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Site Retargeting Pixel: How to Install & Reporting

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Marc Fevrier
What is a Site Retargeting Pixel? How to Create a Site Retargeting Pixel How to Install a Site Retargeting Pixel Add Audience Segment to Campaign Google Tag Manager (GTM) Details Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

This pixel is designed to build an audience of users who have previously visited your website, allowing you to re-engage them with relevant ads.

Best Used For:

  • Re-engaging past site visitors
  • Encouraging users to return to your site to complete an action
  • Building a high-intent audience for future campaigns

How it Works: Place this pixel on your website, on any page(s) you wish to build an audience of users. It will begin collecting an audience of devices that visit your pages, which you can then target with new ad campaigns.

Reporting: Audience size reports are available upon request. The report distinguishes between the Real Entry Count (visitors from GroundTruth ads) and the Approximate Entry Count (all site visitors). Connect with your dedicated GroundTruth support team to learn more.

Please Keep in Mind

  • There are 3 steps: (1) Create the Pixel, (2) Place the Pixel onto webpage(s), (3) Add the audience segment to your campaign
  • Audiences created via site retargeting pixels are available to users for targeting immediately.
  • Audience segments are updated daily.
  • Audience segments are only available in the account that the pixel was created in and only for those devices that support Target by Audience, except for Audio. Audio does not support retargeting segments.
  • Audience segments can be used for targeting across all device types.

Create the Site Retargeting Pixel Code

In order to create a site retargeting pixel, please follow these steps:

  1. In Ads Manager, click on the hamburger menu (, 3 horizontal lines in the top left corner)
  2. Click on Manage Accounts
  3. Click anywhere in the row of the account you wish to generate the pixel code for.
  4. Navigate to the Tracking Pixels tab, then click on + New pixel
  5. Enter your Website URL with http:// or https:// (recommended) or it will not save. You can create as many pixels as you need and label them in such a manner that makes sense for your website.
  6. Name your pixel. This will be the name of the audience created.
  7. Select Site retargeting pixel as the pixel type and click Save.

Install the Site Retargeting Pixel Manually

If you’re not using Google Tag Manager, follow the instructions below to place the pixel code directly on your website.

  1. All created pixels will appear under Existing pixels. You can click on each individual pixel created to view its details.
  2. To place the code on your webpage(s), click on Export Pixel Tags export button. This will download an Excel file containing the code details.
  3. In the Excel file, copy the corresponding Image Tag code for your Site retargeting pixel.

  4. Replace {TIMESTAMP} with a cache-busting value (such as a timestamp) according to your website specifications. You can use the following code with the JavaScript-based timestamp:

    <!-- GT Site Retargeting Pixel -->

    <script>
      (function() {
        var img = new Image(1, 1);
        img.src = 'https://p.xad.com?id=XXXXX&sid=XXXXX&ts=' + new Date().getTime();
        img.style.display = 'none';
        document.body.appendChild(img);
      })();
    </script>

    Items to note: Replace both XXXXX placeholders with your unique identifiers (pixel ID and site retargeting ID). It's optional to include <!-- GT Site Retargeting Pixel --> but may be useful to add for future reference, especially if you're using multiple pixels)

  5. Paste the pixel code, with the updated macro, into the header section of each page you wish to build a retargeting audience.
    1. Navigate to the main HTML file (typically named header.php for WordPress or index.html), which controls the site’s header section.
    2. Carefully paste the entire pixel code exported from Ads Manager before the closing </head> tag. Be sure not to alter any of the surrounding code.
  6. Confirm that the pixel is firing on all site pages where you want tracking using the validation steps

 

Site Retargeting Pixel Restrictions

Site retargeting pixels cannot be used on healthcare-related websites, including but not limited to those focused on reproductive or fertility care, counseling, and rehabilitation or treatment facilities.

Install the Site Retargeting Pixel via Google Tag Manager (GTM)

Create a New Variable

  1. Navigate to Variables in the left menu
  2. Scroll to the User-Defined Variables section, click New
  3. Name the variable Timestamp
  4. Click into the Variable Configuration box
  5. Choose Custom JavaScript
  6. Copy and paste the below code snippet into the text box
function() {
  return Date.now();
}
  1. Save

 

Implement the Variable into the Tag

  1. Navigate to Tags in the left menu
  2. Select the created tag you wish to connect (e.g., GroundTruth PageView)
  3. In the Tag Configuration box navigate to the Image URL field
  4. Move the cursor to the end of the pasted Image URL
  5. Click the (+) button at the end of the box to add
  6. Select the new variable (e.g., Timestamp)
  7. Save
image001.gif

 

Implement Pixel

  1. Add the GTM container to your site. If Google Tag Manager (GTM) has not been installed, you can follow Google's setup guide.
  2. Create a new tag in GTM.
    • In GTM, go to Tags in the left menu.
    • Click New.
    • Click into the Tag Configuration box.
    • Select Custom Image as the tag type.
    • In the Image URL field, paste the pixel image tag provided in your pixel sheet (exported from Ads Manager).
  3. Add Timestamp (Cache Busting).
    • Replace {TIMESTAMP} in the pixel code with GTM’s built-in cache-busting macro.
    • If {TIMESTAMP} variable doesn’t exist, then you'll need to create it and add it to the required tag. See instructions for Create a New Variable and Implement the Variable into the Tag below.
  4. Set the Trigger.
    • Click Triggering
    • Select when the pixel should fire (Page View → Some Page Views)
    • In the condition dropdown, select Page URL matches RegEx
    • Paste your regex pattern (examples below)
    • Save the trigger and attach it to the pixel tag.
  5. Finalize the Tag
    • Name your Tag (e.g., GroundTruth - Site RT Pixel).
    • Click Save.
    • Use Preview Mode to test and confirm the pixel fires correctly on target pages.
    • Publish your GTM container to make the changes live.
  6. Confirm that the pixel is firing on all site pages where you want tracking using the Validation Steps.

Add the Audience to Your GroundTruth Campaign

Once a site retargeting pixel is added to a website page, the audience segment created is immediately available for targeting.

  1. In your desired Ads Manager campaign, create a new ad group.
  2. Select Target by Audience as the targeting goal.
  3. Select device type.
  4. In the Select audiences selection box, enter the name of the site retargeting pixel to find your audience. The audience created will be displayed as [Pixel Name] | Site Retargeting and will have (Segment) indicator appended to its name.

You are also able to search for your audience by using the Browse Audience Library. Should you use this method, scroll to the bottom of the list to expand Other Types of Audiences then expand Segments.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Are site retargeting pixels supported across all device types? Yes, our pixels are supported across Mobile, Desktop, and CTV/OTT.
  2. Can pixels be reused across multiple campaigns? Yes, pixels can be reused across campaigns and ad groups within the same account.
  3. How many pixels can I create? You can create as many pixels as you need and label them in such a manner that makes sense for your website.
  4. What is an image tag? It’s a simple, fast, and reliable method for triggering a server request (signal) when the page loads, thereby allowing the server to record the signal as a pageview or conversion.
  5. What is a cachebusting macro? It’s a tool that prevents browser caching by automatically adding a unique name to a previously saved file to ensure that users are always receiving the most up-to-date version of the website without having to manually clear their cache.
  6. What is browser caching? When a user visits a website, the web browser downloads and saves files (e.g. logos, colors, fonts, etc.) to load the website faster when the user returns to the website in the future – loading files from the cache instead of re-downloading the files each time.
  7. What is a {TIMESTAMP} variable? This is a unique, dynamic value that represents the current time. It’s a short piece of code that generates a different number every time the page loads (i.e., a cachebusting macro). By adding a timestamp to the end of the pixel’s URL, you can make the URL unique for every visit, ensuring every pageview or conversion is recorded.
  8. How do I see reporting for this pixel? Audience size reports are available upon request. The report distinguishes between the Real Entry Count (visitors from GroundTruth ads) and the Approximate Entry Count (all site visitors). Connect with your dedicated GroundTruth support team to learn more.

  9. I placed the pixel in the header section, but I’m experiencing load issues. The header is our standard placement, but if you notice any performance issues, try moving the pixel code to the very end of your page's HTML, right before the </body> tag. Placing it here ensures all of your page content loads before the pixel does, which typically solves any speed-related conflicts. 

    <html>
      <head>
        <!-- your usual head content -->
      </head>
      <body>
        <!-- your page content -->    
    <!-- GT Site Retargeting Pixel -->
        <script>
          (function() {
            var img = new Image(1, 1);
            img.src = 'https://p.xad.com?id=XXXXX&sid=XXXXX&ts=' + new Date().getTime();
            img.style.display = 'none';
            document.body.appendChild(img);
          })();
        </script>
      </body>
    </html>

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