22 Questions on conversion tracking

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Most marketers know how to track traffic. But traffic alone doesn’t show what actually works. To measure results, you need to track what happens after people click on your advertisement: purchases, form submissions, signups, or any action that matters for your business.

Conversion tracking helps you connect those actions to specific channels, ads, or campaigns. It shows what drives results and what wastes your budget.

This FAQ covers the questions marketers ask all the time. You’ll learn what to track, how to set it up across different platforms, and how to fix common issues like missing conversions or broken attribution. We’ll also show how server-side tools by Stape can help make your tracking more accurate, even when browser tags fail.

Conversion tracking shows you which marketing actions lead to results. It records when someone takes a valuable step on your site or app, like making a purchase, submitting a form, or signing up. This helps you see which channels or campaigns bring actual conversions and not just clicks.

You can then adjust your strategy and budget toward what works best.

Without conversion tracking, you only see traffic and not outcomes. With it, you can track ROI, spot weak campaigns, and keep improving performance. 

You can track two main types of conversions: macro-conversions and micro-conversions.

Macro-conversions are major actions that align with your business goals, like purchases or lead submissions. 

Micro-conversions are smaller steps that signal interest, such as newsletter signups, video views, or adding items to a cart. 

Tracking both helps you understand not just the final result, but also how users interact with your site before converting.

Most platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or Magento support easy integrations with analytics and ad tools.

On Shopify, you can use prebuilt templates by Stape to send purchase events through both browser and server. This setup includes Meta’s Conversions API and Google Ads tracking tags.

To track purchases in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), enable enhanced eCommerce and mark the purchase event as a conversion.

In Google Ads, create a purchase conversion action and turn on value tracking. Then add a Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag and Conversion Linker tag in your server GTM container.

To avoid missing conversions due to browser limits, use server-side tools like Facebook Conversions API, which helps to recover lost events and improve attribution by sending data directly from your server.

In Universal Analytics, a goal was something you had to configure, like reaching a thank-you page or submitting a form. A conversion was recorded only when the user met the conditions of that goal. Each goal could trigger just once per session, even if the user completed the action multiple times.

Universal Analytics stopped working in 2023, so goals are no longer used.

In GA4, you simply mark any event as a conversion. Every time that event happens, it counts, with no conditions to define and no session limits.

Conversion tracking shows which ads actually lead to valuable actions, like purchases or signups. It helps identify what’s working and cut spending on what’s not. You can track cost per conversion, compare ROI across channels, and shift budget toward the campaigns that bring real results. Platforms like Google Ads also use this data to automatically optimize bids through Smart Bidding.

Conversion tracking errors can lead to missing data, wrong attribution, or double-counted events. Here are the most common issues and how to fix them.

Missing conversions.

If a tag is missing or misconfigured, the platform won’t receive the event. To check if that’s the case:

To test server-side events specifically, use logging inside the server GTM container. It shows whether the event was received, processed, and sent to the platform. If something isn’t firing, check the trigger, the tag setup, and the event parameters.

You can also use the Tracking Checker by Stape to simulate events and see which tags fired and which didn’t.

Duplicate conversions.

These often happen when the page reloads or when multiple tags are triggered for the same action. To avoid it, use unique transaction IDs and make sure each tag fires only once.

Server-side tracking by Stape helps by sending the data through a cloud server, where duplicates can be detected and removed before reaching platforms like Google Ads or Meta.

Missing order values.

If the purchase amount or currency isn’t sent correctly, you won’t see how much money each conversion brings. That makes it impossible to measure your real return on ad spend.

To fix this, use a Data tag in server GTM to pass order totals like revenue and currency with each event.

Attribution loss from cookie expiration.

If first-party cookies expire too quickly, platforms like Google or Meta can’t connect the ad click to the final conversion. It looks like the sale came from nowhere, and your reports become less accurate.

To prevent this, use Cookie Keeper by Stape. It helps keep cookies alive longer, so platforms can correctly attribute the conversion to the right ad.

To track Facebook Ads conversions, use the Conversions API (CAPI) to send events like purchases or leads directly from your server to Meta. This helps recover conversions that browser tracking might miss and gives Meta more reliable data to optimize your ads.

There are two ways to set up Meta CAPI:

Compared to using the Pixel alone, server-based events are more reliable, since they use first-party data and are less likely to be blocked.

Server-side tracking sends conversion data through your cloud server instead of the browser. This helps recover events blocked by browsers, avoid ad blockers, and improve data accuracy. It also makes your site faster by reducing the number of scripts running in the browser. You get more control over what’s sent to platforms, which helps with privacy compliance and attribution.

With server-side tagging, you can set more resilient cookies, collect cleaner data, and track conversions even in restricted environments. And if you host your server GTM container with Stape, you also get extra features like log previews and custom domains that help improve performance and setup reliability.

The most effective tools for tracking conversions across platforms are the ones that show you where conversions come from and make sure each platform gets accurate data.

GA4 tracks events from websites and apps in one place. You can see which channel drove a signup, sale, or form submission, whether it came from Google Ads, Meta, email, or direct traffic. GA4 also supports cross-device tracking and built-in attribution reports.

GTM helps you set up conversion tracking tags for each platform, like Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, and LinkedIn, from a single interface. It reduces human error and keeps everything organized.

Matomo is an alternative to GA4. You can host it on a cloud server and it gives you ownership of the data. Matomo is also does not depend on third-party cookies. 

To get the most out of these tools, many businesses use server-side tracking to send clean conversion events from a cloud server to each ad platform. This helps fix attribution, avoid browser limits, and improve ROAS.

Cross-device tracking links conversions that start on one device and finish on another using login data or platform features.

GA4 supports this with User ID or Google Signals, and Meta does it automatically for logged-in users.

Server-side tracking by Stape helps unify sessions by passing a consistent User ID and setting stable first-party cookies through your custom subdomain.

This keeps events accurate even if cookies reset and avoids counting the same user twice.

You can track form submissions either by using a thank-you page redirect or by firing an event when the form is submitted. If there’s no redirect, tools like Google Tag Manager can track the success message or form action directly. With server-side tracking, the form submission is sent from your server instead of the browser, so the conversion still gets counted even if browser scripts fail.

Cookies help link ad clicks to conversions by storing identifiers like Google Click ID or Meta browser ID. Without them, platforms can’t tell which clicks led to sales, and you lose attribution.

But on browsers like Safari, cookies often expire within 7 days or get blocked altogether due to Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP). This breaks conversion tracking and hurts campaign performance.

Cookie Keeper by Stape solves this by setting first-party cookies through your own subdomain, not a third-party one. These cookies can live up to 180 days.

For even better results, you can host tracking scripts through your own CDN. This makes your scripts look like part of the site, which helps avoid ITP restrictions and improves cookie lifespan.

To track phone call conversions in Google Ads, use Google forwarding numbers. When someone calls directly from your ad, Google replaces your number with a unique one that forwards to your business and ties the call to the ad click.

To track calls from your website, you can add a script that shows a Google forwarding number only to ad visitors. When they call, it’s counted as a conversion.

If you also collect lead data through forms or CRMs, you can send call conversions as offline events using server GTM. This lets you upload calls manually or automate the process, even if they happen days after the ad click.

Offline conversions are actions like in-store purchases or phone calls that happen after someone interacts with your ad. To track these, you need to link the offline action back to the ad.

For Google Ads, turn on auto-tagging and collect the GCLID when someone fills out a form. If they later buy offline, upload the GCLID with the sale details to Google Ads.

For Meta, you can send offline conversions using server GTM. When someone buys offline, send their name, email, or phone number to Meta via your server container. Meta checks if that person saw or clicked your ad and attributes the conversion to the right campaign.

If you want to automate this process, both Meta and Google Ads support sending offline conversions dynamically using server GTM. Just send a request to your server container with the user info and conversion details, and the platform will match it to the right campaign.

To track conversions from organic search, use GA4 to monitor which unpaid search visits lead to key actions like purchases or signups. Set your conversions as events in GA4, then review the “Traffic acquisition” or “Session source/medium” report to see how many came from organic. Comparing results across channels can also show the true value of organic search. With server-side tracking, you can recover more of this data, even when browser scripts are blocked.

Yes, tracking micro-conversions is important because they show how users move toward your main goal. Actions like signing up, adding to cart, or playing a video help you spot engagement and drop-off points early. They also help you build audiences for retargeting or train ad algorithms when there’s not enough purchase data yet.

Micro-conversions can even have standalone value, like growing your email list or qualifying leads.

Conversion tracking helps you measure how effectively your landing page turns visitors into customers. You can track actions like signups, purchases, or clicks to see what’s working and where users drop off. This data lets you test and refine elements like headlines, form length, or CTAs. You can also compare performance by traffic source and tailor your page to match the segments that convert best.

Start with Google Tag Assistant to check if tags are installed and firing correctly. Then test a real conversion yourself, like submitting a form or completing a purchase.

Use platform tools to verify if the event was received: DebugView in GA4, diagnostics in Google Ads, or Test Events in Meta Events Manager.

You can also inspect network requests to confirm that the data was sent and accepted. Or use the Stape Chrome Extension, which helps you test tags in web and server containers quickly, see real-time request data, and find issues faster than switching between platform tools.

GDPR is the data privacy law that applies to users in the European Union. It limits how you track conversions by requiring consent before setting cookies or collecting personal data. If someone declines tracking, your tags must respect that. Tools like Google Consent Mode adjust behavior based on consent settings.

You also need to avoid sending personal information in conversion events and be ready to delete user data if requested.

Data sent to platforms like Google or Meta must follow GDPR rules and processor agreements.

Stape is fully compliant with GDPR, ISO 27001, and HIPAA, so when you use our server infrastructure for conversion tracking, you can be sure your setup is aligned with strict data protection standards.

 There are two ways to send conversions to Google Ads, depending on your setup.

1. Import conversions from GA4 (standard method).

This method is used when you track web events in GA4.

Link your GA4 property with Google Ads under “Google Ads Linking” in the GA4 Admin.

Then in Google Ads, go to Tools → Conversions → Import, and select the GA4 events you’ve marked as conversions. 

This method supports Smart Bidding and works only for web events tracked by GA4.

2. Send conversions directly using server GTM.

This method works independently of GA4.

Use server-side GTM to send conversion data directly to Google Ads via the Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag or Google’s Conversions API. You can send data from GA4 server hits or any other source, even if the user has disabled cookies.

This setup allows more precise tracking, works for offline conversions, and is ideal if you’re not using GA4 at all.

The attribution model controls how credit for a conversion is split across different clicks or channels. For example, last-click gives all credit to the final touch, while data-driven models share it across the journey. 

Changing the model doesn’t affect how many conversions are tracked, but it changes how results appear in reports. Google Ads bidding also adjusts based on the chosen model, which can impact performance.

Custom events let you track actions that aren’t covered by default, like starting a free trial or completing a profile. In GA4, you can mark any custom event as a conversion and include it in your reports. They also let you send more specific actions to ad platforms, helping you optimize campaigns beyond standard events.

In GTM, custom events can be used to trigger tags after dynamic actions, such as AJAX form submissions.

Data tag by Stape makes it easy to send these custom events from your server, so you capture more conversions even when browser tracking breaks.