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How To Track Conversions With Server-to-Server Integration (Postback URL)
How To Track Conversions With Server-to-Server Integration (Postback URL)
Updated over a month ago

Understanding Server-to-Server (S2S) Tracking

S2S conversion tracking (also known as cookieless or postback URL conversion tracking) enables you to track conversions through your own or a 3rd party server, eliminating the need to install Outbrain DSP Pixel.

Instead, when a user clicks on an ad, Outbrain DSP will generate a unique click ID using the {postbackid} macro that must be passed on each postback call. That unique ID gets stored in a third-party server (or your own if you use a custom solution). If that same user later converts, the click ID will be matched back to that user and passed to the DSP server so we can assign the conversion to your campaign.

Third-Party Mobile Measurement Platforms

You can track conversions with all the major Mobile Measurement Platforms in your mobile app.

Setting Up Server-to-Server Conversion Tracking

1. Navigate to the Conversions tab in the main menu.

2. Click on the + Add new conversion definition to open up the setup dialogue window.

3. Give your conversion definition a name and description, select the account on which S2S conversion tracking will be used, select the available DSP Pixel, and the nature of events to be tracked.

4. A very important step is to define the method for triggering conversions. In this case, select Server to Server. Tick the box "Treat all received events as already attributed conversions" if the events sent via S2S are already attributed to your or a third-party server and you do not want Outbrain DSP to attribute any.

5. Define attribution rules by your choice and click on the Save button.

6. Further instructions and information will appear as shown in the image below.

IMPORTANT: You are not required to implement a pixel on your site to set up either S2S integration or mobile app tracking. Instead, for every conversion, send an HTTP GET request to the postback URL with the postback ID value appended to the postback ID GET parameter.

For the postback, a correctly generated URL with postback id value 1234 would be:

https://p1.zemanta.com/p/486/820/?postbackid=1234

Add Postback ID Parameter to Your Ad Group Tracking or Click-Through URLs

You can add the postback ID parameter in the tracking section when setting up a new ad group. Scroll down to the Tracking codes box and add the following parameter:

postbackid={postbackid}

Ensure to leave {postbackid} as it is since this parameter is dynamic and will enable DSP to populate the user’s unique click ID for every click on your ad.

Alternatively, you can add the {postbackid} parameter to every content ad URL when uploading your content ads.

For Third-Party Measurement Platforms: use the parameter as specified by the third-party platform and set it as equal to the {postbackid}. Please refer to your platform’s documentation for more information.

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