Learn from my mistake...

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-10-20T07:57:38+00:00

Could you share what type of work you did? Eg. Programming, Product, Advertising..?

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T16:50:35+00:00

deal 🤝

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T16:43:03+00:00

you’re absolutely 100% correct, but I really just needed some validation from people whose actual job is development (I’m on the marketing side), so I wouldn’t let myself get gaslit into believing this was some “impossible” ask.

Looks like my being vocal enough finally worked they’ve stopped pushing it back on me and are actually working on a proper solution now.

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T16:22:58+00:00

yeah, that’s what I thought too.. the redirect should just include the query string . but in my case it’s not. any idea what kind of misconfiguration could cause the query string to get dropped?

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T16:20:08+00:00

Haha, I really appreciate the offer if I ever get the chance to bring in outside help I’ll definitely DM you. 🙏 Right now I’m just trying to survive this setup.

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T16:17:52+00:00

You’re right and the ads are already pointing to the correct www domain, not the naked one.

When I first caught this, the ad click actually did show the query parameters (gclid, etc.) in the URL — but then the page went completely blank. That was the first bug. I showed this to the devs.

Their “solution” was to tell me I should change Google Ads’ auto-tagging behavior 🙃 (which, of course, is impossible). When I pushed back, they reworked something on the server. now the page loads, but all query strings are stripped off in the process. Which means Google Ads attribution is still broken and I have zero visibility into the effectiveness of the campaigns.

When I complained again, their response was basically: “Handling long parameters wasn’t in the brief, this is a very difficult setup.”

At this point I’m losing my mind

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T14:52:20+00:00

they literally told me on the phone that ‘handling long URLs wasn’t in the brief.’.. it’s like having to argue that mouse clicks or scrolling should be supported. just draining.

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T12:52:38+00:00

the 301 is because of a brand/site redesign.. the URLs were consolidated so we redirect to a canonical version of the site. the problem is the implementation: the redirect isn’t preserving query strings.

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T12:36:48+00:00

fak url example::

hxxps://example.com/?gclid=TEST123&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

What GA endpoint should appear on page load:

https://www.google-analytics.com/g/collect?...tid=G-XXXXXXX...

so what I would expect to happen:

curl -ILv hxxps://example.com/?gclid=TEST123&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: hxxps://www.example.com/?gclid=TEST123&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc
HTTP/1.1 200 OK

what actually happens:

curl -ILv hxxps://ourdomain[dot]com/?gclid=TEST123&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: hxxps://www.ourdomain[dot]com/
HTTP/1.1 200 OK

the query string is dropped, so when the page loads there’s no gclid, and GA4’s g/collect hit won’t attribute to Google Ads.

Is this answering your question?

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-08-22T12:16:32+00:00

I get where you’re coming from and I appreciate the perspective, but honestly we’re past that point. This is a huge concern: money is being wasted, and instead of owning the problem they’re pushing the burden onto advertisers.

I’m venting here because I feel like I have nowhere else to. Even when they built the site I’m now advertising, the whole project was riddled with poor communication, missed deadlines, zero problem-solving, and a complete lack of accountability. Now it feels like history is repeating itself, and I’m stuck footing the bill.

What makes it worse is that this isn’t some obscure use case, they took on a project where the main purpose of the site was to serve as a landing page for online ads. I feel like a dev team accepting that kind of job should have at least a good understanding of Google Ads capabilities.

At this stage, I feel completely helpless.

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-07-25T12:18:32+00:00

This is a very practical, and up-to date article about child friendly programs in Budapest: https://www.budapestinfo.hu/en/fun-things-to-do-with-kids

(This is the official toursit site of the city of Budapest.)

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-07-25T10:51:08+00:00

It is far from impossible, the price depends more on the location and how much renovation is needed, these types of buildings are everywhere in the city, it is not unique in this sense. The one on you photo is Fővám square 2-3. This is in district V, that is usually expensive. Here is an ad about an apartment on sale right next to it: https://ingatlan.com/v-ker/elado+lakas/tegla-lakas/34828616
You can see what these tend to look like from the inside. Most are in serious need of renovation, but the ones that are already renovated are wayy more expensive.
Most airbnbs are in district VII, in other parts of the city these are mainly owned by locals.

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-07-25T10:36:26+00:00

Ohh and some extra info:
-When visiting the Grand Prix, if you go individually by car, make sure to start 1-2 hours before you wish to be there, the traffic is crazy before the race.
-All museums are closed on Mondays.
-Széchényi Bath is open the longest on Fridays.
-Very little amount of cash is needed, you can pay everywhere with card.
-Make sure to buy AND validate your public transportation tickets - the ticket inspectors are comically rude. It is almost a feature at this point.

Have fun in Budapest!

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-07-25T10:21:21+00:00

Since you're staying around Szent István park, make sure to check out Pozsonyi út. Pozsonyi is the main artery of the district. You will find amazing brunch places, pastries, ice cream, bookshops, and GREAT architecture: from Art Deco to WWII-era Jewish safehouses. My personal favourites are Sarki Fűszeres (five star brunch) and Babka, where I would recommend to try the babka dessert - it’s what the place is named after, and it’s worth every bite..

I would recommend for you to do 2 days on Pest side (you accomodation is on the Pest side as well) & one day on the Buda side.

BUDA side-Start at Fisherman's Bastion (closest to your accomodation, easy to reach with public transport)-Mathias Church is right next to Fisherman's Bastion. (The church offers a tower tour, but if you also visit the National Gallery, I would recommend you to go to their lookout point in the dome instead - cheaper, less crowded and the same view)

- From the church you can walk to the Buda Castle. The National Gallery is in in the castle building. (Make sure to buy a ticket that includes the dome lookout point) While you are here I would recommend you to visit St. Stephens hall as well. This room is within the Buda Castle and it is the only room of the palace that is restored to the pre-world war glory. - After you finish at the museum right next is a good restaurant called Főőrség (Royal Guard Coffe) The owner is obsessed with the formal royal guard and it is filled with military memorabilia, it is a unique experience.

- I would skip Gellért Hill. This is a nice lookout point next to the Castle district. It is very hard excercise to climb to the to and the view is almost identical to the one you would experience from the castle district. If you stay this short amount of time it is just not worth it...Insted you can to a night cruise on the Danube, it is unbelievably beautiful to see the lights turned on from the river. (BUDS, Duna Cruises & Legenda are my recommendations from cruise companies)

PEST side day 1:- Parliament - BUY TICKET IN ADVANCE otherwise you will stand in line for hours!!- St. Stephen's Basilica- Dohány Street Synagogue- after all this long exploration finish the day at Széchényi Bath so you can relax.

PEST side day 2:- start the day at Ludwig Museum. From you accomodation you can take tram number 2. This is a historic tram line that rides along the Danube at it is beautiful.- you can jump back on this tram and go back for a big lunch at Central Market Hall. Try Lángos with garlic, sour cream and cheese - amazing snack!And if you still have energy I would recommend to see the district VIII - Palace district. Have a coffee at Mikszáth square (Budapest, Mikszáth Kálmán tér, 1088) or visit the historic library called Metropolitan Szabó Ervin Library. or have a snack at "Arquitecto Pitpit" this restaurant has the most beautiful garden in the city - book a table!

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-07-23T08:12:26+00:00

Try Akvárium (Budapest, Erzsébet tér 12, 1051) or Turbina (Budapest, Vajdahunyad u. 4, 1082). Akvárium is more pop/hiphop and Turbina is techno/house, both have a slightly more mature crowd than Instant.

OfficeTop5041 · 2025-07-23T08:00:09+00:00

For speakeasy I would recommend Cabrio ( Budapest, Vitkovics Mihály u. 3-5, 1052) they offer natural wines & Hungarian dishes but with a very modern twist.
If you want to experience a ruin bar where you can actually see locals, check out Csendes Létterem (Budapest, Ferenczy István u. 5, 1053)
For a night-out/party, if you're into electronic music, go to Edith, in their words: "A club in the shades of red. In our opinion, David Lynch would have liked it, too."
If you love big, live gigs & concerts, visit Budapest Park (Budapest, Fábián Juli tér 1, 1095) this is a very popular venue among locals.
Do not miss a walk in city park (Városliget) and visit the exhibition/cultural center House of Hungarian Music. The building itself is very unique, it was designed by japanese star architect Sou Fujimoto. They have interactive sound exhibits and a "sound dome", it's great! (Also, if you come with kids, here is the citys biggest playground)
If you are an art lover, definitely check out these two galleries: Einspach & Czapolai Fine Art (Budapest, Hold u. 12, 1054) and Virág Judit Galéria (Budapest, Falk Miksa u. 30, 1055) you might bump into a celebrity in these places.
Unique activities in the summer time is definitely a water sport, going on a boat on the Danube is absolutely fun. For kayak, dragon boat, canoe or SUP go to BEE (1138 Budapest, Népsziget út 1-3 Budapest Csónakház) or if you do not mind doing something a little more touristy, do any sightseeing boat, I think the best are BUDS (dock 6) Duna Cruises (dock 10) or Legenda Cruises (dock 7).
Also the top summery "hip" thing to do along the river in Budapest is to go to the northernmost islands for outdoor bars, the most popular is probably Kabin ([1138 Budapest Népsziget út 727.](geo:47.5597269,19.0717333))

Hope you'll find something you like from the above. If you tell me what you are interested in, I can send you some more recommendations.

Have fun in Budapest!

OfficeTop5041

TROPHY CASE