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

In Northbeam, open the Mini Menu (top-right)
Select Guides → Redirect URLs Guide
Enter the off-domain destination URL to generate a redirect link.
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.

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 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.