A Complete Guide to Integrating Outbrain Pixels with Google Tag Manager

This article dives into the Outbrain tracking Pixel, a tool for advertisers to track conversions on their website. It explains the benefits of using the Outbrain conversion Pixel and why it’s important for campaign success. You’ll learn how the pixel works and two methods for integrating it: directly connecting your Google Tag Manager (GTM) account to the Amplify Dashboard or configuring the Outbrain tracking Pixel within GTM. The article also covers testing, troubleshooting, and best practices for ensuring a smooth integration.

Key Takeaways

• What is Outbrain Pixel?
  • Benefits of Outbrain Pixel
• Why Outbrain Pixel needed?
• How OutBrain Pixel Works?
• Integrating Outbrain Pixels: 2 Methods
  • Directly connect GTM account to the Amplify Dashboard
  • Configure OutBrain Pixel In Google Tag Manager
• Testing and Troubleshooting the Integration
• Best Practices for Outbrain conversion tracking Pixel Integration

What is Outbrain Pixel?

Outbrain conversion Pixel is a piece of code that advertisers place on their website to track user activity and conversions generated by Outbrain native advertising campaigns. It essentially acts as a bridge between your website and Outbrain tracking pixel platform, allowing them to collect valuable data and insights.

In simpler terms, it’s like a tiny tracker that monitors what users do after clicking on an Outbrain ad and landing on your site.

Benefits of Outbrain Pixel

There are several benefits to using the OutBrain conversion tracking Pixel for your OutBrain advertising campaigns:

• Tracks conversions: The outbrain tracking pixel tracks the actions users take after clicking on your Outbrain ad and landing on your website. This can include things like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a white paper.
• Improves campaign performance: With conversion data from the outbrain tracking pixel, you can see which Outbrain campaigns are driving the most conversions.
• Unlocks advanced features: The Outbrain tracking Pixel unlocks access to a number of advanced features, such as Lookalike Audiences and Custom Audiences.
• Provides data for comparison: The outbrain tracking pixel gives you valuable data on how your Outbrain campaigns are performing compared to other marketing channels.
• Overall improvement in marketing strategy: By understanding how users interact with your website after clicking on an Outbrain ad, you can gain valuable insights into your overall marketing strategy.

Why Outbrain Tracking Pixel needed?

Outbrain tracking Pixel isn’t mandatory, but it’s like a magic magnifying glass for your ads:

• Sees conversions: Tracks who actually takes action after clicking your ad.
• Optimizes campaigns: Uses data to automatically improve targeting, bidding, and creatives.
• Gives deeper insights: Shows user behavior on your site for better understanding.
• Enables retargeting: Lets you show ads to users who visited but didn’t convert yet.

How OutBrain Pixel Works?

Outbrain Pixel works behind the scenes like a tiny spy, gathering intel on your website visitors who clicked on Outbrain ads. Here’s the lowdown:

User Clicks Ad: When a user clicks on your Outbrain conversion ad, they’ll be directed to your landing page.

Pixel Fires:  As the landing page loads, the Outbrain conversion Pixel code detects the user’s arrival and transmits a signal back to Outbrain’s servers.

Data Tracking:  Outbrain then tracks the user’s actions on your website. This can include actions you define as conversions, such as purchases, signups, or downloads.

Reporting: Outbrain attribute to the Outbrain ad click within a specific window, typically 24 hours by default (with a maximum of 60 days).

Integrating Outbrain Pixels: 2 Methods

To connect OutBrain Pixel with GTM, there are two ways:

• Directly Integration within the Amplify Dashboard
• By Implementing Tag in GTM

Directly connect GTM account to the Amplify Dashboard

Step 1: On the right side of your dashboard, look for a section or tab labeled “Conversions.” Once you find it, click a button that says something like “Create Conversion” or “New Conversion.”

Step 2: Select “Outbrain Pixel” as the source of your conversion data. This tells the system you’ll be tracking conversions through the Outbrain Pixel.

Step 3: Review and agree to the terms and conditions.

Step 4: Once you’ve confirmed everything, click “Next” and wait a bit.

Step 5: As a final step, click “Publish” to activate the connection.

Configure OutBrain Pixel In Google Tag Manager

Before you installing the tracking pixel, you’ll need to define what  a conversion in your Amplify account. This lets Outbrain track those specific actions users take on your website after clicking your ad.

The GTM Outbrain Pixel tag can track conversions based on users reaching specific webpages (URL-based) or by capturing actions they take on your site (event-based).

Step 1: Open the Tags menu and click on ‘New’ Tag.

Step 2: Select the ‘Outbrain’ Pixel tag from the Template Gallery.

Step 3: Your Marketer ID can be found in Amplify’s dashboard URL – it’s the alphanumeric string after the address. Add the appropriate marketer ID and select the pixel.

Page View Pixel: A Page View pixel tracks when someone views a specific page on your site. You can now add details like currency, order ID, and value directly during tag setup.

Event Pixel: Event pixels in GTM let you track specific actions on your website (conversions) by choosing from a list or creating custom events.

Step 4: In the Trigger configuration box, create the appropriate trigger and save it.

Step 5: Preview the tag and then Publish the GTM.

Testing and Troubleshooting the Integration

After setting up the Outbrain pixel and creating a tag in Google Tag Manager, the next step is to configure triggers and variables. Triggers determine when the tag should fire, while variables provide dynamic values to the tag. Here are some steps to troubleshoot common issues:

1. Check the tag firing rules in Google Tag Manager to make sure they are set up correctly.
2. Use the Google Tag Assistant extension to debug and verify that the Outbrain pixel is firing on the desired pages.
3. Check the Outbrain dashboard to see if the pixel is receiving data and tracking conversions.

By following these steps, you can ensure that the Outbrain pixel integration with Google Tag Manager is working smoothly and accurately.

Best Practices for Outbrain conversion tracking Pixel Integration

Conversion Tracking:

• Define clear conversion goals: Identify specific actions you want to track (purchase, signup, etc.).
• Set up conversion events in Outbrain: Create events in the Conversions tab for each desired action.
• Track both URL-based and event-based conversions: Capture both page visits and specific actions.

Data Privacy:

• Comply with data privacy regulations: Ensure your pixel implementation complies with GDPR, CCPA, etc.
• Inform users about data collection: Be transparent about what data you collect and how you use it.
• Allow opt-out options: Provide users with options to opt out of data collection.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Outbrain Pixel is a tool used to track how users interact with your website after clicking on an Outbrain ad. This helps you measure the effectiveness of your Outbrain campaigns and optimize them for better results. You can integrate the Outbrain Pixel with Google Tag Manager (GTM) in two ways: directly connecting your GTM account or configuring the pixel within GTM. The article offers a guide on these methods and best practices to ensure a smooth integration process.