Tracking Website Sales in Facebook via Google Tag Manager
Table of Contents
- Deploy Facebook default pixel code on your website via Google Tag Manager
- Add data layer on the ‘order confirmation’ page which push sales data from your shopping cart
- Pull sales data from the data layer via a data layer variable
- Send ‘Purchase’ Facebook event to Facebook along with the sales data
- Test the Facebook pixels
- Add the purchase columns to your Facebook report
In this article I will show you, how to track the sales generated on your website by Facebook users in Facebook via Google Tag Manager
Following is the process in a nutshell:
Step-1: Deploy Facebook default pixel code on your website via GTM
Step-2: Add data layer on the order confirmation page which pull sales data from your shopping cart.
Step-3: Pull sales data from the data layer via a data layer variable.
Step-4: Send ‘Purchase’ Facebook event to Facebook along with the sales data.
Step-5: Test the Facebook pixels
Step-6: Add the purchase columns to your Facebook report.
Step #1: Deploy Facebook default pixel code on your website via Google Tag Manager
I have explained this step in great detail in this article: Learn to set up Facebook Tracking via Google Tag Manager
Step #2: Add data layer on the ‘order confirmation’ page which push sales data from your shopping cart
If you are already using a data layer to measure product purchase via enhanced ecommerce tracking then this step is optional.
Otherwise add the following data layer code in the head section (<head>…</head>) of your ‘order confirmation’ page, above the GTM container code:
<script type=”text/javascript”>
dataLayer = [{
‘revenue’: 24.35
}];
</script>
Ask your developer to pull the sales data from your shopping cart on page load.
He is going to add some server side script to the data layer in order to complete this task.
Get the E-Book (62 Pages)
Step #3: Pull sales data from the data layer via a data layer variable
Create a new data layer variable in GTM and name it ‘Product Revenue’.
Use following similar configuration:
This data layer variable is meant to pull sales data from your order confirmation page.
Note: The data layer variable name used in your data layer may be something other than ‘revenue’. If that is the case then use that data layer variable name.
Step #4: Send ‘Purchase’ Facebook event to Facebook along with the sales data
#1 Create a new custom HTML tag in GTM and name it ‘Sending Website Sales generated by Facebook users to Facebook’.
#2 Add following code in the HTML text box:
<script>
fbq(‘track’, ‘Purchase’, {
value: {{Product Revenue}},
currency: ‘USD’
});
</script>
The whole set up may look like the one below:
#3 Click on ‘Advance Settings’ and then click on ‘Tag Sequencing’:
#4 Select the checkbox named ‘Fire a tag before Sending Website Sales generated by Facebook users to Facebook fires’ and then select ‘Facebook default pixel code’ in the ‘Setup Tag’:
Here ‘Facebook default pixel code’ is the tag I created to fire Facebook pixel code via GTM.
You can find more details about creating this tag from this article ‘Learn to set up Facebook default pixel code via Google Tag Manager’
Through ‘tag sequencing’ feature of GTM, I am making sure that the Facebook ‘Purchase’ event is fired after the Facebook default pixel code has fired.
If you try to fire the Facebook ‘Purchase’ event before the Facebook default pixel code is fired then the event will not be triggered.
#5 Select the checkbox ‘Don’t fire Sending Website Sales generated by Facebook users to Facebook if Facebook default pixel code fails’.
The whole set up may look like the one below:
#6 Fire this tag only on the order confirmation page:
#7 Test whether this tag fire on the order confirmation page. If it does then publish the container.
Step #5: Test the Facebook pixels
Navigate to the ‘order confirmation’ page and then with the help of the ‘Facebook Pixel Helper chrome extension’ test whether or not the ‘Facebook default pixels’ and ‘Purchase pixels’ are firing and what sales value is being sent to Facebook:
Note: If the ‘Facebook default pixels’ and/or ‘purchase pixels’ are not firing on the ‘order confirmation page’ then the sales data won’t pass to Facebook.
Step #6: Add the purchase columns to your Facebook report
#1 Navigate to your Facebook Adverts Manager page, click on the ‘Performance’ drop down menu and then select ‘Customise Columns’:
#2 Type ‘Purchase’ in the search box and then select the following three check boxes:
- Purchase (Facebook Pixels)
- Cost Per Purchase (Facebook Pixels)
- Purchase Conversion Value (Facebook Pixels)
Here,
Purchase (Facebook Pixels) => number of purchases
Cost Per Purchase (Facebook Pixels) => average cost of each purchase
Purchase Conversion Value (Facebook Pixels) => the total value of purchase
Related Articles
- Facebook Attribution and Conversion Windows Guide
- How to calculate the ROI of your Facebook Marketing Campaigns
- How to set up the Facebook Attribution Tool
- How to Setup Funnels in Facebook Ads Manager
- How to use funnels for your Facebook Ad Campaigns
- How to advertise on Facebook for FREE with unlimited budget
- Secret to Setup Facebook Pixel Tracking Correctly in Google Tag Manager
- Why Facebook and Google Analytics data do not match
- Learn to correctly track Facebook Referral traffic in Google Analytics
- Learn to set up Facebook Pixel Tracking via Google Tag Manager
- Understanding Facebook Referral traffic in Google Analytics
- Open Graph Protocol for Facebook Explained with Examples
- Tracking Facebook ‘Likes’ and ‘Unlikes’ in Google Analytics
- Complete Guide to Google Analytics for Facebook
- Introduction to Attribution Models in Facebook
What is the difference between Digital Analytics and Google Analytics?
99.99% of course creators themselves don’t know the difference between Digital analytics, Google Analytics (GA) and Google Tag Manager (GTM).
So they are teaching GA and GTM in the name of teaching Digital analytics.
They just copy each other. Monkey see, monkey do.
But Digital analytics is not about GA, GTM.
It is about analyzing and interpreting data, setting up goals, strategies and KPIs.
It’s about creating strategic roadmap for your business.
Digital Analytics is the core skill. Google Analytics is just a tool used to implement ‘Digital Analytics’.
You can also implement ‘Digital analytics’ via other tools like ‘adobe analytics’, ‘kissmetrics’ etc.
Using Google Analytics without the good understanding of ‘Digital analytics’ is like driving around in a car, in a big city without understanding the traffic rules and road signs.
You are either likely to end up somewhere other than your destination or you get involved in an accident.
You learn data analysis and interpretation from Digital analytics and not from Google Analytics.
The direction in which your analysis will move, will determine the direction in which your marketing campaigns and eventually your company will move to get the highest possible return on investment.
You get that direction from ‘Digital analytics’ and not from ‘Google Analytics’.
You learn to set up KPIs, strategies and measurement framework for your business from ‘Digital analytics’ and not from ‘Google Analytics’.
So if you are taking a course only on 'Digital Analytics’, you are learning to use one of the tools of ‘Digital analytics’. You are not learning the ‘Digital analytics’ itself.
Since any person can learn to use Google Analytics in couple of weeks, you do no get any competitive advantage in the marketplace just by knowing GA.
You need to know lot more than GA in order to work in digital analytics and marketing field.
So what I have done, if you are interested, is I have put together a completely free training that will teach you exactly how I have been able to leverage digital analytics to generate floods of news sales and customers and how you can literally copy what I have done to get similar results.
You can sign up for the free training here: https://learn.optimizesmart.
I truly hope you find it helpful.
My best selling books on Digital Analytics and Conversion Optimization
Maths and Stats for Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization
This expert guide will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of maths and statistics in order to accurately interpret data and take actions, which can quickly improve the bottom-line of your online business.
Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
Himanshu Sharma
Digital Marketing Consultant and Founder of Optimizesmart.com
Table of Contents
- Deploy Facebook default pixel code on your website via Google Tag Manager
- Add data layer on the ‘order confirmation’ page which push sales data from your shopping cart
- Pull sales data from the data layer via a data layer variable
- Send ‘Purchase’ Facebook event to Facebook along with the sales data
- Test the Facebook pixels
- Add the purchase columns to your Facebook report
In this article I will show you, how to track the sales generated on your website by Facebook users in Facebook via Google Tag Manager
Following is the process in a nutshell:
Step-1: Deploy Facebook default pixel code on your website via GTM
Step-2: Add data layer on the order confirmation page which pull sales data from your shopping cart.
Step-3: Pull sales data from the data layer via a data layer variable.
Step-4: Send ‘Purchase’ Facebook event to Facebook along with the sales data.
Step-5: Test the Facebook pixels
Step-6: Add the purchase columns to your Facebook report.
Step #1: Deploy Facebook default pixel code on your website via Google Tag Manager
I have explained this step in great detail in this article: Learn to set up Facebook Tracking via Google Tag Manager
Step #2: Add data layer on the ‘order confirmation’ page which push sales data from your shopping cart
If you are already using a data layer to measure product purchase via enhanced ecommerce tracking then this step is optional.
Otherwise add the following data layer code in the head section (<head>…</head>) of your ‘order confirmation’ page, above the GTM container code:
<script type=”text/javascript”>
dataLayer = [{
‘revenue’: 24.35
}];
</script>
Ask your developer to pull the sales data from your shopping cart on page load.
He is going to add some server side script to the data layer in order to complete this task.
Get the E-Book (62 Pages)
Step #3: Pull sales data from the data layer via a data layer variable
Create a new data layer variable in GTM and name it ‘Product Revenue’.
Use following similar configuration:
This data layer variable is meant to pull sales data from your order confirmation page.
Note: The data layer variable name used in your data layer may be something other than ‘revenue’. If that is the case then use that data layer variable name.
Step #4: Send ‘Purchase’ Facebook event to Facebook along with the sales data
#1 Create a new custom HTML tag in GTM and name it ‘Sending Website Sales generated by Facebook users to Facebook’.
#2 Add following code in the HTML text box:
<script>
fbq(‘track’, ‘Purchase’, {
value: {{Product Revenue}},
currency: ‘USD’
});
</script>
The whole set up may look like the one below:
#3 Click on ‘Advance Settings’ and then click on ‘Tag Sequencing’:
#4 Select the checkbox named ‘Fire a tag before Sending Website Sales generated by Facebook users to Facebook fires’ and then select ‘Facebook default pixel code’ in the ‘Setup Tag’:
Here ‘Facebook default pixel code’ is the tag I created to fire Facebook pixel code via GTM.
You can find more details about creating this tag from this article ‘Learn to set up Facebook default pixel code via Google Tag Manager’
Through ‘tag sequencing’ feature of GTM, I am making sure that the Facebook ‘Purchase’ event is fired after the Facebook default pixel code has fired.
If you try to fire the Facebook ‘Purchase’ event before the Facebook default pixel code is fired then the event will not be triggered.
#5 Select the checkbox ‘Don’t fire Sending Website Sales generated by Facebook users to Facebook if Facebook default pixel code fails’.
The whole set up may look like the one below:
#6 Fire this tag only on the order confirmation page:
#7 Test whether this tag fire on the order confirmation page. If it does then publish the container.
Step #5: Test the Facebook pixels
Navigate to the ‘order confirmation’ page and then with the help of the ‘Facebook Pixel Helper chrome extension’ test whether or not the ‘Facebook default pixels’ and ‘Purchase pixels’ are firing and what sales value is being sent to Facebook:
Note: If the ‘Facebook default pixels’ and/or ‘purchase pixels’ are not firing on the ‘order confirmation page’ then the sales data won’t pass to Facebook.
Step #6: Add the purchase columns to your Facebook report
#1 Navigate to your Facebook Adverts Manager page, click on the ‘Performance’ drop down menu and then select ‘Customise Columns’:
#2 Type ‘Purchase’ in the search box and then select the following three check boxes:
- Purchase (Facebook Pixels)
- Cost Per Purchase (Facebook Pixels)
- Purchase Conversion Value (Facebook Pixels)
Here,
Purchase (Facebook Pixels) => number of purchases
Cost Per Purchase (Facebook Pixels) => average cost of each purchase
Purchase Conversion Value (Facebook Pixels) => the total value of purchase
Related Articles
- Facebook Attribution and Conversion Windows Guide
- How to calculate the ROI of your Facebook Marketing Campaigns
- How to set up the Facebook Attribution Tool
- How to Setup Funnels in Facebook Ads Manager
- How to use funnels for your Facebook Ad Campaigns
- How to advertise on Facebook for FREE with unlimited budget
- Secret to Setup Facebook Pixel Tracking Correctly in Google Tag Manager
- Why Facebook and Google Analytics data do not match
- Learn to correctly track Facebook Referral traffic in Google Analytics
- Learn to set up Facebook Pixel Tracking via Google Tag Manager
- Understanding Facebook Referral traffic in Google Analytics
- Open Graph Protocol for Facebook Explained with Examples
- Tracking Facebook ‘Likes’ and ‘Unlikes’ in Google Analytics
- Complete Guide to Google Analytics for Facebook
- Introduction to Attribution Models in Facebook
What is the difference between Digital Analytics and Google Analytics?
99.99% of course creators themselves don’t know the difference between Digital analytics, Google Analytics (GA) and Google Tag Manager (GTM).
So they are teaching GA and GTM in the name of teaching Digital analytics.
They just copy each other. Monkey see, monkey do.
But Digital analytics is not about GA, GTM.
It is about analyzing and interpreting data, setting up goals, strategies and KPIs.
It’s about creating strategic roadmap for your business.
Digital Analytics is the core skill. Google Analytics is just a tool used to implement ‘Digital Analytics’.
You can also implement ‘Digital analytics’ via other tools like ‘adobe analytics’, ‘kissmetrics’ etc.
Using Google Analytics without the good understanding of ‘Digital analytics’ is like driving around in a car, in a big city without understanding the traffic rules and road signs.
You are either likely to end up somewhere other than your destination or you get involved in an accident.
You learn data analysis and interpretation from Digital analytics and not from Google Analytics.
The direction in which your analysis will move, will determine the direction in which your marketing campaigns and eventually your company will move to get the highest possible return on investment.
You get that direction from ‘Digital analytics’ and not from ‘Google Analytics’.
You learn to set up KPIs, strategies and measurement framework for your business from ‘Digital analytics’ and not from ‘Google Analytics’.
So if you are taking a course only on 'Digital Analytics’, you are learning to use one of the tools of ‘Digital analytics’. You are not learning the ‘Digital analytics’ itself.
Since any person can learn to use Google Analytics in couple of weeks, you do no get any competitive advantage in the marketplace just by knowing GA.
You need to know lot more than GA in order to work in digital analytics and marketing field.
So what I have done, if you are interested, is I have put together a completely free training that will teach you exactly how I have been able to leverage digital analytics to generate floods of news sales and customers and how you can literally copy what I have done to get similar results.
You can sign up for the free training here: https://learn.optimizesmart.
I truly hope you find it helpful.
My best selling books on Digital Analytics and Conversion Optimization
Maths and Stats for Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization
This expert guide will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of maths and statistics in order to accurately interpret data and take actions, which can quickly improve the bottom-line of your online business.
Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
Himanshu Sharma
Digital Marketing Consultant and Founder of Optimizesmart.com