From Pixels to APIs: Why Conversion APIs are the Future

Learn how conversion APIs work and their benefits

The ability to track user interactions and conversions is imperative to optimize campaigns and ROI. With all the changes in the digital landscape — from Apple’s iOs14 that introduced the option to opt out of tracking, to the increasing use of ad blockers — cookie-based data is becoming less reliable. That’s where conversion APIs (application programming interfaces) come into play. Designed to give marketers more control over their data and improve the accuracy of their tracking, Conversion APIs are becoming a game-changer in the industry. If you have questions like “What are Conversion APIs?” and “Why should they be used?” you are in the right place. We’ll answer those questions and more in this post so keep reading.

Conversion APIs explained
A Conversion API is a tool that lets marketers send data about customer actions, like purchases or sign-ups, directly from their website servers to advertising platforms such as Facebook and Google. Using a Conversion API means you can connect the action to your ad without using external cookies or other tracking methods.  

Here’s a simple breakdown of how Conversion APIs work:

• Customer Action: A visitor takes an action on your website, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
• Data Collection: Your website server gathers information about this action.
• Data Transmission: This information is then sent directly from your server to the advertising platform’s server using the Conversion API.
• Data Matching: The platform uses this information to match it with existing user data, like a Facebook profile, which helps improve tracking and reporting.

Conversion APIs allow you to track important actions on your site directly and securely, giving you a clearer and more reliable picture of your ads' performance. 

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While Meta is the most prominent promoter of conversion APIs, other social media companies like Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest and even Spotify provide conversion APIs for sending website data back to their platforms. Additionally, other advertising platforms, including Google Ads, offer similar server-side tracking capabilities for its ad products.

Conversion APIs vs website pixels
If you’re thinking to yourself that Conversion APIs sound a lot like pixels, you are on the right track. Both pixels and Conversion APIs send user information to the advertising platform. An important differentiator is how that information is shared. A pixel, a small piece of code on your website, relies on the user’s browser to capture and send the data. Conversion APIs, on the other hand, send data directly from your server to the advertising platform, bypassing the user’s browser.

Website pixels can come with many limitations including connectivity issues, loading errors and cookie or ad blockers. Users can also disallow tracking cookies on their browsers. These limitations prevent or block a user's data from being shared, creating an opportunity to lose out on valuable data.

Benefits of Using Conversion APIs
In addition to providing a clearer picture of ad performance, Conversion APIs provide these benefits:

• Improved ad performance: With more accurate and reliable data, the platform’s algorithms have better opportunities to learn and optimize.
• More control: Since you own the data sent to the ad platforms, you have more control over which user activity and behavioral data you share.
• Privacy compliance: Since Conversion APIs are designed for first-party data collection, they are not impacted by online blockers and are more compliant with data privacy laws.
• Improved attribution: Conversion APIs provide a clearer picture of customer journeys, and should improve your understanding of how customers interact with your brand.

Of course, there are other cost and operational benefits as well. When you have more reliable data shedding light on customer behavior, you can optimize your ad spend, ensuring marketing budgets are used more effectively. Conversion APIs also minimize the costs associated with data discrepancies and errors, which can lead to wasted budgets and missed opportunities.

When Should You Use Conversion APIs?
We aren’t suggesting you remove all your website pixels in favor of Conversion APIs. Building Conversion APIs isn’t as simple as adding a pixel on your site. It requires the help of a developer who understands server-side technology, how to manage API endpoints and how to integrate them with your existing marketing analytics tools for setup.

For simple campaigns with limited scope, pixel tracking can still be efficient. And it’s not always an either-or choice between pixels and Conversion APIs. You can use the two together. According to Meta, using pixels and Conversion APIs together may boost performance. Their research indicates that advertisers who set up the Conversion API with the pixel experienced on average a 13% cost-per-result improvement.

However, there are times when it makes the most sense to invest in conversion APIs:

• High-value actions: If your company relies on significant actions, like purchases or lead generation for high-value items, accuracy in tracking these events is crucial. Conversion APIs ensure you capture every interaction accurately.
• Complex customer journeys: For businesses with customer journeys involving multiple steps across different devices, Conversion APIs can help track these interactions cohesively, providing a complete view of the customer’s path to conversion.
• Enhanced ad targeting and optimization: Accurate data is crucial for optimizing ad campaigns. Conversion APIs provide more reliable data, allowing for better ad targeting, budget allocation, and performance optimization.

As pixels become less effective due to the increasing use of ad blockers and the push for greater data privacy ramps up, it is the perfect time to understand and begin to implement conversion APIs. They are proving to be powerful for improving marketing and collecting data at a granular level. We can help you determine the best course of action to implement them in your plans. Drop us a line to get started.

In the meantime, get more from your marketing with our strategic insights. Stay ahead of the curve and ensure your business thrives. Download our Discovery Map, designed to help you identify the crucial insights needed to develop a cohesive marketing strategy.