Can advertisers integrate view-through conversions with offline conversions tracked through Bing Ads?

Yes, advertisers can integrate view-through conversions with offline conversions tracked through Bing Ads (now Microsoft Ads). This integration helps in providing a more complete view of the customer journey and evaluating the impact of online advertising on offline sales. Here's how you can achieve this integration:

### 1. **Understanding View-Through and Offline Conversions**

- **View-Through Conversions**: These occur when a user sees an ad but does not click on it. If they later visit the advertiser's site and complete a conversion action (e.g., purchase, sign-up), it is counted as a view-through conversion.

- **Offline Conversions**: These refer to sales or other conversion actions that happen offline, such as in-store purchases or phone call conversions, which are tracked separately from online interactions.

### 2. **Integration Methods**

#### 1. **Using Universal Event Tracking (UET) Tag**

- **UET Setup**: Implement the UET tag on your website to track user interactions and conversions. The UET tag allows you to track both online and offline conversions by capturing user activity and conversion events.

- **Offline Conversion Import**: To integrate offline conversions, you need to upload your offline conversion data to Microsoft Ads. This involves matching offline transactions with online interactions using unique identifiers, such as order IDs or customer IDs.

#### 2. **Offline Conversion Import Tool**

- **Import Process**: Microsoft Ads provides an offline conversion import tool that allows you to upload offline conversion data. You can use this tool to upload data files (usually in CSV format) that contain information about offline conversions, including details like transaction IDs and conversion values.

- **Data Matching**: When uploading offline conversions, ensure that the data includes matching identifiers that link the offline conversion to prior online interactions. This helps in accurately associating the offline conversions with the corresponding view-through interactions.

#### 3. **Using the Microsoft Advertising API**

- **API Integration**: The Microsoft Advertising API allows you to programmatically manage and integrate conversion data. You can use the API to upload offline conversion data and to retrieve view-through conversion metrics for analysis.

- **Conversion Data Management**: The API supports both online and offline conversion tracking, enabling you to combine and analyze data from multiple sources.

#### 4. **Data Matching and Attribution**

- **Data Matching**: Ensure that you have a reliable method for matching offline conversions with online interactions. This often involves using unique customer identifiers or transaction IDs that are consistent across both online and offline channels.

- **Attribution Models**: Apply attribution models that consider both view-through and offline conversions. This helps in understanding the full impact of your advertising efforts, including how online ads influence offline behavior.

### 3. **Analysis and Reporting**

- **Unified Reporting**: Use Microsoft Ads reporting tools to combine and analyze both view-through and offline conversion data. This allows you to get a comprehensive view of campaign performance and the effectiveness of your ads in driving both online and offline conversions.

- **Custom Reports**: Create custom reports that include both view-through and offline conversion metrics. This helps in evaluating the overall impact of your advertising strategy and optimizing based on complete data.

### 4. **Best Practices**

- **Consistent Tracking**: Ensure consistent tracking and data matching to accurately link view-through conversions with offline sales. This involves using standardized identifiers and maintaining accurate records.

- **Regular Data Updates**: Regularly update your offline conversion data to ensure that you have the most recent and relevant information for analysis.

- **Data Privacy Compliance**: Ensure that your data handling practices comply with data privacy regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA. This includes obtaining necessary consents and securely managing customer data.

### Conclusion

Integrating view-through conversions with offline conversions in Microsoft Ads allows for a more comprehensive understanding of campaign performance and customer behavior. By using tools like the UET tag, offline conversion import tool, and Microsoft Advertising API, you can effectively track and analyze both online and offline interactions, providing valuable insights into the impact of your advertising efforts.