternate click macro in your tag, either escaped or unescaped, or ask your creative provider to confirm placement.
