Ads Are Still Running After a Website Redesign: How Do You Verify Landing URLs and UTM Parameters Together?

If ads are still running during a website redesign, acceptance checks should begin with the actual entry configurations in the advertising account and continue to the point where a customer can complete an inquiry. A working new product page and a redirect from an old URL cover only part of the process. The ad’s final URL, tracking configuration, language pages and mobile forms need to be checked together.

Checking ad links during a redesign is relevant when the marketing team manages advertising and the website team handles development. Both teams must confirm which product the customer sees, where source information is read and who receives the submission. A conclusion that “the link works” cannot replace all these results.

Start with active ad entry configurations, not just old website URLs

Ask the advertising owner for the current campaign inventory, including ad or asset identifiers, final URLs, mobile-specific URLs if any, tracking templates, custom parameters and final URL suffixes. List sitelink assets separately too, because they may take customers to a different product or campaign page.

One product page may have several ad entry configurations. Do not finish by deduplicating page URLs. An entry may inherit account settings or be overridden by more specific ad or keyword settings. Google Ads’ tracking guidance explicitly describes template override levels and the use of suffixes to append tracking parameters.

The website team should add the new page and its intended task beside each entry, such as viewing a specified model, downloading current materials or asking about a service. The advertising owner then checks whether it still fulfills the ad copy’s promise. If an ad for a specific product now lands on a homepage containing only a company introduction, its destination needs to be reconsidered even if the URL responds normally. See the different structural roles of website pages and ad landing pages for more on page tasks.

This step is complete when every active advertising entry has an owner and an expected landing page, and unknown configurations have not been marked “unused.”

Separate parameters by purpose before deciding how to migrate them

The text after a URL’s question mark may serve different purposes. Product IDs, language or configuration parameters may determine what the customer sees, while source parameters such as UTM identify where the visit came from. Removing them all may lose both product context and channel information.

Google Ads’ URL parameter guidance distinguishes content-modifying parameters from tracking parameters and requires content-modifying parameters to be set in the final URL. Ask developers to confirm each field’s actual purpose first. Do not assume from its name that every parameter belongs in a tracking template.

For each necessary field, write an expectation such as “this parameter selects the product,” “this parameter is read to identify the source,” or “the new version uses a path instead, so this is no longer required.” The original field need not be copied unchanged, but its task must have a clear destination. For dynamic placeholders, use the advertising platform’s supported testing method. Do not treat an unresolved template string as an actual visitor URL.

Whether UTM parameters remain in the address bar on later pages is not enough on its own to determine success or failure. Specify where the system reads them and what it saves, then check the agreed analytics or business records. Nor should all parameters be required to remain visible on every page indefinitely.

What platform tests and mobile checks each verify

The advertising owner can first run Google Ads’ landing page test and retain the test subject, configuration version, result and exceptions. Official guidance states that the test does not support URL redirects, cannot detect all parallel tracking errors and is not an ad policy review. The redesigned redirect chain therefore needs separate testing. Read the scope of landing page testing together with the results.

Then use controlled test entry points on mobile and desktop, recording the date, device, network and language used. The aim is to complete this path, rather than merely capture the first screen:

1. Open the expected product or campaign page and check its title, model and currently applicable conditions.
2. If a language switch is needed, check that it still refers to the same entity and that missing translations are handled clearly, rather than sending visitors to the homepage without notice.
3. Open the materials or inquiry entry promised in the ad, and confirm that mobile buttons, overlays and input areas work.
4. Submit a clearly labeled test request, then check product context, the agreed source fields and actual receipt.

There is no need to generate records by repeatedly clicking your own active ads. The advertising owner should arrange test entry generation and campaign verification. An ordinary browser test can verify the page path; it cannot independently establish that real ad clicks and platform attribution have passed.

Assign exceptions to the responsible owner at the point of failure

If the route reaches the wrong product, first check the final URL and content selection rules. If the product is correct but entry parameters differ from expectations, compare the suffix, template and redirect process. If both page and parameters are correct but an inquiry cannot be completed, check the form, language state and delivery chain. Identifying the failed step is more actionable than saying “the redesign broke the ads.”

For example, suppose an English ad previously linked to a specific model, but the new redirect goes to a Chinese product overview. First restore the language and product destination corresponding to the ad’s promise, then check source capture. Changing UTM names cannot repair a wrong destination or establish that advertising data has recovered.

If organic search and other old entry points are also being migrated, use the website redesign URL and search signal migration checklist separately. Keep the advertising inventory’s own entry configurations and verification records.

Complete acceptance with a jointly confirmed record

For each entry, retain the old and new configurations, expected and actual pages, device and language, parameter check location, inquiry result, unresolved issues and owner. The website team confirms the destination path; the advertising team confirms the configuration actually used in the account and subsequent campaign status.

Success means that ad entries within the selected scope reach the correct entity, required source information can be checked at the agreed location, mobile and language paths allow inquiries to be completed, and exceptions have clear handling arrangements. This establishes acceptance within that scope. Inquiry growth or return on advertising still requires later business data and cannot be inferred from a single link test.

Frequently asked questions

If old ad URLs already redirect to new pages, do we still need to update the advertising account?

Ask the advertising owner to check the current final URLs and tracking settings, then decide how to update them under the campaign rules. One successful redirect does not prove that every account entry, mobile URL and asset uses the correct configuration.

If UTM parameters disappear from the address bar, has source tracking been lost?

Not necessarily. Check the agreed capture and storage locations; some systems record the source on entry. Conversely, visible UTM parameters do not prove that analytics or inquiry records received them.