What are the options for tracking offline conversions in Bing Ads and resolving discrepancies?

Tracking offline conversions in Bing Ads (now part of Microsoft Advertising) is essential for advertisers who want to measure the effectiveness of their digital campaigns beyond just online interactions. Offline conversions refer to actions like in-store purchases, phone calls, form submissions, or other types of conversions that happen offline after a user interacts with an ad. Fortunately, Microsoft Advertising provides several methods to track offline conversions and resolve discrepancies in conversion data. Below are the options for tracking offline conversions and handling discrepancies:

1. Offline Conversion Tracking Using Import Files
One of the most common methods for tracking offline conversions is importing conversion data from your customer relationship management (CRM) system or other offline tracking tools into Microsoft Advertising.

A. Importing Offline Conversion Data
How it works: After a user interacts with an ad, they might complete a conversion offline (e.g., by making an in-store purchase). You can upload offline conversion data to Microsoft Advertising by matching these conversions with the associated click data.

What you need to do:

Use a Unique ID (like a click ID) or first-party data (e.g., email address or phone number) to connect the online click with the offline conversion.

Export your offline conversion data (from your CRM or other systems) in a compatible format (like a CSV file).

Upload this data into the Offline Conversion Import tool within Microsoft Advertising. You'll map the relevant fields such as the conversion date, conversion value, and click ID.

B. Steps to Import Offline Conversions
Set up UET (Universal Event Tracking) on your site to track user interactions online.

Capture the click ID and other identifiers (like email addresses) during the user's interaction with your ad (for example, using UET tags and tracking URLs).

After the offline conversion occurs (e.g., a phone call or in-store purchase), match the offline conversion to the click ID or user identifier.

Import the offline conversion data into Microsoft Advertising to attribute the conversion to the appropriate campaign, keyword, and ad.

C. Resolving Discrepancies
Best Practices: Ensure that you have a clean, consistent method of capturing unique identifiers (e.g., click IDs) and that this information is recorded accurately during the ad interaction.

Common Issues: One common discrepancy is missing or mismatched click IDs during the import process. This can occur if the click ID isn't captured correctly on the website or during offline actions.

Resolving Issues: Cross-reference your click ID data with your offline conversion data, ensuring that both systems are synchronized and the right data is being uploaded. You can also re-check the mapping of the fields during the import to ensure they're accurate.

2. Phone Call Tracking (Call Extensions and Call Tracking)
Phone calls are a common form of offline conversion, and Bing Ads provides several ways to track phone call conversions effectively.

A. Call Extensions
How it works: Call Extensions allow you to display a phone number alongside your ad. When users click on the phone number, a call is made to your business. You can then track how many calls come from your ads and use these as offline conversions.

What you need to do: Set up call conversion tracking by enabling Call Extensions and configuring call conversion tracking through the Microsoft Advertising interface.

Tracking Call Duration: You can define a minimum duration for a phone call (e.g., 30 seconds) to be counted as a conversion, ensuring that you're capturing only meaningful interactions.

B. Call Tracking Services
How it works: If you use a third-party call tracking service, you can integrate it with Microsoft Advertising by capturing the call details (e.g., phone number, call duration) and importing this data as offline conversions.

What you need to do: Set up a third-party call tracking solution, capture call details along with the associated click ID, and upload the data to Microsoft Advertising through the offline conversion import tool.

3. Offline Conversion with Microsoft Power BI and APIs
Microsoft Advertising provides integration options with external tools such as Power BI for more advanced conversion tracking and reporting.

A. Power BI Integration
How it works: Power BI can connect with Microsoft Advertising and allow you to visualize offline conversion data alongside online conversion data. This helps you create reports that track the effectiveness of offline conversions.

Steps:

Connect your Microsoft Advertising account with Power BI.

Combine your offline conversion data (e.g., from CRM systems or third-party call tracking) with online performance metrics for a more comprehensive view.

Create custom reports to resolve discrepancies between online and offline conversions.

B. API Integration for Automation
How it works: The Microsoft Advertising API allows you to automate the process of importing offline conversion data. This is especially useful if you have a high volume of offline conversions and want to sync them with your online campaigns automatically.

What you need to do: Set up an API connection between your CRM system or call tracking platform and Microsoft Advertising to send offline conversions directly into your account.

4. Attribution Models and Cross-Channel Attribution
Offline conversions are often part of a longer customer journey that involves both online and offline touchpoints. Understanding how to attribute these conversions properly can help resolve discrepancies.

A. Attribution Models
How it works: Microsoft Advertising provides different attribution models (such as First Click, Last Click, Linear, and Time Decay) that help you understand which touchpoints (ads) contributed to the conversion, both online and offline.

What you need to do: Choose the attribution model that best reflects the customer journey for your business. For example, if you want to understand the full path to conversion (including offline actions), consider using a multi-touch attribution model that gives weight to all touchpoints, not just the last click.

Resolving Discrepancies: If discrepancies occur between the attribution models for online and offline conversions, ensure you're using the correct model to capture all relevant touchpoints and account for any delays between online and offline actions.

5. Resolving Discrepancies in Offline Conversion Tracking
Data Mismatch: If offline conversion data doesn't match up with the conversion data in Microsoft Advertising, ensure that click IDs or other tracking identifiers are being captured and transmitted correctly. Misaligned or missing data fields during the import process can result in discrepancies.

Cross-device Issues: If a user clicks on an ad on one device but completes the conversion offline on another device (e.g., an in-store purchase), discrepancies can occur. To resolve this, ensure that you're using accurate cross-device and cross-browser tracking methods and that your import process includes both unique identifiers and sufficient conversion data.

Delayed Conversions: In some cases, offline conversions happen much later than the initial ad interaction. This delay can sometimes cause discrepancies if conversions are reported after the usual attribution window. You can mitigate this by allowing a longer time window for reporting conversions in the system and using multi-touch attribution models to account for delayed actions.

Conclusion:
To track offline conversions effectively in Bing Ads, advertisers can use offline conversion imports, phone call tracking, CRM integration, and advanced reporting tools like Power BI or the Microsoft Advertising API. Discrepancies in offline conversion data can usually be resolved by ensuring the accurate capture and mapping of click IDs and other identifiers, choosing the right attribution model, and syncing data across devices and channels. By using these methods, you can achieve a more comprehensive understanding of how your digital ads drive both online and offline results.