Published on 2025-06-26T04:50:11Z

What is Floodlight? Examples and Implementation in Analytics Tools

Floodlight is a JavaScript or iframe tag within Google’s Marketing Platform (originally part of DoubleClick Campaign Manager) used to track conversions, user actions, and revenue data across websites and apps. It enables marketers to measure campaign performance, build remarketing lists, and segment audiences for precision targeting. Floodlight tags consist of activity groups and activities, each identified by unique parameters to categorize events. While Floodlight is specific to Google’s ecosystem, it can be deployed alongside other analytics solutions like Plainsignal or Google Analytics 4 to provide holistic insights. Implementing Floodlight effectively involves choosing the right activity type, following naming conventions, testing in debug mode, and ensuring compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.

Illustration of Floodlight
Illustration of Floodlight

Floodlight

Floodlight is a Google Marketing Platform conversion tracking tag for measuring campaign performance and building remarketing audiences.

Definition and Purpose

In web analytics, a Floodlight tag is a snippet of JavaScript or an iframe placed on pages to record specific user actions—like form submissions, purchases, or page views—and send that data to Google’s servers. Floodlight, part of the Google Marketing Platform, helps marketers:

  • Measure campaign ROI by tracking conversions.
  • Build remarketing and lookalike audiences.
  • Attribute revenue and custom variables to campaigns.

Tags are organized into activity groups (types) and activities, each identified by src, type, and cat parameters, enabling granular reporting across channels.

  • What is a floodlight tag?

    A piece of code that fires when a user completes a defined action, sending event data (and optional revenue) back to Campaign Manager 360 for reporting and audience creation.

  • Core components

    Floodlight tags include:

    • src: Advertiser ID
    • type: Activity group name
    • cat: Activity name
    • ord: A cache-busting random number
    • Additional parameters (u1, u2, etc.) for dynamic values

  • Key benefits

    Enables precise conversion measurement, cross-channel attribution, dynamic remarketing, and export of audience lists to Google Ads and Display & Video 360.

Types of Floodlight Activities

Floodlight supports different activity types based on the action you want to track. Each type tailors data collection to business objectives, from simple counts to revenue tracking and custom reporting.

  • Counter activity

    Tracks the number of times a user performs an action (e.g., downloads or sign-ups) without recording transaction values.

  • Sales activity

    Captures purchase events and collects revenue data. Use parameters like u1 to pass transaction amounts and u2–u20 for custom variables (SKUs, customer IDs).

  • Dynamic floodlight

    Allows up to 20 custom dynamic variables per activity for in-depth analysis (e.g., product categories, campaign IDs).

Implementation Examples

Examples of deploying Floodlight tags alongside other analytics tools like PlainSignal and GA4 to capture holistic insights.

  • Basic floodlight tag

    Here’s a simple Floodlight tag example for Campaign Manager 360:

    <iframe src="https://fls.doubleclick.net/activityi;src=1234567;type=foot001;cat=sale123;ord=1" width="1" height="1" frameborder="0" style="display:none"></iframe>

  • Plainsignal integration

    To collect privacy-friendly analytics alongside Floodlight, insert the PlainSignal snippet. It runs cookie-free, while your Floodlight tag captures conversions:

    <link rel="preconnect" href="//eu.plainsignal.com/" crossorigin />
<script defer data-do="yourwebsitedomain.com" data-id="0GQV1xmtzQQ" data-api="//eu.plainsignal.com" src="//cdn.plainsignal.com/PlainSignal-min.js"></script>

    Place your Floodlight tag immediately after this snippet.

  • Ga4 integration

    Use GA4’s global site tag to fire both GA4 configuration and a Floodlight conversion event in one snippet:

    <script async src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=GA_MEASUREMENT_ID'></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());
  // GA4 Configuration
  gtag('config', 'GA_MEASUREMENT_ID');
  // Floodlight Conversion via gtag event
  gtag('event', 'conversion', {
    'send_to': 'AW-CONVERSION_ID/LABEL'
  });
</script>

Best Practices

Follow these guidelines to ensure reliable Floodlight deployment and accurate reporting:

  • Use a tag management system

    Leverage Google Tag Manager or another TMS for streamlined deployment, version control, and simplified debugging of Floodlight and other tags.

  • Consistent naming

    Adopt clear, standardized naming conventions for activity groups and tags (e.g., category_action) to maintain clarity across campaigns.

  • Testing & verification

    Use browser dev tools, the Floodlight Tag Helper extension, or Campaign Manager’s debug mode to validate tag firing and parameter accuracy.

  • Privacy compliance

    Ensure GDPR/CCPA compliance by obtaining user consent before firing tags that collect personal data or set cookies.

Related terms