Tracking Offline Conversions: The Ultimate How To

• Contest Factory
• August 1, 2023

Capturing the Walk-in Retail Customer: Offline Conversions

Learn how to optimize performance by tracking all  your performance. Learn how to track your retail or in-person leads and transactions. You will never track 100% with current legal restrictions, though tracking as much as possible will give you the best possible outcome for repeating excellent performance and eliminating poor performance campaigns.

One of the more difficult tracking mechanisms is tracking offline conversions. Luckily cell phone data is helping us bridge the gap with cross-device targeting. Here are a few methods to get ahead of the curve in analyzing your full funnel data.

1. Store Visits Conversion Tracking: Google Ads provides a feature called “Store Visits Conversion Tracking” that allows you to measure the impact of your online ads on driving in-store visits. To use this feature, you need to meet certain requirements, such as having multiple physical store locations and receiving a significant number of ad clicks and store visits. Google uses anonymized, aggregated data from users who have opted into location history to estimate the number of store visits resulting from your Google Ads campaigns.
2. Offline Conversion Tracking: You will need to be able to upload your POS data into Google Ads to track this. This involves importing offline conversion data into Google Ads using either the API or a Google Sheets integration. By linking the offline conversions with specific Google Ads clicks or campaigns, you can attribute those conversions to your online ads.
3. Customized Tracking Solutions: Depending on your business setup, you might need to develop a custom tracking solution to attribute in-person visits to Google conversions. This can involve using unique identifiers or codes for offline customers and then tracking their interactions with your online ads. For example, you could provide customers with a coupon code that they need to enter during the checkout process, which would be tied to a specific ad campaign. By analyzing the usage of these codes, you can attribute conversions to your Google Ads campaigns.
4. Third-Party Solutions: There are also third-party tools available that specialize in bridging the gap between online advertising and offline conversions. These tools often integrate with Google Ads and can provide more advanced tracking and attribution capabilities for in-person visits. Some examples you may consider:

Salesforce: Salesforce is a widely used customer relationship management (CRM) platform that offers integrations and tools for tracking offline sales and attributing them to online campaigns. By connecting Salesforce with your online advertising platforms, you can analyze the customer journey, attribute conversions, and measure the impact of your online campaigns on offline sales.

Adobe Analytics: Adobe Analytics is an advanced analytics platform that provides robust tracking and attribution capabilities. It allows you to connect online and offline data, enabling you to measure the impact of your online campaigns on offline conversions. Adobe Analytics provides integrations with various advertising platforms, allowing you to track the entire customer journey and attribute sales accurately.

Rakuten Attribution: Rakuten Attribution (formerly known as DC Storm) is a cross-channel attribution platform that helps businesses track and attribute sales across multiple channels, including online and offline. It provides insights into the customer journey, allowing you to understand how different touchpoints contribute to conversions. Rakuten Attribution integrates with various ad platforms, including Google Ads, to track offline sales influenced by online campaigns.

CallRail: CallRail is a call tracking and analytics platform that specializes in tracking phone calls generated by online campaigns. It provides unique phone numbers for different campaigns or channels, allowing you to attribute phone call conversions accurately. CallRail also offers integrations with popular advertising platforms and CRM systems, enabling you to connect offline sales with online campaigns.

Google My Business: Google shows you how many folks call you, how many folks map your directions, and can show ad data in conjunction with location data to close the loop. Ensure you are mapping your reports with this data to show sales you cannot track with a pixel.

Remember that accurately attributing in-person visits to Google conversions can be challenging, and the available methods have their limitations. It’s crucial to carefully analyze the data and understand the potential discrepancies that might arise due to various factors, such as user privacy settings, data accuracy, and attribution models.