Advanced Ads – Tracking

Know which ad earns money and which one just takes up space

Many publishers place ads in the header, the sidebar and at the end of every article, then only look at total revenue at the end of the month. Without knowing how many times each ad was seen or how many clicks it got, it is impossible to tell the one that performs from the one that gets in the way. Advanced Ads – Tracking is an add-on for Advanced Ads that records impressions and clicks for each ad so you can decide with data.

Measuring each unit lets you remove the one that does not work before it costs you readers without earning anything.

Impressions, clicks and CTR in your WordPress dashboard

The plugin counts the impressions and clicks of your ads and calculates the CTR automatically. Statistics show in the dashboard itself by day, week or month, so you do not need to leave for another tool to make a quick comparison.

• Email reports: you get summaries of your ads without having to log in to check them.
• Shareable statistics: useful if you manage ads for a client or an advertiser and want to show them results.
• CSV import and export: to take the data to a spreadsheet or keep it elsewhere.
• Disable tracking by role: exclude editors or administrators so their visits do not inflate the figures.

Google Analytics if you prefer not to load your server

You can combine impressions and clicks with other metrics in Google Analytics, and even offload impression tracking there to lighten the server. You can also use local tracking and Google Analytics in parallel. Local tracking uses an optimized AJAX call that does not go through admin-ajax.php, so the performance impact is not noticeable.

Link control, limits and campaign pacing

It includes several options that go beyond counting:

• Limits: an ad can stop showing once it reaches a number of impressions or clicks.
• Planning: spreads impressions and clicks over a period.
• Link attributes: automatically adds nofollow or sponsored to ads.
• Link cloaking: shows short URLs with a cleaner slug instead of the long original address.
• New window: opens each ad in another tab so the reader does not leave your page.

It does not recover the past or work without Advanced Ads

This is an add-on: it needs the Advanced Ads base plugin to work and is no use on its own. Here is what it solves and what you will have to cover yourself:

• Already solved: measuring impressions and clicks for all formats and networks, including manually inserted Google AdSense and Amazon ads.
• Already solved: reports, CSV, limits by impressions or clicks and cloaked links.
• You cover it: past history. Statistics start recording when you activate the add-on and do not include past clicks or impressions.
• You cover it: inserting and configuring the ads, which depends on the base plugin.
• You cover it: advanced reports or custom dashboards, which need to be built in Google Analytics or in an external tool such as Looker Studio.

Frequently asked questions

Will it slow down my site?

Local tracking uses an optimized AJAX call and, if you still want to cut the load, you can move impressions to Google Analytics.

Can I see statistics from before I installed it?

No. It only counts from the moment you activate it.

Does it measure AdSense or Amazon ads?

Yes, it measures clicks and impressions for all formats and networks, including manually inserted Google AdSense and Amazon ads.

Can I use Google Analytics and the built-in tracking at the same time?

Yes, they can run in parallel.

Does it work on a non-WordPress site?

The plugin can only be installed on WordPress. To deliver ads to other sites there is the ad server feature or the Advanced Ads REST API, which serve ads from a WordPress site.