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Tracking Ads using Off-Domain Sites

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Guide to Tracking Ads That Lead to Off-Domain Sites

This guide explains how to track ads that send users to off-domain sites — third-party websites such as blogs, editorial pages, or advertorials — that sit between your ad and your main website.

What Is an Off-Domain Site?

An off-domain site is any webpage that sits on a completely different top-level domain than your brand’s own website.

Common Examples of Off-Domain Sites

  • Blog articles or editorial reviews
  • “Top 10” product roundups
  • Sponsored content (advertorials)
  • Landing pages hosted by affiliate or partner networks

Real-World Example

  • Your Domain: northbeam.io
  • Off-Domain Site: mysubscriptionaddiction.com/northbeam
  • User Flow: Meta Ad → Off-Domain Site → northbeam.io

⚠️

Tracking Implication

Without proper tracking, visits from ads may show up as referral: mysubscriptionaddiction.com, which hides the original ad source in your reporting.

Why Standard Tracking Doesn’t Work

The Northbeam Pixel only works on your domain by default. When users first land on a separate domain, the pixel doesn't fire — meaning you may lose visibility into which ads actually drove conversions.

Two Tracking Options

Northbeam currently supports two methods for tracking traffic that goes through off-domain sites.

Option 1. Redirect Links

Available For: Meta, Pinterest, Klaviyo, Attentive

🔄 How It Works

This method briefly routes users through your own domain before sending them to the off-domain site. That detour allows the Northbeam Pixel to fire and track the visit as a first-party event.

✅ Pros

  • Accurate first-party tracking for Meta and other supported platforms
  • No need to install the pixel on third-party sites

❌ Cons

  • Google Ads and X may block or penalize redirect behavior
  • Traffic from platforms like Taboola won't be tracked

🛠 Setup Steps

  1. In Northbeam, open the Mini Menu (top-right)
  2. Select Guides → Redirect URLs Guide
  3. Enter the off-domain destination URL to generate a redirect link.
  4. Copy the generated URLs and UTMs (gray boxes) into your ad settings



🚧

These links use a slightly different UTM structure than standard (non-redirect) tracking. That’s expected.

2. Pixel Placement on the Off-Domain Site

Best For: Multi-channel campaigns (Google, Meta, TikTok, Taboola, etc.)

🔄 How It Works

You place the Northbeam Pixel in the <head> of the off-domain site. When users land there, the pixel fires and tracks the visit.

✅ Pros

  • Works across all ad platforms
  • No need for redirects

❌ Cons

  • Treated as a third-party pixel, which has limitations
  • Safari and privacy-focused browsers may block tracking, leading to up to 50% attribution loss

🛠 Setup Steps

  1. Get access to the off-domain site's header code
  2. Paste the Northbeam Pixel into the <head> section
  3. Save and confirm it's firing using browser tools.

Our Recommendation

The best method depends on your traffic distribution:

  • If most traffic is from Meta, use Redirect Links — it offers reliable first-party tracking with minimal setup
  • If you're running multi-platform ads, use Pixel Placement — it gives broader coverage, even with some limitations

We're happy to guide you through the right setup based on your channels.

FAQs:

How do I confirm the setup is working?

Check your Visit data in Northbeam. If you're seeing visits tied to your Campaigns, Adsets, and Ads, that means your UTMs are working and the pixel is firing correctly.

Can I use the pixel and redirects?

No — we don’t recommend using both at the same time. Doing so can cause the pixel to fire twice: once during the redirect, and again on the off-domain site (if the pixel is also placed there). This will inflate Visit metrics and result in inaccurate data.

Can I just use UTM parameters on the links from off-domain site to main domain site?

Technically, yes — adding UTM parameters will allow Northbeam to segment the traffic (so you can see where users came from).

However, this won’t connect the visit back to the original ad campaign, which means:

  • The session won’t be tied to your ad spend

Because of this, we don’t recommend relying on UTMs alone — especially if you're putting paid media behind the traffic (e.g., Meta Ads). Instead, use Redirect Links or Pixel Placement to preserve accurate attribution.

Updated 21 days ago