Overview
Sona's Ad Conversions setup is a critical part of measuring the success of your paid media efforts. If you are investing in channels like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Microsoft Ads, or LinkedIn Ads, being able to accurately track conversions is essential for understanding your ROI and optimizing your campaigns.
Configuring ad conversions in the Contact Journey lets you:
Capture: track the buyer journey from ad click to conversion.
Send: pass first-party conversion data back to ad platforms for better optimization.
Improve: increase return on ad spend through higher-quality attribution data.
The process of collecting this data, from the moment someone clicks an ad, visits your site, engages with pages, and completes a conversion, is complex. The Sona platform handles this automatically, ensuring the data is correctly recorded and sent back to your ad provider.
There are two main methods of sending conversions to ad platforms:
Client-side conversions: triggered directly in the browser.
Server-side conversions: triggered on your server or a server-side tracking platform, like Sona.
Server-side conversions are the recommended method because they:
Provide more complete data back to ad platforms.
Are more compliant with privacy regulations.
Allow better attribution, which can improve return on ad spend.
Sona uses server-side conversions wherever possible to give you better optimization results and a more accurate view of your customer journey.
When to use Ad Conversions
Use Ad Conversions in the Contact Journey when you need to:
Attribute conversions back to specific ad campaigns.
Send accurate conversion data to ad platforms for optimization.
Track and improve paid media ROI.
Prerequisites:
Access to Contact Journey workspace settings.
Sona Pixel installed on your website.
Appropriate permissions to configure workspace tracking.
Access to your ad platform's conversion settings, for verification and setup.
How data flows for ad conversion events
To understand how ad conversions are recorded and relayed, let's follow what happens when someone visits your website:
Visitor: someone clicks your ad on Google, Facebook, or another platform and arrives on your website, often through a URL that contains UTM parameters or other tracking tags.
Website with Sona Pixel: your website has the Sona Pixel installed. This tracking code records each page view, the full URL, and any included parameters.
Tracking Activity: the Sona Pixel sends raw visit data to Sona, where it appears in your Tracking Activity feed. This is the source of truth for all visits, clicks, and on-site actions.
Ad Conversions Setup: using Contact Journey's Ad Conversions settings, you define the specific conversion events you want to capture, such as purchases, sign-ups, or lead form completions, and map them to the right tracking parameters.
Send Conversion to Ad Platform: once a conversion is detected, Sona sends the event, including relevant parameters, back to the ad platform. With server-side tracking, this is done securely without relying solely on the visitor's browser.
Profile 360: the conversion touchpoint is automatically added to the contact's Profile 360 timeline, giving you a complete view of their interactions and journey from first click to conversion.
Step 1: configure Ad Conversions
Navigate to the Ad Conversions setup: from your main dashboard, click Workspace Settings in the left sidebar, select Contact Journey from the settings menu, then click the Ad Conversions tab at the top of the page.
Add a new ad conversion: click the Add Conversion button to create your first conversion tracking setup. A new conversion configuration panel will appear.
Name your conversion: in the Conversion Name field, enter a descriptive name for this conversion. Use clear, specific names like "Lead Submission" or "Purchase". This name will appear in your reports, so make it easily recognizable.
Step 2: configure basic settings
Select your ad platform: click the Ad Platform dropdown under Basic Settings and choose the advertising platform you are setting up, for example Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads. This determines how conversion data will be formatted and sent.
Set conversion type: use the Conversion Type dropdown to specify your conversion category. Common options include Online (for website-based conversions) and Offline (for phone calls or in-store purchases). Choose the type that best matches your conversion goal.
Define conversion action type: select from the Conversion Action Type dropdown. This determines how conversions are attributed to your ads.
You have now established the foundation of your conversion tracking setup.
Step 3: set up data source and tracking
Configure your data source: in the Data Source section, select Sona Pixel if you want to configure website conversions as the data source. You can also select a report as your data source if you want to configure ad conversions from data sources that are configured to auto-synchronize with Sona. This tells the system where it should pull the conversion data. Ensure your chosen pixel is properly installed on your website.
Set up URL filtering: use the Filters section to specify which pages should trigger conversions. Add filters like "Page contains https://www.sona.com/lp/schedule" for specific landing pages.
You can add multiple filters to track conversions across different pages. Click "Reset" to clear filters if you need to start over.
Step 4: configure UTM source tracking
Set UTM Source position: choose First Touch or Last Touch from the UTM Source Position dropdown. First Touch credits the first advertising source that brought the visitor; Last Touch credits the final advertising source before conversion. Consider your attribution model when making this choice.
Define UTM Source value: in the Utm Source field, enter the source identifier, for example "adwords", "facebook", or "linkedin". This should match the utm_source parameter in your campaign URLs. Use consistent naming across all your campaigns for accurate tracking. Your conversion tracking is almost ready to go live.
Step 5: set up conversion actions
Configure conversion goals: in the Conversion Action section, select your Conversion Goal from the dropdown.
Set Event Type: choose the Event Type that triggers your conversion.
Define the conversion URL: enter the specific URL where conversions occur, for example "https://www.sona.com/lp/schedule" for a scheduling page. This URL should match the page visitors reach after completing your desired action. Ensure the URL is exact and accessible.
Key concepts and best practices
Conversion Attribution: decide whether to credit the first or last ad interaction based on your funnel strategy.
Server-Side Conversions (Recommended): more privacy-compliant, more resilient to tracking loss, and more likely to send complete data back to ad platforms for better optimization.
URL Filtering: use unique URLs for conversion confirmation pages and test your filters to avoid false positives.
UTM Consistency: keep UTM naming standardized across all campaigns for accurate reporting.
FAQs
Why does Sona recommend server-side conversions over client-side?
Why does Sona recommend server-side conversions over client-side?
Server-side conversions provide more complete data back to ad platforms, are more compliant with privacy regulations, and allow better attribution, which can improve return on ad spend. Client-side conversions, triggered directly in the browser, are more vulnerable to tracking loss from ad blockers and browser privacy settings.
Should I use First Touch or Last Touch for UTM Source Position?
Should I use First Touch or Last Touch for UTM Source Position?
First Touch credits the first advertising source that brought the visitor to your site, useful for measuring top-of-funnel awareness campaigns. Last Touch credits the final advertising source before conversion, useful for measuring what closed the deal. Choose based on which stage of your funnel you are trying to optimize.
How does a conversion end up in a contact's Profile 360?
How does a conversion end up in a contact's Profile 360?
When a visitor clicks an ad and lands on your site, the Sona Pixel records the visit in Tracking Activity. Once the visitor completes an action matching your Ad Conversions configuration, Sona sends the event back to the ad platform and automatically adds the conversion touchpoint to that contact's Profile 360 timeline.