Not every customer clicks an ad before they buy. Someone might see your ad for running shoes in the morning, then search for your store and make a purchase that evening — without ever clicking the ad. A view-through conversion connects that purchase back to the ad impression that influenced it.

AdButler's basic conversion tracking is click-based: it can only attribute a conversion to an ad the user actually clicked. View-through conversion tracking closes that gap. When AdButler serves your ad, it generates a unique, encrypted conversion key for that impression. You embed the key in your ad's markup using a macro, carry it through to your conversion page, and pass it back with the conversion tag. AdButler then records the conversion as view-attributed — no click, and no cookie, required.

Because the key travels with your ad content instead of relying on a browser cookie, view-through tracking also works in environments where cookie-based tracking struggles.

The macros

Two macros are available anywhere in your ad item content — native ad templates, template variables, custom HTML, tracking pixel URLs, and beacon URLs:

The key contains characters like +, /, and =, so use [CONVERSION_KEY_ENCODED] whenever the key appears inside a URL — for example in a query string. Use [CONVERSION_KEY] only when you need the raw value, such as in a JavaScript variable or data attribute.

Both macros are replaced at serve time — the moment your ad is delivered — so the key identifies the exact ad item, placement, and time of the impression.

Note: In the Destination URL field, these macros work as they always have: they are replaced when the user clicks, producing a click-attributed conversion key. That behavior is unchanged, so your existing click tracking keeps working exactly as before. Serve-time replacement applies everywhere else in your ad content.

How to set it up

1. Add the macro to your ad content.

For example, in a native ad template you might carry the key on your ad's link as a query parameter:

<div class="sponsored-product">
  <a href="https://www.example.com/product/[ITEM_SKU]?abck=[CONVERSION_KEY_ENCODED]">
    <img src="[IMAGE_URL]" alt="[HEADLINE]" />
    <h4>[HEADLINE]</h4>
  </a>
</div>

Or store it in a data attribute for your page's script to pick up:

<div class="ad-unit" data-conversion-key="[CONVERSION_KEY]">
  ...
</div>

2. Carry the key to your conversion page.

The key needs to survive the journey from the page where the ad appeared to the page where the conversion happens (your thank-you or confirmation page). Common approaches:

• Pass it along as a query parameter through your checkout or signup flow, as in the example above.
• Have your page's script read the key from the ad markup and store it (for example, in localStorage or a first-party cookie) until the visitor converts.

3. Fire the conversion tag with the key.

On your confirmation page, add the key to your conversion tag using the ck parameter:

<!-- [conversion] -->
<img src="https://servedbyadbutler.com/convtrack.spark?ID=123456&ck=YOUR_CONVERSION_KEY" width="1" height="1" border="0" />

If you stored the key with JavaScript, build the tag dynamically:

<script>
  var key = localStorage.getItem('abck');
  if (key) {
    var pixel = new Image(1, 1);
    pixel.src = 'https://servedbyadbutler.com/convtrack.spark?ID=123456&ck=' + encodeURIComponent(key);
  }
</script>

You can combine ck with the same optional parameters as basic conversion tracking — productID, transactionID, and conversionValue:

https://servedbyadbutler.com/convtrack.spark?ID=123456&ck=YOUR_CONVERSION_KEY&transactionID=001&conversionValue=99

Note: If the key was taken from [CONVERSION_KEY_ENCODED] and hasn't been decoded along the way, it is already URL-safe — don't encode it a second time.

How view-through conversions appear in your reports

On the Conversion Details page (Statistics → Conversion Details), every conversion now shows an Attribution column:

• Click — a conversion attributed to an ad the user clicked. These have a Click Date, exactly as before.
• View — a view-through conversion. These show no Click Date (no click ever happened) and are attributed to the time the ad was served.

The CSV export includes two matching columns, impression_date and attribution, and the Conversion Details report in the API returns attribution (CLICK or VIEW) and impression_date fields on every row.

Important: View-through conversions are listed in Conversion Details, but they are not included in the conversion counts or revenue totals on the statistics pages, which report click conversions only. This keeps your click-based performance metrics (and any CPA billing built on them) exactly as they were before view-through tracking existed.

Good to know

• One key per impression. Every time your ad is served, a fresh key is generated. A conversion reported with that key is attributed to that specific impression.
• Click tracking wins where both apply. If a user clicks your ad and converts, the click path records a click conversion just as it always has. View-through attribution only applies to keys generated at serve time.
• Post-impression tracking controls are respected. Ad items with post-impression tracking disabled will not record view-through conversions.
• Privacy rules apply. Like click conversions, view-through conversions are only recorded where tracking is permitted for that visitor — including regional consent requirements such as GDPR.
• Keys don't expire on our side, but a conversion is most meaningful when it happens within your typical consideration window. If you want to enforce your own attribution window, check the key's age before firing the tag — or simply let your reporting filter by impression date.

Have questions about setting up view-through tracking for your campaigns? Send us an email — we're happy to help.