Conversions for some advertisers start online and finish offline. For example, a consumer initiates research online for a purchase, clicks on an ad, and then telephones a call center to complete the purchase. Or a consumer with a mobile phone taps a “call now” button in an ad and purchases an item over the telephone.
For these types of conversions, Search Ads 360 will automatically have data about the online portion if you have set up a Floodlight tag to track the event. If you want to provide data about the offline portion to enhance your reports, for use in automated rules, or for optimization in a bid strategy:
- For conversions that involve call centers, you can use a call-tracking service that analyzes call-center traffic, attributes calls to search advertising, and automatically uploads conversions
- For other types of offline conversions (including call-center conversions), you can upload the conversion data yourself.
Integration with call-tracking services
All of the following call-tracking service providers can automatically upload conversion data to Search Ads 360:
- Americas: CallCap, DC-Storm, DialogTech, Infinity Tracking, Invoca, LiveRamp, Marchex, ResponseTap
- UK/Europe: Bellmetric, Calltracks, DC-Storm, Freespee, Infinity Tracking, MaTelSo, ResponseTap, VisualDNA
- Australia/SEA: AVANSER, Delacon, Jet Interactive
To start uploading data from these services, contact the service provider.
Options for uploading offline conversions yourself
You can use any of the following techniques to upload offline conversions yourself:
- Upload from the Campaign Manager 360 API:
If you use Campaign Manager 360 for display campaigns or Search Ads 360 for search campaigns, you can upload conversions from the Campaign Manager 360 API instead of the Search Ads 360 API. This is the preferred solution. - Upload from a bulksheet:
Enter data about conversions into a spreadsheet, and then upload the spreadsheet to Search Ads 360 in the Conversions Uploads page - Upload from the Search Ads 360 API:
If you have a computer system that maintains conversion data, you can write a program that uses the Search Ads 360 API (application programming interface) to automatically upload conversions. To use the API, you’ll need to work with a computer programmer who can make REST calls using a programming language.
Permissions required for uploading conversions
To upload conversions from any source (bulksheets, Search Ads 360 API, Campaign Manager 360 API), you need edit access to the sub-manager account in which you're uploading conversions.
In a shared Floodlight configuration, you need edit access to each child sub-manager account that you want to upload conversions to. You don't need access to the parent sub-manager, nor do you need access to child sub-managers that you're not uploading conversions into.
If you use click IDs to attribute conversions, make sure you have edit access to the sub-manager that generated the click ID. If you specify a click ID from a sub-manager you don't have edit access to, the upload will not succeed.
Important details about uploading conversions from a bulksheet or the Search Ads 360 API
The details in this section apply only to conversions uploaded from Search Ads 360 bulksheets or the Search Ads 360 API. They do not apply to conversions uploaded from the Campaign Manager 360 API.
Uploaded conversions ignore Floodlight conversion windows
When a user interacts with an ad, then visits a Floodlight-enabled webpage, Floodlight uses conversion windows to decide whether to include the interaction for a Floodlight activity. For example, if a user clicks one of your ads, then visits your Floodlight-enabled website 15 days later, but your conversion window for clicks is only 10 days, no activity is recorded. (You set up conversion windows in your Campaign Manager 360 advertiser.)
However, if you attribute offline conversions to clicks or visits, the default last-click attribution model ignores the Floodlight conversion window. That is, the last-click model will attribute a conversion to a click or visit no matter how much time passes between the click and the conversion. Continuing the example above, if you upload a conversion for a click that occurred 15 days ago, Floodlight will count the conversion even if your conversion window is set to 10 days. To prevent unintended attributions, the best practice is to upload conversions as soon as they are available and avoid uploading conversions for clicks that occurred outside your conversion window. If you're storing click IDs in a web log, each entry in the web log will often include a timestamp. Use this timestamp to filter out clicks that occurred outside the conversion window.
Search Ads 360 does apply the conversion window in attribution models other than the default last click.
Placeholder Floodlight tag
A placeholder Floodlight is a tag that is used for receiving offline conversion data. While not required, using one for offline data is a best practice.
Here are the reasons to use a placeholder Floodlight to receive offline conversions instead of uploading conversions to an existing tag placed on site.
- Data hygiene: With a placeholder tag, you know for sure which conversions have been uploaded offline. This makes it easier to simplify data quality assurance processes.
- No unintended effects on bidding: If you start uploading offline conversions to a tag that receives online conversions and bids to them, you may affect the bidding algorithm with the new data. Separating offline conversions from online conversions helps prevent the new data from unintentionally influencing the bidding algorithm.
Uploaded conversions ignore Floodlight instructions
Floodlight instructions transform the raw data recorded by a Floodlight activity, such as changing the currency of a recorded transaction. Search Ads 360 does not apply Floodlight instructions to conversions you upload via the Search Ads 360 conversion API.
Uploading custom Floodlight variables from bulksheets not supported
You cannot specify custom Floodlight variables for conversions that you upload from a bulksheet. To upload custom data for offline conversions, use the Campaign Manager 360 API.
Attribution models: only some offline conversions are included
See which types of attribution models can be applied to offline conversions.
How soon can I use the uploaded data?
Generally, the data will be available for use in the Search Ads 360 UI within 6 hours of successful upload.
Can I upload historical conversions?
It depends. Historical conversions are subject to a few restraints:
- Conversions attributed to keywords, ads, product groups, or visits are forced into the last-click attribution model no matter when they're uploaded, whereas those attributed to Google click IDs (GCLIDs) are forced into this attribution model after 60 days.
- You can't upload conversions attributed to GCLIDs if either of the following is true:
- The conversion timestamp is older than 90 days.
- The GCLID is older than 90 days.
- You can't edit conversions that are older than 60 days.
- You can't upload conversions that are older than 90 days.
- You can't upload conversion timestamps older than 14 days for the purposes of auction-time bidding.
Will Campaign Manager 360 reports contain the uploaded conversions?
No. Search Ads 360 does not send conversions that you upload from bulksheets or the Search Ads 360 API—neither conversions that you add nor conversions that you edit—to Campaign Manager 360. Reports that you create in Campaign Manager 360 Report Builder and data transfer files do not show conversions uploaded from the Search Ads 360 API or bulksheets.