Marketo and Google Adwords FAQs

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Common questions around how Marketo can be used to track Google AdWords information:

Q: Do I have to install a special Marketo App from the Salesforce.com AppExchange to get this functionality?
A: No, there's no special Marketo App to install.

Q: Will this require custom coding?
A: For the first scenario, Linking a Google Adwords Ad to a Marketo Landing Page with a Form, there is no coding required at all. The second scenario, Linking a Google Adwords Ad to Any Page on Your Website, requires a little bit of coding. To help with that, the links to the appropriate KnowledgeBase articles are included in this document.

Q: I can not code, but I still want to capture my Google Adwords PPC information using Marketo. What should I do?
A: If you do not have coding experience, it's best to go with the first scenario since it does not require any coding. If you are interested in the second scenario, then we recommend leveraging any internal resources you may have who can code. You can send the relevant KnowledgeBase articles to the person who do the coding for reference.

Q: What kind of reports can I build using the standard Marketo Analytics?
A: Here are a few examples of reports (see the Overview for a list of other metrics you can get)

Which Google Adwords campaigns generated the most revenue?
Which keyword and/or search term generated the most revenue?
How many opportunities were generated by each Google Adwords campaign?
Number of new leads by 'CampaignID' and associated opportunities

Q: If the same lead does another Google search and then clicks through a second (or third) Google Ad, will the original PPC information be overwritten?
A: By default it will be overwritten. However, if your strategy is to track the original source PPC, then you can configure the PPC custom fields to be blocked from updates. This way, once the PPC information is populated in the custom fields, subsequent Google Ad click throughs and form submissions will not overwrite the existing values. Of course if your PPC strategy is to capture the most recent PPC information, then you can leave the custom PPC fields unblocked (default) and subsequent Google Ad click throughs and form submissions (by the same lead) will overwrite the existing information.

Q: If I already have Salesforce.com custom fields to capture all the PPC information on the lead & contact objects, do I still have to create custom fields in Marketo?
A: If the custom fields are already there in Salesforce.com, then you do not need to create additional fields in Marketo. As long as the sync user has visibility to those custom fields, the fields should be synced over and be mapped accordingly.

Q: How does this work in Marketo?
A: At a high level, you will need to do the following:

Create custom fields in Salesforce.com
Build a form with hidden fields which gets values from URL parameters
Build a Marketo landing page with the form on it
For all your 'destination links', include the URL parameters and associated value/token
When the leads click through the Google Adwords Ad to your landing page, fills out the form, the PPC information will be submitted to the hidden fields (i.e. keyword, campaign, etc.)

Q: How much does it cost to configure Marketo to capture Google Adwords information?
A: There is no cost if you follow the documented instructions. The simple scenario, Linking a Google Adwords Ad to a Marketo Landing Page with a Form, is recommended as you will get the metrics you need to understand effectiveness of your Google Adwords campaigns and keywords with the standard Marketo Analytics/Reports. However, if you are interested in engaging Marketo to assist you with the configuration, Contact your Customer Success Manager and they will have someone frome our Professional Services team set up a requirements scoping call to put together a cost estimate.

Learn more:

Google Adwords and Marketo Overview
Linking a Google Adwords Ad to a Marketo Landing Page with a Form
Linking a Google Adwords Ad to Any Page on Your Website