As a digital advertising manager, we keep looking for alternative technologies to continue our current advertising strategies. Many proposals out there for third-party cookieless advertising, including the Conversion API. The Conversion API is different from a usual pixel tracking method and many social media platforms can use Conversion API to collect users data more accurately from the advertisers websites.
As a programmatic advertising manager, I have one common question. I hope you are all having the same question in your mind.
Can we use conversion API for programmatic advertising in the cookieless environment?
You will get the answer at the end of this article. In this article, I have answered the following common questions about Conversion API. So, you will get a complete clarification about Conversion API.
- History of Conversion API
- What is Conversion API? How does it work?
- What are the ad platforms currently support Conversion API?
- Advantages of Conversion API
- Can we use Conversion API for programmatic advertising in a cookieless environment?
- Conclusion
History of Conversion API
Over the years, major improvements continuously happened in online privacy, browser policies, and regulations. A few years back, Safari and Firefox completely stopped third-party cookie tracking capabilities. As of now, the major browser Chrome disabled third-party cookie capability for its 1% of users, and it promises to remove it for the remaining users soon.
Tracking user data on the client’s website is very important for running a performance-based campaign. Based on the tracking data only, platforms can understand and target the users more effectively to acquire more conversions.
After Safari and Firefox stopped third-party cookie tracking, one of the major advertising platforms Facebook struggled to track the user’s data from the advertisers website. So, Facebook decided to find a new solution for collecting user’s data even though the browser does not support third-party cookies.
Any cookie or pixel code different than the original domain is considered a third-party cookie. So, Facebook pixel codes are automatically blocked as third-party cookies in both Safari and Firefox.
To my knowledge, Facebook introduced the Conversion API [Server Side API] in 2018 to address privacy concerns and browser restrictions. Later many ad platforms including Google, TikTok, and more introduced their own Conversion APIs for their platforms.
When you search about the Conversion API on the internet, all the articles are related to Facebook Conversion API. Facebook introduced this solution first and mostly, all of them are similar to the Facebook’s Conversion API. This could be the reason.
What is Conversion API? How does it work?
Conversion API or Server Side API is a tool that allows advertisers to send user data [user ID, user interaction data] directly from their Website Server to the Ad Platform Server such as Facebook Server.
In the traditional pixel method, we create a pixel in the Facebook platform and ask the client to paste the code on their website. Whenever people browse the client’s website, the Facebook pixel code fires and sends data to the Facebook Server.
Due to restrictions or other reasons on the browser, Facebook pixel is not able to collect and send data to Facebook Ads Platform. Below are the common challenges of tracking user data in this method,
- The browser plays a crucial part in firing the pixel code. If the browser does not support third-party cookies then Facebook can not track user data.
- Ad blockers have trouble tracking user data
- Brower latency issues trouble tracking user data
In all the above situations, the website stores the user’s data in the website server. So, Facebook finds an API to get the data from the website server to its server.
Instead of relying on browser functionalities, the conversion API allows the data transfer from website server to Facebook server.
When users interact with the website, always the data information is sent to the website server. From here, all the user data is directly sent to the Facebook Ad server using this API. Here, the browser’s functionalities and other blocking will not affect Facebook’s tracking.
Facebook collects conversion data from both the pixel method and conversion API method. Later, it removes the duplicate conversion data.
What are the ad platforms currently support Conversion API?
You can not use Conversion API capability for all ad platforms. If your ad platform has the Conversion API then you can use it. Here are the major ad platforms that support conversion APIs.
- Facebook Ads Manager
- Google Ads
- TikTok Ads
- Snapchat Ads
- Pinterest Ads
- X Ads
- OpenX
- Adform
- The Trade Desk
Introducing Conversion API is a needed functionality to track conversions on all environments, including the cookielss environment.
Advantages of Conversion API
Conversion API has many advantages over traditional pixel tracking methods. Here are a few advantages of conversion API for your reference.
- Ad platforms can track user’s data in the cookieless environment. Ad blockers and browser latency will not affect Conversion API.
- Ad platforms track the conversion events from the client’s website server without loss. It includes shopping, ad-to-cart, website interactions, and more.
- Using this data, ad platforms can optimize campaigns to run the ad campaigns more effectively.
- Clients can segment this data and target the users back. For example, they can re-target users who leave without completing a purchase.
- Ad platforms can do ad personalization and real-time optimization through this data.
Can we use Conversion API for programmatic advertising in a cookieless environment?
As a programmatic advertising manager, it’s very important to know the capability of conversion API for doing programmatic advertising. The main purpose of introducing the Conversion API is to collect user’s activities in all circumstances. Also, this Conversion API is more suitable for social media advertising.
The conversion API is not a perfect solution for programmatic advertising in the cookieless environment. Using conversion API, the programmatic ad platform can collect users data directly from the advertiser’s website server to their server.
Tracking user behaviour on the third party website is very important for showing interest based advertisements. Using the conversion API, the ad platform can’t track the user behaviour on the third party website. So, it’s not possible.
To do the programmatic advertising in the cookieless environment, centric ID solutions should be needed. It may be ID5, Panorama ID, etc.
These third-party solution providers have partnered with large publishers around the world to collect user data in the cookieless environment. Based on the visitor’s email id or phone number and from the soft signals they allocate an ID for each user.
By partnering with those third party solution providers, you can create IDs for your visitors. By matching those IDs you can retarget them on the third party website.
If your programmatic ad platform has partnered with these third-party solution providers, they provide services to create segments. Using those segments you can target people in the cookieless environment.
Each ID solution has different coverage and capabilities. So, you have to be very careful when choosing the ID solutions.
Already, I have written a detailed article that explains the functionality of Trade Desks UID 2.0. Similarly, all other ID solutions are working. So, check out this article for a better understanding of ID solutions.
Conclusion
Many digital marketers looking for an alternative way to do similar advertising in the cookieless environment. Many proposals are available including Conversion API. As per my findings, conversion API is a alternative solution for Social Media Advertising, and it’s not suitable for programmatic advertising.
If you are using any social media advertising, then check with your ad platforms and implement conversion API as soon as possible. I have mentioned the ad platforms that support conversion API above.
To do the programmatic advertising in the cookieless environment, you must contract with ID solutions like ID5, Lotame, etc. Many DSPs started associating with this kind of ID solution to support the advertisers.
Check with your current DSP about the cookieless advertising alternatives and start to test their effectiveness before Chrome eliminates third-party cookie functionality for remaining users.
If you are using or trying any cookieless solutions, mention the details in the comment section.
Checkout the following articles :
How does trade desk UID 2.0 work?
Alternative solutions available for the Cookieless Advertising
How the 3rd party site share the data with social media ad platform. Is there any contractual agreement to share their user data?
Thank you so much for asking this questions.
Conversion API is different. The website owner is the client. So, instead of placing pixel they implement conversion API.
ID5, Lotames Panaroma IDs are the alternatives for Cookieless advertising. These data providers like Lotame, ID5 has partnered with large publishers to get the user information to generate IDs.