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  1. Gads account organization
    9 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  2. Search ads
    36 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  3. Display Ads
    16 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  4. Video Ads
    17 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  5. Analytics
    19 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  6. GAds Optimization
    8 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  7. Audience Manager
    8 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  8. GAds tools and settings
    26 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  9. Google Ads and Facebook
    9 Topics
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    1 Quiz

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PPC Google Ads and Facebook Google Tag Assistant + Facebook Pixel Helper
Lesson 9, Topic 6
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Google Tag Assistant + Facebook Pixel Helper

01.02.2022
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What Is Facebook Pixel?

Facebook Pixel is an analytics tool that helps you measure the effectiveness of your Facebook marketing campaigns by understanding what users do on your site. The Facebook Pixel is just a pixel code that you generate within your Facebook Ads Manager account. The default pixel will help you in three main areas:

  • Conversion Tracking: Facebook pixel ties conversions on your site back to specific Facebook advertising users clicked through.
  • Optimization: After installation, you can set up automatic bidding to target people who are more likely to convert.
  • Remarketing: Create custom audiences based on groups of users who came from certain ads or, for example, added a product to the cart but didn’t purchase to remarket to such audiences.

What is the Facebook Pixel Helper

Basically, the Facebook Pixel Helper is just a Chrome extension. The Chrome browser has extensions that are basically “plugins” that go in to Chrome so that you can see if the Facebook Pixel is installed and working properly on your site.

You don’t really “need” the Chrome Pixel Helper unless you’re having some issues that you want to troubleshoot or you want to make sure that the pixels or standard events for pixels are properly installed.

It’s helpful because you can really see if the pixel is firing properly and if the correct pixel is installed on your site. Sometimes multiple pixels get installed on sites, and the tracking won’t work properly.

Facebook Pixel Helper errors

You can also make sure the Standard Events you installed are working. And now the Pixel Helper also shows Custom Conversions.  You can find out the difference between Standard Events and Custom Conversions to see which is right for you.

Facebook Pixel standard event and custom conversions

Installing the Facebook Pixel Helper

Installing the Pixel Helper just takes a couple of clicks.  First you have to be using the Chrome browser.  Then you can go to the Google Chrome Webstore for Extensions: 

Then click Add to Chrome and Add Extension.

Now you will see it on any site that has the Facebook Pixel installed on it.  When the icon is blue, that means a Pixel is installed there.

Facebook Chrome extension

You can always uninstall the Chrome Extension if needed.

  1. Type chrome://extensions in the address bar of your Chrome web browser.
  2. Click Remove under Facebook Pixel Helper.
  3. Click Remove again in the pop-up window to confirm.

Troubleshooting with the Facebook Pixel Helper

Some of the main problems with the Facebook Pixel are:

  • Slow load time of the pixel – make sure the pixel is in the <head> area of the site or use the Partner Integrations to install your pixel.  A slow load may not be a problem – you can look at the Pixel area to see if you are getting traffic.
  • Standard Events not firing – check where the script is installed.  You may need to put the exact standard event code in the main body of the full pixel code rather than separated.
  • Invalid Parameter – you may have spelled the standard event wrong or copied the code wrong.  Review the Developers area for the Specifications on Facebook Standard Events
  • Redundant Events or Multiple Events – this could be because of extra standard events being installed and can lead to double counting.  Check how you’ve installed the code and where it is on your website.

Troubleshooting the pixel can be hard because sometimes you don’t know where the code is but the Pixel Helper can at least give you more insight as to what’s happening on the Page.

Also take a look at Facebook’s Pixel Error and Warning Messages in their Help section.

The other place to watch is within the Event Manager of Facebook.  You can look at the Diagnostics to see any issues.

Diagnostics in Facebook Events Manager

And you can also expand the Standard Events and see exactly where they are firing on your site.

Lead Events in Facebook Events Manager

Troubleshooting isn’t always easy but with the Facebook Pixel Helper you can get a better picture of what exactly is going wrong.

What is Google Tag Assistant?

Google Tag Assistant is a free Chrome extension that allows you to make sure that your Tags from Google are working correctly and firing as they should be. These tags include Google Analytics, Google Ads Conversion Tags, Google Remarketing Tags, Google Tag Manager, Floodlight and Google Optimize.

Just a note here, I bet most people reading this use Google Tag Manager. Google Tag Assistant is not just about GTM, it’s also about on-site tags; in fact, it also reports on any issues with Google Tag Manager.

Why would you use Google Tag Assistant?

The general purpose of using Google Tag Assistant is to see if your Google Tags are working, however, there are a number of aspects in which it can help you to:

  1. See the tags that are firing on your page
  2. Diagnose and troubleshoot any errors on your tags
  3. Record the user journeys across your site to understand what tags are firing

How to setup Google Tag Assistant.

Setting up Tag Assistant is pretty simple. Go to the Tag Assistant extension in the Chrome Store and click ‘Add to Chrome’:

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That’s is. You don’t need to sign up to Google (for once). You’ll notice a little blue smiley icon appear in your extension toolbar:

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The first time you click this little smiley icon, the below screen appears, which asks you to choose which tags to look at. If you’re reading this guide, we’re guessing you’re quite new to Tag Assistant, so it’s probably best to click ‘Done’ here. However, if you want to unselect any of the tags, you can do it here. There is also a little drop-down box which asks you if you want to “Validate selected pages” or “Validate all pages”. This is basically asking you if you want Tag Assistant on constantly (all pages) or choose when you want to track (selected pages). For now, it’s best to leave it as it is until you know the tool better. We’ll talk about further settings later.

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How to use Google Tag Assistant

  1. Enable Tag Assistant
    Click on that little blue smiley icon and a new popup will appear with 2 main options, Enable and Record:
  2. Click Enable
    Once you click enable, you’ll notice that the popup changes, but nothing else really:
  3. Refresh your page
    If you have Google tags on that page, the little smiley face will change to a number, this is the number of tags you have:
  4. Look to see which tags are firing
    When you click on the Tag Assistant Icon, the pop up will then show you which tags are running