Promoting a Telegram bot: how to run and track Telegram Ads
Telegram Ads can promote a bot as well as a channel. The ad statistics show how many times people started the bot after seeing the ad. The statistics do not show which ad brought a particular user. The bot itself can record the source from a label in the ad link.
Where a bot ad leads
The URL field holds the link to the bot. In a channel, it becomes the button under the ad; in a bot, the ad is a bar above the chat, and tapping it opens the link. The ad text may contain one more link, and it must lead to the same bot. A link to a bot may include a start parameter.
With channel or bot targeting, the ad appears in channels or in other bots and opens the bot. With search targeting, the ad shows the bot itself in the results, without your link.
What the bot must pass in moderation
A bot that an ad leads to has to meet several requirements:
- a profile image and a complete description;
- correct responses to commands on both mobile and desktop;
- a working service that is useful to the person, not a stub;
- no empty or abandoned bots, and no bots that mostly redirect people elsewhere.
Before submitting the ad, go through the bot as a new user would, on a phone and on a computer.
How to see which ad brought each user
A link to a bot can carry a start parameter, such as t.me/your_bot?start=ad01. After following the link and pressing Start, the person sends the bot the command /start ad01. The parameter can be up to 64 characters long and may use Latin letters, digits, underscores and hyphens.
Give each channel or bot ad its own parameter: put it in the URL field, and in the text link too if there is one. Make the bot save the parameter with the user. Nothing is recorded automatically: if the bot does not read the parameter from the /start command, the label is lost.
The bot's own data then shows what users who came through each ad's link did next: completed the first steps, paid or blocked the bot. A bot receives an update when a user blocks it, so blocks can be counted per ad as well.
Starts: the ad statistics versus the bot's count
The two counts of starts measure different things:
| Count | What it includes | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Starts in the ad statistics | Starts after a view of the ad, by minutes or by days | The cost of a start |
| Starts by start parameter in the bot | Only people who came through the ad link | What users did after the start |
So the two numbers can differ.
Targeting for a bot
Three targeting options are worth testing for a bot:
- Channels on the bot's topic. Their readers already care about the task the bot solves.
- Bots. The ad appears in other bots you specify, in front of people who already use bots.
- Search. The ad appears when people search Telegram for your keywords, and the result is the bot itself, without your link. Such an ad cannot carry a start parameter, so judge it by the cost of a start.
Run each option as a separate ad. Give ads in channels and bots their own start parameters, and the ad statistics can be matched with the bot's data ad by ad.
Bot ads in Adstat
An ad in Adstat can promote a channel, a bot or a website. Our report shows impressions, clicks, actions and spend for each ad, by day or in five-minute intervals, and exports to Excel or CSV. For a bot ad, the actions are starts, and the report shows what a start cost.
Compare the cost per start in the report, then match the start parameters in your bot's data with the channel and bot ads. The bot reads the parameter, and our report shows the cost. Together they show which ad brings users who complete the first steps or pay.
Questions and answers
Can a Telegram ad lead straight to a bot?
Yes. In channels and bots, the ad opens the bot, and its link can include a start parameter that shows which ad the user came from. A search ad opens the bot without your link.
Why does the number of starts in the ad statistics differ from the bot's count?
The statistics count starts that follow a view of the ad. The bot's count by parameter includes only people who arrived via the link in the ad.
What does a bot learn about a user who came from an ad?
The same as about anyone who starts it: the public name, username and profile photo, plus the messages the user sends. Telegram does not pass advertisers data about who saw the ad.
Can I change the ad link after launch?
Yes. The title, text and link can be updated at any time, targeting cannot. After an edit of the text or the link, the ad goes back to moderation. Keep the start parameter the same, or one ad will end up with two labels.
Which bots fail moderation?
Empty or abandoned bots, bots that do not respond to commands properly, and bots that mostly redirect people elsewhere.
What to do first
- Fill in the bot's profile image and description, and test its commands on a phone and a computer.
- Give each channel or bot ad its own start parameter, and make the bot save it with the user.
- Launch one ad per targeting option. Keep the channel and bot ads whose users complete the first steps in the bot, and judge search ads by the cost of a start.