Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) Offline Conversions

Overview

Microsoft Advertising supports two separate types of conversion events: offline conversions and web conversions. These conversion types cannot be used interchangeably: you cannot use the offline conversion API to record web conversion events, and vice versa.

The Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) Offline Conversions destination (this page) enables you to track offline conversion events through a HIPAA-compliant, server-to-server Conversion API.

Note: If you need to track web conversion events, use the Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) for Web destination instead.

Choosing the Right Destination

The destination you choose depends on the type of conversion events you're trying to send data for:

• Use Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) Offline Conversions (this destination) when:

  • You need to track offline conversion events in Microsoft Advertising
  • You have access to authenticate with the Microsoft Advertising account
  • Your conversion events are configured as "offline" type in Microsoft Advertising

• Use Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) for Web when:

  • You need to track web conversion events in Microsoft Advertising
  • You only have conversion IDs and don't have access to authenticate with the Microsoft Advertising account
  • Your conversion events are configured as "web" type in Microsoft Advertising

Microsoft Advertising Features

The Ours Privacy Microsoft Advertising Offline Conversions feature enables you to track offline conversions and other key events through a HIPAA-compliant, server-to-server Conversion API, ensuring that sensitive client data remains private. By routing all events through our servers, Ours Privacy prevents Microsoft from directly accessing clients' browsers, IP addresses, or other PII and PHI.

Ours Privacy automatically captures Microsoft click ids from the URL query string and saves them for dispatching future events.

This setup gives you the ability to optimize your Microsoft Advertising campaigns with accurate, privacy-safe data for offline conversion events, while remaining compliant with strict healthcare and privacy regulations. With Ours Privacy, you can confidently use Microsoft Advertising without compromising on data protection or client confidentiality.

Configuring Microsoft Advertising

To add a destination, open Destinations in your Ours Privacy dashboard. Click the Add destination button and select Bing Ads.

Authenticate with Microsoft

1. Click the Authenticate with Bing Button
2. Select the Ad account you are looking to integrate with

Tracking Events

To start tracking events in Microsoft Advertising through Ours Privacy, you'll first need to create and allowed events you want to track. Common events include conversions such as form submissions, sign-ups, and purchases. After you enable a few allowed events and potentially rename them, you can click the "Sync" button to sync them with Microsoft Advertising.

If you wish to create the events in Microsoft Advertising yourself, you should create them before clicking the Sync button.

Note: Microsoft requires a 2-hour delay after an offline conversion event is created in the system before it will start tracking instances of that event. This delay requirement is specific to offline conversion events. Plan ahead when setting up new events to ensure they are configured and added to your allowed event list at least 2 hours before you need them to start registering in Microsoft Advertising.

Visitor Properties

Visitor properties cannot be sent to Microsoft Advertising at this time.

The Ours Privacy Web SDK automatically captures Microsoft Click IDs (msclkid) and sends a server-side conversion to Microsoft Advertising for any allowed event performed by a visitor with an msclkid. This setup allows you to control which PHI and PII is shared with the third-party ad vendor, enabling a more privacy-focused use of Microsoft Advertising. This approach is especially useful for organizations that need to comply with HIPAA.

When It Dispatches

Our Microsoft Advertising integration dispatches events automatically when the required data properties are present. Specifically:

1. Necessary Properties: An event will be dispatched if the destination includes valid authentication data, a Microsoft Advertising Account ID, and an authenticated Microsoft Advertising User ID. Additionally, the visitor must have an msclkid (Microsoft Click ID) for the event to be processed by Microsoft Advertising.

2. Event Type: Dispatch occurs for all configured event types, with the event details (e.g., currency and value) sent in a format compatible with the Microsoft Advertising offline conversion tracking API. This destination only sends data to offline conversion events: it cannot be used to track web conversion events.

3. Automatic Retry: If the system encounters a retryable error (e.g., a temporary network or API issue), it will automatically attempt to re-dispatch the event. Non-retryable errors, such as missing or invalid configuration details, will prevent further retries.

This setup ensures that events are only dispatched to Microsoft Advertising when the required configuration and visitor data are available, enabling effective tracking of offline conversions. For web conversion events, use the Microsoft Advertising (Bing Ads) for Web destination instead.