Ad conversions are a critical part of measuring the success of your paid media efforts. If you’re 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 allow you to:
Capture the buyer journey from ad click to conversion
Send first-party conversion data back to ad platforms for better optimization
Improve 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 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
Our platform uses server-side conversions wherever possible to give you better optimization results and a more accurate view of your customer journey.
When to Use This / Prerequisites
When to Use This / Prerequisites
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
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, our system 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-by-Step Instructions
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Configuring Ad Conversions
Step 1: Configuring Ad Conversions
Navigate to the Ad Conversions Setup
From your main dashboard, click on "Workspace Settings" in the left sidebar
Select "Contact Journey" from the settings menu
Click on 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
You'll see a new conversion configuration panel 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: Configuring Basic Settings
Step 2: Configuring Basic Settings
Select Your Ad Platform
Click the ”Ad Platform” dropdown under Basic Settings
Choose the advertising platform that you're aiming to setup (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook Ads, 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
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
Great work! You've established the foundation of your conversion tracking setup.
Step 3: Setting Up Data Source and Tracking
Step 3: Setting 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: Configuring UTM Source Tracking
Step 4: Configuring 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 (e.g., "adwords", "facebook", "linkedin")
This should match the utm_source parameter in your campaign URLs
Use consistent naming across all your campaigns for accurate tracking
This step brings everything together, your conversion tracking is almost ready to go live!
Step 5: Setting Up Conversion Actions
Step 5: Setting 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
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 / Best Practices
Key Concepts / 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.