# Traffic sources

> One ad network, its currency, and which of its macros fill which field.
> Source: https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/traffic-sources


A traffic source describes one ad network: which network it is, the currency it bills in, and its
vocabulary. Meta calls the campaign `{{campaign.id}}`, TikTok calls it `__CAMPAIGN_ID__` and Google
calls it `{campaignid}`. The traffic source says which of those macros fills which EventsIQ field, so
a lead carries the same fields whichever network it came from.

You'll find them under **Acquire → Traffic sources**.

:::tip{title="Where it fits"}
Every [campaign](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/campaigns) and every [integration](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/integrations) picks a traffic
source. Most accounts need one per network, for example one for Meta and one for Google. Make a
second one for the same network only if it bills in a different currency.
:::

## The list

![The Traffic sources list](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs-media/traffic-sources/01-list.png "Acquire, Traffic sources, with a Google, a Meta and a TikTok source listed. Names blurred.")

| Column             | What it tells you                                                                 |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Traffic source** | Its name, with the network's icon and the currency it reports spend in           |
| **Status**         | **In use**, **Not used yet**, **Needs attention** or **Off**, and its last lead   |
| **Campaigns**      | How many [campaigns](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/campaigns) use it. Click to see them                  |
| **Spend**          | What its campaigns have spent                                                    |
| **URL parameters** | **Copy URL parameters** once there is something to copy                          |

**Updated** can be shown from **Columns**.

## Creating a traffic source

Click **New traffic source**.

![The traffic source sheet](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs-media/traffic-sources/02-sheet.png "The traffic source sheet for a Meta source, with the Parameters table filled in and the URL parameters box below it.")

| Field                  | What to put                                                                                   |
| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**               | Something you will recognise, for example `Meta - Solar US`                                   |
| **Network**            | The ad network. Picking it fills the Parameters table with that network's macros              |
| **Reporting currency** | The currency the ad account bills in. Spend is stored exactly as the network reports it, never converted |
| **Enabled**            | Turn off to stop offering this source in pickers without deleting it                          |

### Parameters

Each row has three parts:

| Column            | What it is                                                         | Example          |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------- |
| **Fills**         | The EventsIQ field the value lands in                              | `campaign_id`    |
| **URL parameter** | What the landing page address calls it                             | `campaign_id`    |
| **Network macro** | What the network replaces with the real value when someone clicks | `{{campaign.id}}`|

The **Network macro** box suggests the network's own macros, and you can type anything else. Click
**Add row** for more, or the bin to remove one.

Under the table, **URL parameters** shows the finished string, for example
`campaign_id={{campaign.id}}&adset_id={{adset.id}}&ad_id={{ad.id}}`, with a **Copy** button. You will
rarely need it directly, because every campaign's tracking URL already includes it.

:::important{title="Keep the campaign id row"}
The campaign id is what joins spend to leads in [Reports](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/reports). Rename or remove other
rows as you like, but keep the one that fills **campaign_id**.
:::

## What each network starts with

| Network           | Rows it fills in                                                                                                             |
| ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Meta**          | campaign id and name, ad set id and name, ad id and name, and `sub_id` from `{{placement}}`                                  |
| **TikTok**        | campaign id and name, ad group id and name, ad id and name, and its click id `ttclid` from `__CLICKID__`                     |
| **Snapchat**      | campaign id and name, ad squad id and name, ad id and name. Snapchat adds its click id `ScCid` to the link by itself, so there is no row for it |
| **Google Ads**    | `{campaignid}`, `{adgroupid}`, `{creative}`, the click id `gclid` from `{gclid}`, and the keyword as `utm_term`              |
| **Microsoft Ads** | `{CampaignId}`, `{AdGroupId}`, `{AdId}`, the click id `msclkid`, and the keyword as `utm_term`                               |
| **NewsBreak**     | `__CAMPAIGN_ID__` and name, `__FLIGHT_ID__` (ad set) and name, `__CREATIVE_ID__` (ad) and name, and the click id `newsbreak_cid` from `__CALLBACK_PARAM__` |
| **AppLovin**      | `{CAMPAIGN_ID}` and name, `{CREATIVE_SET_ID}` (as the ad set) and name. AppLovin adds its click id `aleid` to the link by itself, so there is no row for it |
| **Custom**        | One empty `click_id` row for you to fill in                                                                                   |

If you change the **Network** before editing any rows, the rows switch to the new network's set. Once
you have edited them, they are left alone.

## Where the parameters go in the ad

Usually you paste a campaign's **Tracking URL** and never touch these directly. If you ever need
the parameters on their own:

-   **Meta and TikTok**: paste them into the ad's **URL parameters** field exactly as shown.
-   **Google Ads**: paste them into **Final URL suffix**, or into a tracking template after
    `{lpurl}?`.
-   **NewsBreak**: add them to the end of each ad's landing page URL in NewsBreak Ad Manager.
-   **AppLovin**: add them to the end of the landing page URL on the campaign in AppLovin Ads Manager.

## Editing and deleting

Changes apply to new clicks and leads from the moment you save. Leads that already arrived keep the
values they arrived with. Deleting a traffic source does not change any lead either, but campaigns
and integrations that used it need a new one.

## Related

-   [Campaigns](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/campaigns): where the traffic source's parameters become a tracking URL.
-   [Integrations](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/integrations): reading spend in the traffic source's currency.
-   [How click tracking works](https://www.eventsiq.io/docs/click-tracking): what the parameters are for.