Offline Conversions API Programs
LiveRamp's Conversions API integrations with some of our destination platforms enable advertisers to attribute transactions/events (usually offline transactions) to online advertising on those platforms. After you upload transaction data (the allowed types depend on the specific integration), you either receive an attribution report from the platform or view the report in their UI.
Note
LiveRamp’s Conversions API programs were formerly referred to as "attribution programs".
For example, an advertiser that runs ads on Facebook can send LiveRamp their in-store transaction data (literally people who bought things in their store) for delivery to the Meta Conversions API Program for Offline Conversions. Meta uses this data to create dashboards and reports for the advertiser that shows them which of the customers who made a purchase in one of their stores were targeted with an advertisement on the Facebook platform.
Facebook is then able to attribute these offline transactions to online advertising on the Facebook platform, and reports those transactions as “events matched - attributed”. Facebook also provides information on the number of total users it recognizes from those transactions (as an “events matched - unattributed” metric).
See the diagram below for an overview.
These Conversions API programs are a great opportunity for advertisers to access measurement/reporting on the efficacy of their campaigns without having to perform the analysis themselves.
Some platforms provide this attribution information at no cost to advertisers. Some platforms require that all advertisers be approved to participate. See the articles in this section for more information.
Note
Not every destination that offers a Conversions API program uses the exact same terminology, and not all report the same metrics. Many include "events matched - unattributed" and "events matched - attributed" or something similar. See the "Understanding Typical Conversions Program Metrics" section below for more information.
Understanding Typical Conversions Program Metrics
The typical high-level Conversions API program process consists of these steps:
The advertiser uploads transaction data (usually tied to offline PII) to LiveRamp.
Depending on the program, LiveRamp either matches the input PII to the identifiers the end platform expects (identity matching), or hashes the input PII and passes it to the platform without matching it in the LiveRamp Identity Graph.
LiveRamp delivers transaction data tied to the appropriate ID for the integration to the platform.
The platform takes the transaction data and looks for where they can internally match that data to their users (“events matched - unattributed”).
The platform then takes the transaction data tied to matched devices and determines whether an ad on their platform was shown to or clicked by the matched user (i.e., tie an ad impression to an offline transaction)(“events matched - attributed”).
The platform either creates an attribute report that can be viewed in its UI or sends the report to the advertiser.
As you can see, there are many “hops” and overlaps that contribute to the end product of an attribution report, so let’s look at the different steps involved and how they affect match rates and metrics for events matched:
Steps 2 and 4 are where match rate loss can occur as not all users in the transaction data may be matched by LiveRamp or the platform.
Step 5 is where conversion rates are calculated, as the number of people shown an ad and then converted (“events matched - attributed”) can be compared to the total number of people shown an ad (whether they were converted or not, the “events matched - unattributed”).
LiveRamp Matches from Your Input Identifiers to the Platform’s Identifiers
This first part of the matching process is the portion LiveRamp performs. In most cases, the input data we receive from advertisers is in-store (offline) transaction data keyed off of PII.
Depending on the program, LiveRamp uses one of the following methods:
Identity matching: LiveRamp matches matches the PII to a platform-specific identifier or match the PII to a RampID in the LiveRamp Identity Graph.
PII passthrough: LiveRamp hashes the PII-based identifiers in your file and passes them directly to the platform without matching them in the LiveRamp Identity Graph.
Match loss can occur when LiveRamp cannot tie the input PII to a RampID in the LiveRamp Identity Graph and/or to the platform’s designated identifier. See the "Match Rates" help article for more information on match rates, why match rates vary, and ways to improve match rates.
The Platform Matches the Identifiers to Its Users
When the platform receives the identifiers from LiveRamp, the platform then links those identifiers to users they can recognize. The “events matched - unattributed” represents the number of users that the platform was able to recognize by the identifier LiveRamp sent (but doesn't say anything about whether the platform showed an ad to that user).
Using Facebook Offline Conversions, for example, the number of "events matched - unattributed" will represent the number of the advertiser’s customers that Facebook was able to link to their Facebook accounts.
Note
Not all platforms will show the number of "events matched - unattributed". For example, when LiveRamp uploads data to the Google Campaign Manager API, the API rejects any transaction event that Google can’t match to an exposure event of a user.
The Platform Determines Which Events Can Be Attributed
After matching the identifiers to its users, the platform then determines the number of events that can be tied to an advertisement shown on their platform (the “events matched - attributed”). This is the primary metric for attribution reports and represents successful advertising that resulted in a conversion. This will be the smallest of the percentages discussed here, likely by quite a bit.
If an attribution report shows a low percentage of "events matched - attributed" but the match rate and "events matched - unattributed" look good, this might be due to the efficacy of the advertising rather than an issue with matching.
Platform Comparison
Use the table below to compare LiveRamp's offline Conversions API programs:
Caution
The information listed below was current at the time of publication and represents LiveRamp's best understanding of each integration, including information provided by the platform. Use this as a general guide, and check with the platform to confirm any areas that are critical to your use case.
Note
To go to a platform-specific article with more detailed instructions, click the platform name link.
Item-level data refers to product details for each conversion (such as product ID, name, price, and quantity), which enable product-level reporting on the platform. To pass item-level data, include the product fields in your universal file and use a product array destination account.
For platforms without a destination account in Connect, LiveRamp configures delivery to the platform for you.
For platforms that are available in LiveRamp’s Online Conversions API program, you can also send real-time website or app events to those platforms. For more information, see "LiveRamp's Online Conversions API Connectors".
LiveRamp will continue to add platforms to this list over time.
Platform | Supported File Format | Matching Method | Supports Product Array/Item-Level Data | Destination Account in Connect | Online CAPI Program Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching | No | Yes | Yes | |
Platform-specific | Identity matching | No | No | No | |
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching | Yes | Yes | No | |
Platform-specific | PII passthrough | Yes | No | No | |
Platform-specific | PII passthrough | No | No | No | |
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching or PII passthrough | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Platform-specific | Identity matching | No | No | No | |
Platform-specific | Identity matching | No | No | No | |
Universal or platform-specific | Hashed PII passthrough | No | Yes | Yes | |
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Universal | Identity matching | No | Yes | Yes | |
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Platform-specific | Identity matching | No | No | No | |
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Universal or platform-specific | Identity matching | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
Platform-specific | Identity matching | No | No | No |
Platform-Specific Offline Sales Attribution Methodology
The table below shows the methodologies some platforms use with LiveRamp to attribute offline sales data.
Platform | Methodology | Data Modeled? | Lookback Window | How Credits Are Assigned | Deduplication | Revenue Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Search |
| Yes |
| Data-driven attribution: Identifies patterns within ad interactions that lead to conversions and assigns more credit to higher-impact interactions on the customer's path. |
| Attributed to the day of click (as long as the click/view event falls within the attribution window). |
Display |
| No |
| Last interaction model: Attributes 100% of the conversion to the last channel with which the customer interacted before buying or converting. |
| Attributed to the day of sale (as long as the click/view event falls within the attribution window). |
Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Social |
| No |
| Last interaction model: Attributes 100% of the conversion to the last channel with which the customer interacted before buying or converting. |
| Attributed to the day of sale (as long as the click/view event falls within the attribution window). |
Supported File Formats
You may upload your data using one or both of the following file formats:
Universal file format: A single file that works across multiple Conversions API programs. You configure the file once, then send the same file to every supported platform. The universal file format is required if you want to filter your event feed prior to distributing them to destination platforms. For more information, see "Using a Universal File for Multiple Conversions API Programs".
Platform-specific file format: A file formatted for one destination platform. LiveRamp configures delivery to the platform for you.
Changing the Format of an Existing File
Once you set up the file format for an existing conversions program feed, try to keep the file format (such as the column headers or the column order) the same for all subsequent files.
If you change the file format for an existing feed, create a support case with the information listed below before uploading the new file to ensure your existing Conversions API feeds are not impacted.
Case reason: Task
Product type: Offline Conversions API
Subject: File Changes for Existing Conversions Program(s)
Description:
File name:
Directory:
Current Conversions Programs:
Delivery date of new file: