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Bing Ads Conversion Tracking – The Guide

Last Modified on January 4, 2024

Hey there. You’ve probably just set up a Bing Ads account and are wondering what your next steps are. Bing Ads conversion tracking, of course! 

No PPC campaign is complete without conversion tracking to measure how many leads or purchases it generates. In this quick guide, you’ll learn how to find and install the Bing Universal Event Tag (or Bing UET tag for short) with Google Tag Manager.

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Setting up your ads is just one half of the picture when it comes to PPC. You might be asking yourself why it’s necessary to set up the Bing UET tag or what it does. The Bing UET tag is a piece of code that will allow you to track your conversions and remarket to your audience. Without it, you won’t be able to establish the value of your ads.

Without conversion tracking, you’d have no way to know how successful your ads are. What you deem as a conversion will vary based on outcomes you’d like your customers to take and what helps your business grow. You may be asking yourself, “What actions or events should I track?”

What you track will depend on what type of business you are advertising. For instance, you would track a purchase for an eCommerce store. Alternatively, you would track a form fill for a service-based company looking to generate leads. 

A conversion should be a valuable action. Other examples of common conversions are email signups, newsletter signups, and phone calls. Your conversion goals should align with your business goals like brand awareness, sales, or generating leads.

An overview of what we’ll cover:

So, let’s get started!

How to Setup Bing Ads Conversion Tracking

Getting started with Microsoft Ads conversion tracking is relatively straightforward. You’ll need to create a UET code, set up a conversion goal, and add the code to GTM. Start the process by signing into your Bing Ads account.

Generating the Conversion Tracking Code

To begin, click the Campaigns tab. Now, go to the left side of your screen and click Conversion Tracking

Screenshot showing how to navigate to the conversion tracking section

Next, click on the gray Get Started button.

Screenshot illustrating how to begin setting up the Bing UET tag

You will arrive on the UET tags page. If you do not, simply hit UET tags on the menu to the left of the main screen. Scroll down and click the Create UET tag

Screenshot of creating Microsoft Ads tracking code

Give your tag a name. You can also add a description to help identify the tag. If you have several tags, this may be helpful. Click Save when you’re finished.

Screenshot of Bing UET tag naming and generation

The View UET tag tracking code box will pop up. It has the UET Tag code you’ll need for the second step, adding tracking codes to GTM. Use the buttons at the bottom (Copy, Download, Email) to save the code for later.  Alternatively, can you just save the ID above the code box. Close the window by pressing the X in the upper-righthand corner to close the window.

Screenshot of Bing Ads tracking code box with copy, download, and email options

Creating a Bing Ads Tracking Conversion Goal

Once you’ve finished creating a UET tag and saved the code for later, the next step is to create a conversion goal. The Bing UET tag tracks the conversion goals, such as form fills.

To start creating goals, navigate to the left side of the screen, and click Conversion Tracking. Under Conversion Tracking, find and click Conversion goals

Screenshot showing how to begin creating a conversion goal

Click the Create conversion goal button.

Screenshot of button to click for conversion goal creation

Screenshot of button to click for conversion goal creation

A new screen will come up. In the box labeled Goal name, type in a goal name that describes your goal. The name you choose should make it easy to identify if you have several.

Screenshot showing goal naming

The next step is to select the type of conversion you want to track. There are several options, including duration, page viewed per visit, and destination page.  Choose the best fit, and click Next.

Screenshot pointing out conversion goal options

Conversion Goal Type: Destination URL

If you choose Destination URL, you will now put the URL in the box provided. You will also need to select a Scenario. The possible options are Equals to, Begins with, Contains, or Regular expression (RegEx).

Screenshot setting up destination URL goal

Conversion Goal Type: Duration

A duration goal is related to how long a user stays on your site. A conversion is counted when someone is on your website for the amount of time you designate. To set this up, figure out the amount of time you’d like a visitor to spend viewing your site.

Now add a time slightly less than this to the boxes under Duration. Microsoft Advertising sets the goal as anything greater than your number. This means why you’ll set the time to slightly less than your target.

For instance, if I wanted someone to spend 5 minutes on the site, I would create a goal of 4 minutes and 59 seconds.

Screenshot setting up a duration goal

Conversion Goal Type: Pages Viewed Per Visit

When you use this goal, you track when someone visits a certain number of pages. It’s also a greater than goal, so you’ll set it for 1 page less than you would like your goal to be. Place the number you choose in the box under Pages per visit.

Screenshot of pages per visit goal setup

Conversion Goal Type: Event

An event goal tracks when the user completes a specified action. These actions can be watching a video, signing up for a newsletter, downloading a PDF, or similar.  An event goal also requires some extra code that you can read more about in Bing’s help docs.

To set up your event goal, you’ll need to fill in the boxes for Category, Action, Label, and Value

Screenshot of custom event setup

Examples of categories are video, download, or sign up. Later, you’ll define these custom events in Google Tag Manager so the Custom Event tag can fire. The action is the activity you’d like the user to take, such as pressing play on a video.

An event label is the name of the element responsible for the event action. Last, the value is a number linked to the event, like video watch time.

Conversion Goal Type: Mobile App Install

You use this conversion goal to keep track of app installs. For this goal, you’ll need to select the App platform and add the App ID. If you like, you can assign a Revenue value. Otherwise, you’ll choose Don’t assign a value.

Screenshot of mobile app install goal setup

Conversion Goal Type: Offline Conversions

When you use an offline conversion goal, you’ll need to import your data. Start by setting up the goal settings as detailed below. Then, navigate to the left of your screen. Click Conversion Tracking.

Screenshot clicking on conversion tracking

Now find Offline conversions and click it. You can download the Excel or .csv template from Microsoft Advertising to format your upload. The acceptable formats for upload are .xlsx, .csv, and .tsv.

To upload offline conversions, you will need the following data Conversion Time, Conversion Name, and Microsoft Click ID (MSCLKID).

Screenshot selecting offline conversions

Once your file is ready to be uploaded, click the Browse button in the middle of the page.

Screenshot browsing for offline conversions file

A new window will come up. Find and select the correct file to upload. Once you’ve opened the file, click Import and preview

Screenshot importing offline conversions

Your data will be imported, and you’ll see the additions and errors. If you’re satisfied with the upload, click apply changes. Otherwise, click discard.

Settings for All Conversion Types

Some settings are universal to all conversion types. First, you will pick Scope. Your conversion goal can be applied to a specific account or across all accounts.

Screenshot of conversion goal settings

Revenue value is the next section. You can give the same value to all conversions or tell the platform it will not always be the same. You’ll have to determine a value for conversions that aren’t assigned a value through tracking. You’ll need to customize your UET tag to report this revenue correctly.

If you prefer, a value doesn’t need to be assigned. Tick the radio button next to Don’t assign a value to move on without a monetary value.

Count is how your conversions will be counted. The options are all or unique. Unique is best for lead gen campaigns, and All aligns with eCommerce campaign goals.

Conversion Window is the period of time after interacting with your ad during which completing your goal action will be considered a conversion. For instance, if I sign up for your newsletter 10 days after clicking your ad, and your window is 10 days or more, it will be counted as a conversion. The window can be any number up to 90 days.

View-through Conversion window is a little bit different than the Conversion Window. In a view-through conversion, the user doesn’t need to click the ad. Instead, a conversion happens when an impression is recorded, and then that person completes the goal action. This window can be up to 30 days.

Include in “Conversions, check this box if you want to see the conversions in the data table. Not checking the box means your conversions will not appear in the conversion column, and it will affect bid strategies that use conversions in their optimization processes.

The last box, UET tag, is where you will select the correct UET tag.  Beneath this is another box containing extra code. It’s a code that will allow you to track your custom events, but you won’t have to worry about this for goals like duration or destination URL goals.

Adding the Code to Google Tag Manager

The next step is to add your Bing UET tag to Google Tag Manager. Start by opening the correct account. Then navigate to Tags on the left side of your screen and click the New button.

Screenshot creating new tag

Setting Up the Bing Ads Tag

First, name your tag so that you can easily identify it later. Then, click the pencil in the Tag Configuration box. 

Screenshot tag configuration

Scroll down to find Bing Ads Universal Event Tracking or use the search box at the top.

Screenshot choosing Bing Ads Universal Event Tracking template

Now, you’ll have a few boxes to fill in. Add your Bing Ads UET Tag ID to the first box. This ID is in the UET code we saved earlier. An alternative is to go back to your Bing account and hit View tag under Conversion Tracking  → UET tags and copy the number labeled ID above the code box. 

In Google Tag Manager, the next box is UETQ Variable ID. You can leave that with the prepopulated uetq

Screenshot Bing GTM tag configuration

Find the box called Triggering and click the pencil. 

Screenshot adding triggering to the Bing Ads GTM tag

Select All Pages

Screenshot selecting all pages trigger

Name your tag and click the blue Save button at the top right.

Screenshot of naming and saving the Google Tag Manager tag

At this point, you can opt to publish your tag, or move on to creating the Custom Event tag. Select the New button again to create another tag. Click into Tag Configuration, and find the Bing Ads Universal Event Tracking template. 

Fill in the Bing Ads UET Tag ID as you did in the previous step and leave the prepopulated UETQ Variable ID in the box. You will only need to enter a specific variable when you have more than one UET tag. Now find Event Type and hit the dropdown arrow. Select Custom.

Screenshot of Tag Configuration for Custom Event

Custom Event Tag

For custom events, you’ll now add the Event Parameters. Start with Goal Value. Leave this blank. You’ll only use this for variable revenue schemes. Category is next. Set up a variable for by clicking the building block next to the box. 

Screenshot showing goal value and category portions of custom event

A new window will pop up. Click the blue + in the top right to create a new variable. 

Screenshot of creating a new page variable

Click the pencil and find the heading Page Variables. Select Javascript Variable

Screenshot choosing JavaScript Variable

Add the name varEventCategory in the Global Variable Name box. Name this variable the category you used in Bing, such as “download.”  Go to  the top left and press save. 

Screenshot creating JavaScript Variable

Under Action, create a new JavaScript Variable as you did previously. Use the name varEventAction and name the variable the action you designated in Microsoft Ads. You will use the same process to set up the Label and Value variables, but it’s not required. Taking the extra step will assist Microsoft Advertising to match data better. 

Setting Up Conversion Event Triggers

Click the Triggering box and hit the blue + to create a new trigger. 

Screenshot generating a new trigger

Click on the pencil for Trigger Configuration. Under the heading, Choose trigger typeOtherCustom Event. Add your Event Name, which will be the name of the Event Category

Screenshot selecting Custom Event

This trigger fires on should be set to Some Events. The conditions for your trigger should be Event, Contains; then the event should be added to the last box. 

Screenshot configuring Trigger

The event is part of the code on your website. These are Data Layer events that correspond with your particular event action. For instance, you will take the code from a form submission. When we inspect the code below, we see <button type=”submit” class=””> and would use “submit” for our event. Name your event. For example, “Submit” for a newsletter subscription. Name your trigger and press save. Save your tag, and click the blue Submit button at the top right to publish your code. 

Screenshot naming Trigger

Phew, that was a lot of steps, but now you’ll be able to accurately track your conversions. Note, this is an event trigger but depending on what you’re tracking, you may want to use a click trigger instead.

Testing Your Bing Ads Tracking

You’ve added your Bing UET code to Google Tag Manager and created a tag for custom events. It’s time to test your tag to make sure it fires. You can use the preview mode in Google Tag Manager or the Bing UET Tag Helper. 

Check Bing UET Tag Firing with Google Tag Manager Preview Mode 

Let’s start by using the Preview button located on your Workspace tab. Once you press preview, navigate to your page. Complete the event action. Check for the Bing UET tag under Tags Fired. If you see it there, you know you’ve installed the UET tag correctly.

To check your custom event, you will complete the action and look for the tag to fire the way your UET tag did. Note, if you are pressing a button, you will need to ⌘+click (Mac) or Ctrl+click (PC) to keep from navigating away from the page and not being able to see the tag fire.

Screenshot of Google Tag Manager preview with Bing UET Event firing

Check Your Bing Ads Tracking with Bing UET Tag Helper

Another way to find out if your tags fire is to use the Bing UET Tag Helper. To get the Helper, go to the Chrome Web Store and add it to your Chrome browser.  Then, navigate to the page and click your browser extensions and turn on the Bing UET Tag Helper. Use the extension to see if your UET tag is firing.

Next, complete your custom event action and check to see if it registers with the Bing UET Helper. If you see it, testing is complete! 

Screenshot Bing UET Helper with Custom Event fire

FAQ

How do I test my Bing Ads tracking?

You can test your Bing Ads tracking by using the preview mode in Google Tag Manager or the Bing UET Tag Helper. In the preview mode, complete the desired event action and check if the Bing UET tag and custom event tags fire correctly. The Bing UET Tag Helper is another tool that helps verify if your tags are firing as expected.

What actions or events should I track for conversions?

The actions or events you should track depend on the type of business you are advertising. Examples include purchases for an eCommerce store, form fills for service-based companies, email signups, newsletter signups, and phone calls. Your conversion goals should align with your business objectives.

What is the significance of tracking conversions?

Tracking conversions allows you to assess the success of your ads and measure their impact on your business goals. It provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns and helps optimize your advertising strategy.

Summary

We’ve walked you through the steps of setting up Bing Ads tracking and adding it to your website with Google Tag Manager.

You can now successfully measure your Microsoft Advertising conversions. Want to learn more about GTM? Take our course GTM Beyond the Basics!

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Matteo
Matteo
3 years ago

Hi Julian,
thank you for the guide, it’s really clear and useful 🙂
I have a question about the Custom Event Tag in GTM. Why did you suggest to create a Custom Javascript Variable? If we’re passing a static value for Category and Action, wouldn’t it be easier to use a Constant string variable or just type in the value?
Thanks,

Nishma Maskey
Nishma Maskey
2 years ago

Scroll down to find Bing Ads Universal Event Tracking or use the search box at the top.
Is there a reason why I do not see “Bing Ads Universal Event Tracking” option in my Google Tag Manager?

Bryn Thompson
Bryn Thompson
2 years ago
Reply to  Nishma Maskey

It has been renamed to
Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking

AndrewKS
AndrewKS
2 years ago

Are you going to update your instructions for ‘Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking’ at some point? The configuration process/options look a little different now. Anyhow, thanks for providing these resources. Very helpful stuff!

Last edited 2 years ago by AndrewKS
Colin
Colin
2 years ago

Hi Julian. One interesting thing I’ve noticed is that the Bing Ads Universal Event Tracking tag no longer exists inside of Google Tag Manager.

Do you know when that was removed?

Bram
Bram
2 years ago

Hi Julian,

Thanks for the great tutorial once again! Question. Usually we use DataLayer variables to retrieve revenue. We noticed when adding a DLV with the revenue once the tag is fired the revenue is “undifined”. Does the Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking only support Javascript variables? Which wouldn’t make sense because from an ecommerce perspective datalayer variabels are preferred.

Sultan
Sultan
2 months ago

Hi Julian!
How to setup server side tracking for Bing ads conversion with google tag manager? could you please tell me the process? thank you.

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