What Is Offline Conversion Tracking? How to Set It Up

Offline conversion tracking allows businesses to track ad clicks that turn into in-store visits and phone calls. Learn how it works, how to track it, and best practices to ensure success.

In this guide, we’ll explore best practices for implementing offline conversion tracking across three major platforms — Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads. Let’s take a look.

What is offline conversion tracking?

Offline conversion tracking bridges offline actions, like phone calls and in-store purchases, to online interactions, like Google Ads clicks and social media exposure.

Digital marketing sometimes drives tangible actions, and you want to track conversions in the real world too.

To collect offline conversion metrics, look at customer data sources like CRM systems and link them to digital touchpoints. For example, pixels, cookies, and parameters, like the Google Click Identifier (Google Click ID).

How to track offline conversion traffic from Google Ads

You need a full understanding of the customer journey for online and offline interactions to get the most out of your Google Ads campaigns.

Here’s how to set offline conversion tracking within Google Ads in motion. With these tools and techniques, you can paint the full picture of your customer’s journeys.

Proper setup and tracking parameters will ensure your offline conversion tracking efforts bring insightful results.

Importing offline conversion data

Data uploading is the foundation of valuable offline conversion tracking. This can happen manually or on an automated basis. Regardless, you should upload data related to the following:

• In-store and e-commerce purchases
• Phone call leads and inquiries
• Any sort of forms and submissions, including lead forms, contact forms, and surveys
• Sign-ups for online webinars and in-person seminars

The Google Ads API is a tool larger advertisers should leverage to import data at scale. Smaller businesses can track data in several ways, including Google Sheets, manual CSV data uploads, and integrated tools like Zapier.

Regardless of the method, you must properly format offline data. Identifiers like gclid and ad campaign parameters ensure accurate data matching.

Monitor for discrepancies whether you’re manually uploading your data or using an automated system.

Call tracking for phone lead attribution

Phone calls are critical conversion events for many B2B and service-based businesses. Advertisers can accurately attribute phone leads to specific ad clicks, keywords, and campaigns by enabling call tracking in Google Ads.

Effective call tracking requires obtaining unique forwarding numbers from Google and installing the call conversion tracking tag across your website.

Afterward, Google Ads can automatically detect when an ad click results in a call to your unique forwarding number.

Beyond calls and durations, customized forwarding numbers enable deeper analysis of your most qualified leads by source campaign, ad group, keyword, and more.

Store visit tracking for local advertisers

If you’re a local business driving foot traffic to brick-and-mortar locations, Google provides automated store visit conversion tracking.

This service uses anonymized mobile location data to detect when a Google Ads click leads to a visit to your physical stores.

To enable tracking, confirm your Google My Business listings have accurate store addresses.

In your Google Ads account, create a Store Visit conversion action and set an appropriate attribution window.

Further integrations with Google Analytics help connect in-store purchases directly to specific clicks and ads.

This end-to-end visibility allows optimizing for store visits and high-value ads driving in-store revenue.

Step-by-step setup guide for Google offline tracking

To implement offline conversion tracking in your Google Ads accounts, follow these steps:

1. Install the Google Ads conversion tracking pixel on all your website pages, particularly those with lead capture forms. Attribution enables once you install the tracking pixel.
2. Regularly import offline conversion data using the most suitable method for your business. Use unique identifiers, such as Google Click ID (gclid) — a unique tracking parameter used by Google to pass information between your ad and your website — to ensure accurate matching. Here are the methods you can use:
   • Manually through Google Ads. If you’re a small business with a low volume of conversions, upload your conversions manually through the Google Ads interface.
   • Automatically with a CRM integration. If you have a larger volume of offline conversions, automate the process by connecting your CRM to Google Ads using the API and regularly syncing data.
   • Automatically with a CSV upload. If your business compiles conversion data on a routine basis, the easiest way is often to upload data directly to Google Ads in a CSV file.
3. Designate conversion actions for each type of offline data you wish to match, including calls, form submissions, and purchases.
4. Obtain call forwarding numbers and install call tracking tags to use phone leads in your offline conversion data.
5. Personalize attribution settings like conversion windows based on your business’s typical sales cycle length.
6. Connect Google Analytics to track in-store visits, purchases, and cross-channel impact. Engage your CRM programs here.

Expert tips for success

Use these tips to get the most out of your offline conversion tracking:

• Use auto-tagging tools and UTMs — a snippet of text added to the end of a URL to track the performance of digital campaigns — to pass campaign parameters such as gclid that are important for attribution.
• If your business has a high call volume, consider using third-party call tracking tools for in-depth analytics.
• Audit your offline conversion data for inaccuracies before transferring it into Google Ads.
• Monitor match rates to identify recurring data discrepancies impacting attribution.

Engaging these expert tips will unlock the full potential of Google Ads. Every click and call is measured so you can analyze and grow your business with insightful data.

How to track offline conversion traffic from Facebook Ads

Facebook is another important platform for advertisers. There are 3 billion monthly active users on Facebook, and interactions with your ads frequently result in real-world actions that you can measure.

Facebook’s offline conversion tracking solutions allow you to bridge the gap between digital marketing on the Facebook platform and offline actions like phone calls and store visits.

Read on to discover the best practices for implementing offline conversion tracking within Facebook. Once offline conversion tracking is up and running, you’ll see the impact of your Facebook ads on your sales funnel.

Understanding Facebook’s offline conversion tracking

Facebook allows advertisers to see which Facebook ad interactions drive real-world actions. Do this by uploading CRM data on offline conversions, like in-store purchases or lead submissions, into Facebook Business Manager as offline conversion events.

Facebook matches this data to users who engaged with your ads using identifiers like email, phone number or mobile ad ID.

Tangible actions like sales, registrations, and inquiries can now be accurately attributed to the Facebook ads and campaigns that initiated the journey.

Optimizing call conversions with click-to-call ads

Beyond conversion tracking, Facebook enables direct call conversions from ads through click-to-call ads:

• Create call-focused ads with a prominent phone number and call extension
• Use unique phone numbers and call tracking software
• Continually A/B test messaging to optimize call volume

Combined with offline tracking, Facebook empowers advertisers to create a seamless journey from ad click to phone call to eventual conversion — to gain complete marketing funnel visibility.

Step-by-step setup guide for Facebook offline tracking

Follow these steps to implement comprehensive offline conversion tracking on Facebook:

1. In Facebook Business Manager, create an Offline Conversions event set for uploading conversion data.
2. Compile offline conversion data, like purchases and lead forms into a CSV file with relevant identifiers.
3. Upload your CSV file into the event that you created. You’ll have to re-upload your file regularly so that matching is up-to-date.
4. Facebook links conversions to ad viewers, giving you many beneficial campaign metrics.

The platform has strict formatting and privacy protocols, so be sure you’re following the rules.

To make the most of your broader Facebook analytics, refresh your data often. Keep optimizing your campaign based on its performance.

Expert tips for maximizing impact

Here are a few other tips to maximize the impact of your Facebook offline tracking:

• Keep your data sets fresh so your insights are accurate
• Do a detailed analysis of your data before uploading it to ensure privacy compliance
• Refine your target audiences based on conclusions you’ve discovered since offline conversion tracking
• Monitor key metrics like cost-per-offline-conversion to keep improving results

With the right expertise and optimization, Facebook bridges online ads and offline outcomes — connecting digital marketing efforts to real-world business growth.

How to track offline conversion traffic from LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn has B2B targeting capabilities you can’t get on other platforms. But if you’re not tracking offline actions like phone inquiries and one on one meetings, you’re missing its true impact. LinkedIn’s offline conversion tracking connects your ads to these tangible outcomes.

By combining LinkedIn’s insights with uploaded CRM data, advertisers can track when ads lead to offline actions like signed contracts or in-person meetings.

Step by step setup guide for LinkedIn offline tracking

To incorporate offline tracking into your LinkedIn:

1. Get the LinkedIn Insight Tag installed so the platform has the ability to website track.
2. Format a CSV file with offline conversion data.
3. Open your LinkedIn Campaign Manager and upload the CSV file.
4. Create a Matched Audience to pair with the CSV file. LinkedIn will then bridge the gap between this data and who saw your ads.
5. Keep an eye on what’s most effective during your campaigns based on your offline conversion tracking data.

Expert tips for success

To increase success with LinkedIn offline conversion tracking, keep these tips in mind:

• Upload offline data on a regular basis so your insights stay current and valuable.
• Pay close attention to the privacy compliance of your uploaded data. Leave off any prohibited personal information.
• Hone in on your audience based on the data you discover from offline tracking.

LinkedIn’s offline tracking provides insights on B2B advertisers and influencers.

The benefits of offline conversion tracking

Online metrics like clicks and impressions show a campaign’s success, but they don’t tell the full story.

Offline conversion tracking connects real-world actions with digital interactions, measuring the full impact of your digital marketing without taking offline data into consideration.

Effective offline tracking practices give a clearer image of what’s happening when a user interacts with Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads.

They follow the full customer journey, from seeing an ad to when they walk into a store and make a purchase.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of how offline conversion tracking can improve your marketing efforts.

Complete visibility into marketing impact

Digital marketing doesn’t only impact digital purchasing. How many times have you seen an ad online that prompted you to make an action in-store?

Offline conversion tracking bridges the gap between digital marketing and its real-world impacts.

In-store purchases and phone calls can take up a massive portion of the customer journey. It’s hard to see the full impact of marketing efforts without looking at offline conversion metrics.

If you’re only looking at digital purchases and interactions, you’re missing half the story.

Enhanced campaign optimization

By understanding the offline impact of your digital marketing efforts, you can better refine strategies including audience targeting, landing page copy, template design, and more.

To optimize your campaigns, get the most for your ad spend, and create the smartest keyword bidding strategies, you need to take real-world actions into account.

Offline conversion tracking can provide valuable insights into the impact of online advertising campaigns.

For example, a local fashion retailer runs a Google Ads campaign promoting their spring fashion, which includes a new line of sustainable clothing.

Offline conversion tracking enables the store to track how many people clicked the ad visited its physical store, and purchased from its new sustainable clothing line.

With this data, the retailer can identify which demographics are coming into the store to purchase the new line and adjust its ad targeting accordingly. It can also use the data to refine its messaging to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.

Without offline tracking, the store would have no way to know if its online ads were driving in-store sales — or who was coming into the store to make a purchase.

Analytics without a link to tangible customer interactions aren’t nearly as useful. If you understand how your digital marketing connects to offline sales, you can better improve your campaign.

Future-proofing for privacy regulations

As time passes, restrictions on third-party cookies and device identifiers are only growing more robust. Looking at offline conversion data is a privacy-compliant way to continue analyzing the impact of your marketing campaign’s efficacy.

Offline conversion data is aggregated and consented to, meaning marketers can respect increased customer privacy while gaining powerful insights.

Attribution becomes future-proof, so marketing teams have a lasting foundation for data-driven decision-making.

How offline conversion tracking works

Now that you understand the importance of offline conversion, let’s learn how it works.

The technology behind offline tracking

There are several sophisticated technologies that can bridge online and offline interactions. Google Ads offers the Google Click ID to track each ad click, and Facebook and LinkedIn look at pixel data and cookies for the same conclusions.

Tracking clicks allows platforms to follow the entire customer journey, even offline.

Advanced machine learning sits at the core of this, pointing toward offline data that gets uploaded to CRMs like Salesforce. They allow you to see the full story, from online interactions to offline sales.

Matching online and offline data

The offline data that’s taken into account comes from sources like:

• CRM systems that track sales, calls, and form submissions
• POS systems that take in online and in-store purchases
• Contact forms and other website-based lead capturing tools
• Platforms used for marketing automation, such as HubSpot

This data connects to the data of the originating click, which can link it to email, phone number, transaction ID, and more.

This enables smart algorithms to accurately depict the full customer journey, even when it moves offline.

Actionable insights from combined data

Once online and offline data merge, the analytics potential grows immensely. Now marketers can see the true return on investment, including:

• Revenue and growth driven by PPC ads
• The full story of customer journeys, enabling marketers to optimize the path
• Highest-value audience groups and the messaging that speaks to them
• Understanding how digital marketing affects not only digital sales, but offline sales, and lead generation too

Overcoming tracking challenges

There can be challenges when marketers start matching offline and online data. Technicalities like formatting discrepancies can trigger low match rates, limiting the helpfulness of offline conversion tracking.

Here are best practices to keep in mind as you begin offline conversion tracking:

• Incorporate data hygiene into your offline conversion tracking routine. Formatting issues hinder the potential of your analytics and are easily solved with careful data cleaning.
• Refresh your data uploads regularly, so insights are accurate and up-to-date.
• Keep a close eye on your match rates so technical issues get flagged quickly.

These are all critical to get you the best results in the end.

How we approach offline conversion tracking

At HawkSEM, we have a unique approach to offline conversion tracking. We’ve created our own proprietary system called ConversionIQ. This tool allows businesses to dive deep into their data. For instance, tracking which keywords are the highest converting, so we can optimize your campaigns for clicks and conversions.

We make it easy to ensure every dollar spent on advertising is driving results — online and in the real world.

Offline conversion tracking can seem challenging without the right tools or strategy. With ConversionIQ, we can help you maximize your marketing efforts using data-backed tactics.

The takeaway

The advantages of offline conversion tracking are plentiful. Offline conversion data tells the full story of your customer’s experience, which is invaluable to your marketing team.

To take the next step towards deeper, more insightful data, contact the experts at HawkSEM. We specialize in PPC marketing and offline conversion tracking.

By implementing our offline conversion tracking strategies and tying in ConversionIQ, we helped Grayson Living receive almost 6X its ROAS.

Don’t let complexity deter you. Request a consultation today to optimize your offline tracking and improve your bottom line.