Native traffic source
Track Taboola with UTMCAP
Taboola puts the real cost of each click in {cpc}, so every Taboola click can be costed exactly, and it takes conversions back by server-to-server postback, matched on its own click ID, tblci. Taboola retired its older hyphenated macro names; the template uses the current ones.
Your tracking URL
This is the URL UTMCAP builds for a Taboola campaign. Yours has your own tracking domain and campaign in place of the example — copy it from the campaign, not from here.
https://track.example.com/spring-sale?sub1={campaign_id}&sub2={campaign_name}&sub3={campaign_item_id}&sub4={title}&sub5={site}&sub6={site_id}&sub7={platform}&sub8={cpc}&cost={cpc}What each macro records
Taboola replaces each macro with the real value when the ad is clicked, and UTMCAP stores it in the matching field — so reports can be grouped by campaign, placement or device.
| Field | What it records | Taboola macro |
|---|---|---|
| sub1 | Campaign ID | {campaign_id} |
| sub2 | Campaign Name | {campaign_name} |
| sub3 | Item ID | {campaign_item_id} |
| sub4 | Headline | {title} |
| sub5 | Site | {site} |
| sub6 | Site ID | {site_id} |
| sub7 | Platform | {platform} |
| sub8 | CPC | {cpc} |
| sub10 | Click ID (tblci) | added by Taboola itself |
Worth knowing
Taboola retired the hyphenated names ({campaign}, {ad-item}); these are the current ones. {cpc} does report the real bid, so a Taboola campaign can be costed per click.
Macros from Taboola’s own documentation.
How conversions get back to Taboola
Taboola appends tblci itself. Postback to https://trc.taboola.com/actions-handler/log/3/s2s-action — and the parameter must be spelled click-id with a hyphen, or nothing is recorded.
In UTMCAP, {external_id} is Taboola’s own click ID and {payout} is what the conversion paid — they are filled in when each conversion is sent.
Set it up in three steps
- 1. Add Taboola as a traffic source in UTMCAP and choose its template — the macros above are filled in for you.
- 2. Create a campaign with that source, and copy its tracking URL.
- 3. Paste it into Taboola as the ad’s click or destination URL.
Every field of the traffic source form is explained in the traffic sources guide.
Point a domain at us and run a click through it.
The free plan takes a hundred thousand clicks a month and no card. If it does not do what you need, you have lost twenty minutes.