Taboola as a Traffic Source

Taboola is currently the largest advertising network in the world. They display adverts on top online publishers. Chances are that you have already seen their content. Working with Taboola is a natural step for any affiliate big thinker.

Luckily, Voluum provides you with a traffic source template that makes the configuration process in Voluum basically effortless. Still, the following guide covers every aspect of setup on both sides that is required to set up tracking.

Voluum and Taboola are integrated with each other. It means that you can pass cost information, as well as control your campaigns from within Voluum: change bids and pause or resume whole campaigns or single placements.

If you want to learn more about this feature, read the Taboola Full Integration article.

Before you dig into this guide and all options that are available during the setup process, make sure that you have the following:

• An active Taboola account. Note that you can provide basic campaign information during the sign-up process, but you will have access to limited options only. The full Taboola dashboard (Backstage) becomes available after completing the sign-up process.
• An active Voluum account.
• An offer to promote.

Once you have everything, you are ready to start your work with Taboola and Voluum.

The first part of this guide describes how to create a campaign in Voluum. Completing this process will provide you with a campaign URL that will be your destination link in Taboola. Go to Voluum and perform the following steps:

1. Create an offer element. Read the Add an Offer to Voluum article to learn how to do that.
2. (Optionally) Create a lander element. Read the Add a Lander Element article to learn more.

3. Create a traffic source element. Voluum provides you with the Taboola traffic source template, so you can use it and skip most of the manual setup. In order to use this template, perform the following steps:

   1. In Voluum, go to Traffic sources.

   2. Click the Create button and select the Traffic source option from the drop-down menu.

      

   3. Select the Taboola template.

   4. Click the Next button.

      

   5. You can change or adjust any option in the New traffic source form. Once you have done so, click the Save button.

      

      Voluum Note: If you want to track conversions, there is already a traffic source postback URL filled in. You only need to replace the phrase REPLACE_EVENT with an appropriate Taboola event name, such as purchase, that you will configure.

4. Create a campaign. 

   In Voluum, go to Campaigns, click the Create button and select the Campaign Simple or Campaign Advanced option from the drop-down menu.

   

   1. Provide basic campaign information.

      1. In the New Campaign form on the GENERAL tab provide the name of your campaign in the Campaign name text field.
      2. (Optional) If you have the Workspaces feature enabled on your account, select the Private Workspace from the drop-down menu that you want this campaign to be assigned to. Read the Workspaces: Overview article to learn more.
      3. Select the Taboola traffic source that you have just created from the drop-down menu.

      4. Select the cost model by clicking the appropriate radio button and provide the cost value.

         Voluum Note: Taboola does not support passing information about cost in a token, so selecting the Auto option will not have any effect. You have to track costs manually with the fixed value or resign from tracking costs at all. You can still use the Manual Cost Update feature later on to update cost information according to what is reported in Taboola.

      5. Click the Next button.

         

   2. Provide traffic destination information.

      1. In the DESTINATION tab select the campaign destination type radio button.
      2. Select a suitable offer and lander elements that you have created. Read the Set Flows and Paths article to learn more.

      3. Click the Save button.

         

   3. Copy the campaign URL by clicking the Copy button.

Now you have your campaign URL with tracking parameters added. In the next step you will submit it as your item's URL in Taboola's campaign inventory setup. In order to do that, perform the following steps:

1. Create a new campaign:

   1. In Taboola, go to the Campaigns tab.

   2. Click the Create button and select the Campaign option from the drop-down menu.

      

2. Campaign Setup

   Provide all required information. This includes:

   • Campaign name
   • Branding text and marketing objective
   • Bid value and budget
   • Targeting options
   • Timeframe of the campaign

   Click the Next button.

3. Campaign Targeting

   Provide all required information. This includes:

   • Device type & OS
   • GEO
   • Audience

   You do not need to add anything in the Tracking codes section. All Taboola parameter are already included in the campaign URL that will be added on item level.

   Once you have provided the required information, click the Create & Add Ads button. The Create ads view will appear.

4. Create ads

   In the Create ads view you need to provide a target URL and a creative. In order to do so, perform the steps below:

   1. Paste the copied campaign URL into the Landing page URL text field.

      

   2. Upload a creative or choose one from the stock photo library, provide headlines. Once you set up your ad, click the Submit button.

      

Those were all the necessary steps needed to make Voluum an Taboola work together. Traffic from Taboola now flows through Voluum to your landing page and offer.

Taboola enables receiving conversion data via pixel or postback technology. In order to use either of them, create a conversion event first.

1. Go to the Tracking tab.

2. Click the New conversion button.

   

3. Set up your conversion. Taboola allows you to track conversions:

   • When a specific URL is loaded. In that case, create the URL conversion.
   • When a specific action is completed. In that case, create the Event conversion, copy the conversion pixel and paste it on relevant pages. Make sure that you have Taboola Pixel installed as well!

   • When a S2S postback URL is launched. In that case, create the Event conversion. Do not install the conversion pixel. The Taboola postback is already present in Taboola's template in Voluum. You need to only add the conversion name to the postback:

     1. In Voluum, edit the Taboola traffic source that you have created.

     2. Replace the REPLACE_EVENT_NAME part of the postback with the exact name of the conversion that you have created.

        The original postback URL should look like this: https://trc.taboola.com/actions-handler/log/3/s2s-action?click-id={externalid}&name=REPLACE_EVENT_NAME&revenue={payout}&currency=USD&partner-name=Voluum

        The edited postback URL should look something like this: https://trc.taboola.com/actions-handler/log/3/s2s-action?click-id={externalid}&name=Conversion&revenue={payout}&currency=USD&partner-name=Voluum

     3. Save changes.

        

Token	Description
{click_id}	Click ID
{site}	Site
{site_id}	Site ID
{title}	Title
{platform}	Platform
{campaign_id}	Campaign ID
{campaign_item_id}	Campaign item ID
{thumbnail}	Thumbnail