Tracking 101: pixels, tags and conversions

Tracking is how ad platforms find out what happened after someone clicked your ad. Without it, a platform can tell you how many people clicked, but not how many bought, booked or enquired.

The key terms

• Pixel or tag. A small snippet of code on your website that tells an ad platform when someone visits or takes an action. Each platform has its own: the Google tag, Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, Microsoft UET tag and LinkedIn Insight Tag.
• Conversion. An action you care about, such as a purchase, form submission or sign-up.
• Event. What a pixel records, such as a page view, an add to basket or a purchase.

Why it matters

• You can see which campaigns actually drive results, not just clicks.
• Platforms use conversion data to find more people likely to convert, so campaigns improve over time.
• Snifferdog's reporting is far more useful with it in place.

Installing tags

Install the tag for every platform you advertise on, ideally through Google Tag Manager or your website builder's built-in integrations. Each platform's article in Tracking and tags covers the essentials.

Consent

In the UK and EU, most advertising tags need visitor consent before they run. Read Tags and cookie consent before you install anything.