In this guide
- Outbrain adds a click ID (commonly an
ob_click_idparameter) to landing URLs. - Store it, and send the conversion with the click ID, name and value from your server.
- Share an ID with the pixel if you keep it.
Outbrain is a native advertising platform that places content links across publishers. Like Taboola, much of its traffic is mobile and from in-app browsers, so a browser pixel misses part of the conversions that follow. A server-to-server report recovers some of that. This page shows the pattern for a Tag Manager server container. Check Outbrain's documentation for the current parameters and endpoints. See also Taboola and affiliate conversion tracking.
The click ID
Outbrain can add a click ID to your campaign URLs. Capture it when the visitor lands, and store it in a first-party cookie from your tagging subdomain. If the visitor converts on a later visit, the stored ID still ties the conversion to the click.
Runs on your domain, anywhere
Your tracking runs on your own domain, so a visit from any country is handled the same way.
What to send
| Data | Notes |
|---|---|
| Marketer or account ID | From your Outbrain account |
| Click ID | The stored value |
| Conversion name | As defined in Outbrain |
| Value and currency | For optimisation on value |
| Order or lead ID | For deduplication |
Steps
Define conversions in Outbrain
Create purchase and lead conversions.
Confirm the click ID parameter
In your campaign URL settings.
Store it on arrival
First-party cookie.
Send the conversion from the server
With the stored ID, in a tag or request in the server container.
Deduplicate with the pixel
Share an order or lead ID.
Test
Place a test conversion and check Outbrain's reporting.
Check your tracking in one pass
This is an example. Run the check on your own site to see where yours stands.
Consent and measurement
Respect consent for the cookie you set and the data you send. Compare Outbrain's reported conversions with your own orders. Native platforms often report different numbers because of different windows and view-through counting, so judge by profit in your own analytics. Open Tracked's analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit by channel on first-party data.
Common problems
A realistic example
A subscription business runs Outbrain campaigns to articles. Most readers arrive on phones, read, leave and sign up later, sometimes days later. The pixel-only set-up credits few sign-ups to Outbrain, so the campaigns look weak. The business stores the click ID in a first-party cookie, keeps it alive with Cookie Keeper and sends each sign-up from its server with the stored ID. Reported conversions rise, the campaigns learn from more signals and cost per sign-up becomes comparable to other channels. The business treats the new numbers as an estimate and checks them against its own sign-up data by source, which confirms most of the gain.
Write down the attribution rules you apply to native traffic before you launch: which window you trust, whether you count view-through conversions and how you will compare Outbrain with other channels. Native platforms often take credit for people who were going to buy anyway, and a clear rule keeps the conversation honest. Review the rule after a month of data and adjust. A simple, stable rule is better than a clever one that changes every week.
Watch events arrive, live
A sample feed. In Open Tracked you see the same stream for your own store.
Frequently asked questions
How do I track Outbrain conversions from my server?
Store the click ID on arrival and send the conversion with it from your server container, following Outbrain's documentation.
What is the Outbrain click ID?
A value Outbrain adds to landing URLs, commonly ob_click_id, used to match conversions to clicks.
Do I still need the pixel?
Many advertisers keep it and share an ID with the server event.
How do I avoid duplicates?
Use a unique order or lead ID in every source.
Why do numbers differ from my store?
Different attribution windows and view-through counting. Compare with your own data.
Do I need spreadsheets to read my results?
No. Once tracking is live, the Open Tracked analytics shows spend, revenue, ROAS and profit, and you can ask Ari, the built-in AI assistant, questions about your own numbers in plain words. Ari's allowance depends on your analytics plan.
Is Open Tracked different from Open Track or Open Space Track?
No. Open Tracked is the official name of our server-side tracking platform, and the website is opentracked.io. Many people search for it as Open Track, OpenTrack or Open Space Track. All of them lead to the same product: server-side Google Tag Manager hosting, first-party analytics and a CRM pipeline.
Fix your tracking at the source
Open Tracked hosts your server-side Tag Manager, keeps first-party cookies alive and shows what each ad is really worth.
The Open Tracked team
We build Open Tracked: server-side tracking hosting, analytics and the tools around them, for stores that spend on ads. Questions about this guide, or an idea for the next one?
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