Using Facebook Pixel Events to Track Conversions

The Facebook Pixel is essential to track your conversions. Learn how to use Facebook Pixel Events and custom conversions to track your campaigns. TheCompleteGuidetoFacebookPixelEvents&CustomConversions March30,20209minuteread 0 Shares 0 0 TheFacebookPixelisanintegralelementtothesuccessofyourFacebookcampaigns. Withit,youcanmeasuretheeffectivenessofyouradvertisingeffortsandunderstandtheactionspeopletakeonyourwebsite,asaresultofyourFacebookAds. However,thegreatestadvantagetotheFacebookPixelisn’tthefactthatitallowsyoutomeasureyourgoals.Withsomebasicknowledgeofhowitworks,itcanalsohelpyoumassivelyimproveyourtargetingcapabilities. Tobemoreprecise,itiscrucialyouknowyourwayaroundtwoofitsmostprominentfeatures. EventsCustomConversions Byleveragingthesefeatures,youwillnotonlybeabletopreciselymeasureyourgoalsandtheirrespectivevaluesbutunlockawholenewsetoffeatureswhichwilltakeyourcampaignstoawholenewlevel. BuildcustomaudiencesTrackconversionsMeasureROASOptimizecampaignsAndmuchmore! However,thesefeaturescanbecomequitetechnicalforbeginners,andoftenscareoffthelesstechnical-savvyofus. Withthissaid,thispostwillcontainsomebasicprogrammingjargonbutrestassured–evennon-developers(likeme)canunderstandit. So,don’tbefrightenedatthefirstglimpseofcode.Bytheendofthispost,youshouldbeabletounderstandhowtoproperlytrackconversionsviapixelevents,andalotmore. Let’sgettoit. HowitWorks You’veprobablyheardthelengthytaleofthe‘codethatyouplaceonyourwebsitethathelpsyoutrackconversionsfromFacebookAds…’. Itgoeson,andon,andon.Youknowtherest. Now,whiletheexplanationistechnicallycorrect,itisn’treallyofmuchhelptous‘less-technical’marketersoutthere.Itdoesn’treallyexplainhowitworks,doesit? So,howdoesFacebookknowwhenaconversionoccurredonyourwebsite? Beforeweanswerthatquestion,let’stakeaquicklookatthepixel’sbasecode. ForFacebooktoaccuratelyreportonconversionsitwillfirstrequirealittleassistancetounderstand…well,whataconversionis. Todoso,thecodestartsby‘…downloadingalibraryoffunctionswhichyoucanlateruseforconversiontracking’.(quotedfromFacebook’sofficialdocumentationhere) Inotherwords,itestablishesabridgeforcommunicationbetweenyourpageandFacebook.Theblockofcoderesponsibleforthisishighlightedinyellowintheimageabove. Thenextpartiswherethemagichappens. First,itwillfigureouttowhichaccountitneedstosendtheinformationto.ItdoessobyaccessingthepixelID–highlightedingreen. Lastly,itwillloadthepageviewtrackcall–highlightedinblue. Essentially,thistrackcallwilltriggerapageviewevent,lettingFacebookknowsomeonehasvisitedapage. Nottoocomplicated,right? Sohowcanweusethisknowledgetomeasureourconversions? TrackingConversions TherearethreewaystomeasureconversionsusingtheFacebookPixel: StandardEvents;CustomEvents;CustomConversions. Eachofthesemethodshasitsownadvantages,anddisadvantages.Wewillgooverthethreeofthemanddiscusseachthoroughly. Notethateachofthesemethodsrequiresthepixel’sbasecodetobeimplementedonallpagesofyourwebsite. Ifyoudonothaveyourpixelinstalled,Irecommendyougoaheadandinstallitbeforeproceeding. Ifyoudon’tknowhowtodothis,youcanreadthisguideonhowtoinstalltheFacebookpixel. Ready? StandardEvents Otherthanthepageviewevent,thereareasmuchas17additionalstandardeventsthatyoucanusetotrackuseractions. AddPaymentInfoAddToCartAddToWishListCompleteRegistrationPurchaseLeadSearchAndmore! YoucanaccessallthestandardeventsinFacebook’sdeveloperdocumentationhere. AccordingtoFacebook’sofficialdocumentation,standardeventsare‘(…)visitoractionsthatwehavedefinedandthatyoureportbycallingapixelfunction.’ Withthisknowledge,wewouldonlyneedtoeditthecodeandincludeoneoftheadditionaleventsthatmatchesourdesireduseraction. Let’ssayyouwantedtousethepurchaseeventtomeasurewhensomeonehasboughtsomethingonyourwebsite.Thisishowthecodewouldlook. Inthiscase,twoeventswouldtrigger PageviewPurchase Notethatyouwouldonlyloadthepurchasetrackcallinthethank-youpageafteraproducthasbeenpurchased. Inotherwords,youonlyneedtomakesurethatthepurchaseeventistriggeredwhenapurchasehappens. Forexample,youcoulddosobyaddingthepurchasetrackcallscripttoyourthank-youpagetheuserseesaftercompletingapurchase. Otherwise,youcanalsoloadthecodeonabuttonclick,oranyotheruseractionyouwish.Justaddthescriptwiththeadequateeventtothecorrespondinguseraction.

... ... Oncethelibraryhasbeenloaded–codeinyellow-,youarenotrequiredtoaddtheentirescriptagain.Youcanloadthetrackcallswhenevernecessary. AssoonasFacebookdetectsthisevent,itwillreportonitwithintheFacebookAnalytics’eventmanagersection. CustomEvents Thesecondoptionistousecustomevents. CustomeventsdifferfromstandardeventsinthewaythatthesearenotincludedinFacebook’sofficialdocumentation–whichisinconvenientasitlimitssomeofitsfeatures. Essentially,tousecustomevents,youonlyneedtoreplacethenameoftheeventwith…anythingyouwant! ... ... ButwhywouldIuseaneventotherthantheonesprovidedbyFacebook? Quiteoften,youwillfindthatthedefaultstandardeventsarenotenoughtofityourconversiongoals,ortheydon’treallymatchtheuseractionyouwishtotrack. Forinstance,sayyou’reintheinsuranceindustry,youmightwanttotriggeraneventeverytimesomeonecompletesalifeinsurancesimulation. Inthiscase,youcouldnameyoureventlife-insurance-simulation. However,asmentionedearlier,therearesomedisadvantagestocustomevents. Forinstance,ifyou’resettingupaconversioncampaign,youwillnotbeabletoselectthiseventfromthedropdowneventlist,asitwillnotberecognizedbyFacebook. Togoaroundthisissueyouwillneedtocreateacustomconversion–moreonthisinaminute. Afterwards,itwillbeavailableforyoutousejustlikeanyregularcustomconversion. Notethatcustomeventsshouldonlybeusedwhenstandardeventsalonearenotenoughtomeasureyourgoals. Butwhatifwewanttomeasurehowprofitableouradsare? EventParameters Bothstandardandcustomeventssupportparameterobjectswhichallowyoutoincludedetailedinformationabouttheevent. Youcanconsulttheavailableobjectpropertiesyoucanaddtoeacheventhere. Withthisextremelypowerfulfeature,youcanpassinformationtoFacebooksuchashowmanyproductswereaddedtothebasket,whattheirpricewas,ortheirproductID. Tomakeiteasierformarketerstousethisfeaturewithouttheassistanceofadeveloper,Facebookaddedtheoptiontoenableeventparametersinthe‘InstallPixelCode’window. Withtheassistanceofadeveloper,however,youcaneventakeitastepfurtherandtrackdynamiceventvalueswiththeuseofvariables. CustomConversions Movingontotheendofourlist,andoftenthebeginner’schoiceforconversiontracking,comesthecustomconversionmethod. Thebiggestbenefitofthismethodisthatitdoesnotrequireanyadditionalchangestothecode.Thisoftencomesinhandywhenyoudonothaveaccesstoyourpage’scode,oryourclient’swebsite. Sohowdoesitwork? Aswediscussedearlier,eachtimeabrowserloadsoneofyourpagescontainingthepixel,aneventwillbetriggeredsignalingFacebookthatauserhasinteractedwithyourwebsite–whetherthatisapageview,oranyotheruseraction. Withthisinformation,youcancreateacustomconversionbyspecifyingtheconditionsunderwhichyourconversionwillbetriggered,lettingFacebookknowthataconversionjustoccurred. Yourequireoneoutoftwoelementstocreateacustomconversion. ApageURL;Anevent. Inasimplemanner,youonlyneedtotellFacebookwhichURL,orevent,correspondstoaconversion. Here’showyoucansetupyourfirstcustomconversion. Findthe‘EventsManager’tabunder‘Measure&Report’intheAdsManagerinterface. Oncethere,clickonthegreen‘Create’buttononthetop-right,andthen‘CreateCustomConversion’. Settheparametersthatwilldefinethiscustomconversion. Thefirstoneistheconversionname.Youcancalltheconversionanythingyouwant,butIrecommendyougiveitaclearnamethatreflectstheconversionaccurately–suchasFormSubmissionoreBookDownload.Next,youwillspecifytheconversioneventthatwilltriggeryourcustomconversion.YoucanchoosetofireyourcustomconversiononaspecificURL,orwhenaspecificeventoccurs.Thenextstepistoaddacategoryforthisconversion.Ifyou’retriggeringyourcustomconversionbasedonastandardevent,youcanskipthisstep.Otherwise,you’llneedtospecifywhichstandardeventsbestmatchesyourcustomconversionsoFacebookcanoptimizeyouraddeliverybetter.Thisisanimportantstep,sodonotskipit.Next,ifyouchosetotriggeryourcustomconversionbasedonURLrules,you’llneedtospecifywhichURLactuallytriggerstheconversion.YoucanopttoaddapartialURLusingthe‘contains’optionoraddthefullURLofthethank-youpage.ThelatterwillonlyfirewhentheentireURLexactlymatches.Lastly,thepurchasevalueisself-explanatory–andoption.Ifit’saproductpurchase,youdefinetheproductpriceandwriteitdown.Itwillhelpyoufigureoutwhichcampaigns,adsets,oradsarethemostprofitable. Onceyou’redoneyoucanthenconsultyourresultsintheAdsManagerbyaccessingthecustomcolumnfieldsandsearchingforyourconversion,underthenameyou’vegivenitintheprevioussteps. WhichOptionShouldYouBeUsing? Withallthatsaid,therearemultiplereasonsastowhyyoushouldbeusingstandardeventsopposedtotheotheroptions. Let’simagineascenariowhereacustomerreachesyourwebsiteand,beforepurchasingoneofyourproducts,takesthefollowingsteps. Browsesmultipleproducts;Addsproductstocart;Initiatescheckout;Addspaymentinformation;Purchasesyourproduct;Subscribestoyournewsletterinthethank-youpage. Ifyouweretousecustomconversionswithouttheassistanceofanytypeofevent,youronlyoptionwouldbetodefinetheconversionruleusingthethank-youpageURL. Butwhataboutalltheotheractions? Unlessyouwerepassingthisinformationwitheventparameters,youwouldn’tevenbeabletotellhowmanyitemswerepurchased,thetotalvalue,orevenwhichitemswerepurchased. Sowhichoptionwouldyouratheruse? Bonus:FacebookPixelHelper IhighlyrecommendyouinstalltheFacebookPixelHelperchromeextensionsoyoucanseehoweventswork. OnceyouinstalltheextensionheadovertomyAboutUspageandopentheextensioninthetoprightcornerofyourbrowser.Youwillseeastandardpagevieweventandacustomeventnamedabout. Youcanusethisextensioninanywebsiteandfigureouthowmarketersarekeepingtrackoftheirwebsite.Cool,huh? ClosingThoughts Nowthatwe’vereachedtheendthisratherextensivepost,let’srecaponsomeimportantnotes. StandardEventsCustomEventsCustomconversionsCreatedbyaddingtotheFacebookpixelbasecode.CreatedbyaddingtotheFacebookpixelbasecode.Noextracoderequired.CreatedinAdsManagerusingURLandeventrules.Unlimitednumberofconversionevents.Limitedto40customevents,unlimitedconversionevents.Limitedto20customconversionsperaccount.Customizedwithparameters.Customizedwithparameters.CustomizedwithgranularURLrules.Aggregatedreporting.Aggregatedreporting.Separatereporting.Compatiblewithdynamicproductads.Notcompatiblewithdynamicproductads.Notcompatiblewithdynamicproductads. Itisratherclearbynowthatstandardeventsarethemostbeneficialoption.However,thisoptiondoescomewithsomerathertechnicalnuancesthatmightnotbeeasilyaccessibletoeveryone. Inanycase,withalltheoptionsavailable,itisonlyuptoyoutoensureyou’rekeepingtrackofallyourgoalsinthebestwaypossible. Tofinish,ifyou’reseriousaboutusingstandardevents,IrecommendyougetfamiliarwithGoogleTagManager–ifyou’renot,already.IhavewrittenapostonhowtoinstalltheFacebookpixelusingGoogleTagManagerwhichyoucanreadtogetstarted. Ihopethisposthasbeenhelpfultoyou.Ifyouhaveanyquestion,orneedahandwiththeseevents,dropacommentintheboxbelowandlet’stalk! Share Tweet LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*CommentName* Email* Website Savemyname,email,andwebsiteinthisbrowserforthenexttimeIcomment. IaccepttheTermsandConditionsandthePrivacyPolicy if(get_option('gdpr_consent_until_display')==='1'){?>*for}?> if(get_option('gdpr_consent_until_display')==='1'){?> Clicktoselectthedurationyougiveconsentuntil. Indefinite 1Month 3Months 6Months }?> ViewComments(0) YouMayAlsoLike FFacebookAds ReadMore 6minuteread Ifyou’rereadingthisarticle,chancesareyou’vehadaoncesuccessfulFacebookAdscampaignthattankedafter… FFacebookAds ReadMore 7minuteread FindoutsomeofthemostcommonreasonswhyyourFacebookAdsaren'tspendingtheirfullbudgetandhowtofixthemeasily. LatestPosts HowtoScaleFacebookAds:WhatYouShouldKnow Conversion.aivsCopy.ai:FullFeatureComparison ACompleteGoogleSmartShoppingGuidein2021