In this guide
- The Snapchat Conversions API (CAPI) is the server counterpart of the Snap Pixel. Use both.
- Deduplicate with
client_dedup_idshared between the pixel and the server event. - Pass the Snap click ID and hashed e-mail and phone to improve matching.
Snapchat's audience is young and mobile, and a lot of it arrives from inside the app. The Snap Pixel alone misses some conversions for the same reasons as other pixels: blockers, browser limits, in-app browsers. The Conversions API lets your server report them. This page covers the set-up with a Tag Manager server container. Many steps match TikTok server-side tracking and Meta's Conversions API.
What you need
- A Snapchat Ads Manager account with a pixel.
- A Conversions API token for that pixel.
- The Snapchat Conversions API tag in your server container.
- Event IDs and customer data from your site.
Brands that grow on cleaner data
Stores and agencies use Open Tracked to see which ads earn the sale.
Steps
Get the pixel ID and token
In Snapchat Events Manager, open your pixel and generate a Conversions API token.
Add the Snapchat tag to the server container
Install the Snapchat Conversions API template from the gallery and enter the pixel ID and token.
Map the events
Purchase, Add to cart, Start checkout, View content, Sign up.
Share the dedup ID
Send the same client_dedup_id from the pixel and the server.
Pass identifiers
The Snap click ID (from the landing URL), the _scid cookie, hashed e-mail and phone, IP and user agent.
Test
Use Snapchat's test events tool, then publish.
Identifiers that help matching
Click ID
The click ID Snapchat adds to ad links. Capture it on the landing page and keep it.
Browser cookie
The Snap pixel's cookie. Keep it alive from your server. Open Tracked's Cookie Keeper (every plan) can restore it.
Hashed e-mail and phone
The strongest signals for known customers. Use them only with consent.
IP and user agent
Plain values from the request. Visitor Location and Device Info add more context.
Ask Ari instead of digging through reports
Ari reads your tracking and ad data and answers in plain words.
Common problems
A practical note for Snapchat advertisers
Snapchat traffic is highly mobile and often arrives through the app's own browser, where cookies and storage behave differently from Safari or Chrome. That makes server-side data more valuable, because the browser can be the weakest link. Test your whole flow inside the app on a real phone: tap an ad, land on the site, add a product, complete a test order. Watch the events arrive in the test tool and check the click ID and cookie are present.
If events arrive without the click ID, the landing page may not be capturing it before the visitor navigates away. Capture it on the first page view and store it in a first-party cookie, then read it at the purchase. A server container can help here, because it can set a cookie from your own subdomain and give it back later. It is a small change that often lifts the match rate more than any other.
Terms you will see
- Snap Pixel
- Snapchat's browser script.
- Conversions API
- Snapchat's server endpoint for events.
- client_dedup_id
- The ID shared by pixel and server events so Snapchat counts them once.
- Click ID
- The identifier Snapchat adds to ad links.
- In-app browser
- The browser built into an app that opens links inside it.
When you have a stable set-up, check it again after every change to the checkout, the theme or the consent banner. Those three are the usual reasons for a sudden drop in Snapchat conversions. A quick test order once a week, with the event log open, costs five minutes and tells you whether the chain from ad click to server event is intact. Save the screenshots from the first successful test so you can compare later.
If you also advertise on TikTok and Meta, build one data layer and one set of event IDs for all three. The Snapchat tag then reads the same fields as the others and you only fix a problem once. This is the main practical reason to use a server container for several platforms: the work you put into clean events pays off on every destination, and adding the next platform is a matter of adding a tag, not rebuilding the data.
Raw events in. Clean events out.
Open Tracked collects each event on your own domain, removes the noise and sends what is left to Snapchat, Meta, Google Ads.
Frequently asked questions
Does Snapchat have a Conversions API?
Yes. It lets your server send conversion events to Snapchat, alongside the Snap Pixel.
How does Snapchat deduplicate events?
With a deduplication ID shared by the pixel and the server event.
Do I need the pixel as well?
Using both is the usual advice. The API recovers what the browser loses.
Can I send Snapchat events from Open Tracked?
Yes. The Snapchat tag runs in the server container that Open Tracked hosts.
Does consent apply?
Yes. Send personal data only where the visitor allows it.
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?
Comments
Loading comments...
Integrations · 4 min read
