Can ad blockers affect conversion tracking in Bing Ads?

Yes, ad blockers can affect conversion tracking in Bing Ads (now part of Microsoft Advertising), as well as other digital advertising platforms. Ad blockers are designed to prevent advertisements from displaying on websites, but they can also block certain tracking technologies, including cookies and JavaScript used for conversion tracking. Here's how ad blockers can impact conversion tracking and what you can do to mitigate these effects:

How Ad Blockers Affect Conversion Tracking
Blocking Tracking Scripts (UET Tag)

UET Tag: The Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag is used in Bing Ads to track conversions (such as clicks, purchases, or form submissions) on your website. This tag is a small JavaScript snippet that sends data back to Microsoft Advertising when users perform certain actions on your site.

Ad Blockers Impact: Many ad blockers prevent JavaScript from loading on pages where ads are shown, and since the UET tag relies on JavaScript, this can result in conversion data not being recorded for users who have ad blockers enabled.

Blocking Cookies

Cookies: Conversion tracking often relies on cookies to identify users and track their actions over time. When a user clicks on an ad and arrives on your website, a cookie is placed on their browser to track their actions and attribute conversions back to the original click.

Ad Blockers Impact: Some ad blockers specifically block cookies related to tracking, preventing the proper association of user actions with the original ad click. This can lead to missing conversion data for users who have ad blockers enabled.

Cross-Domain Tracking

If you're using cross-domain tracking (where users interact with ads across different domains), ad blockers may also prevent the passing of tracking parameters or cookies between those domains, leading to inaccurate attribution or lost conversions.

Blocking Third-Party Tracking (e.g., Call Tracking)

If you use third-party tracking services (e.g., for phone call tracking), these services may be blocked by ad blockers as well. This could result in missing phone call conversions or other types of offline conversion tracking if those services rely on JavaScript or cookies for tracking.

Impact on Reporting and Attribution
Underreporting Conversions: Since ad blockers can prevent tracking scripts from firing, you may experience underreporting of conversions. Some users who interact with your ads but have ad blockers installed may appear as if they didn't convert, leading to inaccurate performance metrics.

Attribution Gaps: If a user interacts with an ad but has an ad blocker that prevents the conversion tracking script from running, that conversion might not be attributed to the ad, leading to attribution gaps in your reports. This can make it more difficult to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns accurately.

Increased Attribution Loss in Privacy-Centric Browsers: Certain browsers, such as Safari and Firefox, have built-in features that block third-party cookies and trackers by default. When combined with ad blockers, this can increase the number of users whose conversions are not tracked, making it more difficult to get an accurate view of campaign performance.

Mitigating the Impact of Ad Blockers on Conversion Tracking
Use First-Party Data and Signed-In User Tracking

First-Party Data: Using first-party data (e.g., customer information collected during form submissions or purchases) can help ensure that you can still track conversions even if ad blockers block cookies or scripts.

Logged-In Users: If your website has a login feature, you can track users who log in, regardless of whether they have ad blockers enabled. When users are logged in, their actions can be linked to their accounts, bypassing the need for tracking cookies.

Server-Side Tracking (Server-to-Server)

How it works: Server-side tracking involves sending conversion data directly from your server to Microsoft Advertising, bypassing the need for browser-based tracking (which is often blocked by ad blockers).

Benefits: This approach can mitigate the impact of ad blockers, as the data is sent directly from your server to Microsoft Advertising without relying on cookies or JavaScript in the user's browser.

Use of Cross-Device Tracking

Cross-Device Tracking: By enabling cross-device tracking (via Microsoft Accounts), you can link a user's behavior across devices, even if ad blockers are enabled on one device. This helps ensure that conversions are tracked across different platforms, reducing the potential for discrepancies caused by ad blockers.

Consider Adjusting Attribution Models

If you notice a significant discrepancy in conversions due to ad blockers, you might want to experiment with different attribution models (such as multi-touch attribution or last-click attribution) to better understand the full customer journey, accounting for some of the conversions that may be missed due to ad blocker interference.

Implementing Conversion Value Import

For offline conversions (such as phone calls or in-store visits), you can import conversion data from external systems. By associating this data with user interactions on your website, you can reconcile discrepancies caused by ad blockers in the online conversion tracking process.

Monitor Conversion Data Regularly

It's important to regularly review your conversion data for any discrepancies or patterns that might suggest ad blockers are causing tracking issues. This will help you fine-tune your tracking setup and understand where you might be losing data.

Conclusion
Ad blockers can interfere with conversion tracking in Bing Ads by preventing the execution of tracking scripts, blocking cookies, or disrupting cross-domain and third-party tracking. However, there are several ways to mitigate these issues, including using first-party data, server-side tracking, and cross-device tracking. Additionally, adjusting your attribution models and regularly monitoring your data can help address discrepancies caused by ad blockers and provide more accurate conversion insights. By implementing these strategies, you can reduce the impact of ad blockers and gain a clearer view of your campaign performance.