In this guide
- Taboola adds a click ID to the landing URL (the exact parameter depends on your tracking template).
- Store it, then send the conversion with the click ID, event name and value from your server.
- Native traffic is mobile and in-app heavy, so server-side reporting often recovers more.
Taboola and similar native advertising platforms show ads in content feeds across publishers. A lot of that traffic arrives on phones, from in-app browsers, with fresh cookies and strict privacy settings. Browser pixels miss a share of the conversions that follow. Reporting from the server fixes part of that. This page describes the pattern with a Tag Manager server container. Taboola's parameters and endpoints can change, so rely on its documentation for exact details. For the same idea on another native platform see Outbrain.
The click ID
In your Taboola campaign, the tracking template lets you add a click ID macro to the URL, which Taboola fills in at click time. Capture it on the landing page and store it in a first-party cookie. Without it, Taboola cannot link the conversion to the click, except through weaker matching.
Check your tracking in one pass
This is an example. Run the check on your own site to see where yours stands.
What to send
| Data | Notes |
|---|---|
| Account or pixel ID | From your Taboola account |
| Click ID | The stored value |
| Conversion name | Matches the conversion you defined in Taboola, such as purchase or lead |
| Revenue and currency | For value-based optimisation |
| Order ID | For deduplication |
Steps
Define conversions in Taboola
Create the conversion events you want, such as purchase and lead.
Add the click ID macro to the tracking template
So every click carries it.
Store it on arrival
In a first-party cookie, from your tagging subdomain.
Pass it with the conversion event
In your data layer or CRM.
Send the conversion from the server
A tag or an HTTP request in the server container to the documented endpoint.
Deduplicate with the pixel
Share an ID if you keep both.
Raw events in. Clean events out.
Open Tracked collects each event on your own domain, removes the noise and sends what is left to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok.
Why native traffic benefits
- Many visits arrive in in-app browsers, where cookies can behave differently.
- Visitors often convert later, on another visit, so a stored ID matters.
- Platforms optimise on the conversions they see, so missing ones lower delivery quality.
Common problems
A realistic example
An online course seller runs Taboola campaigns to long articles. Readers browse on mobile, join the mailing list days later and buy a week after that. Taboola sees only some of the sign-ups and almost none of the purchases. The seller adds the click ID macro to its tracking template, stores it, and sends sign-ups and purchases from its server with the stored ID. Taboola's reporting shows more conversions, its optimisation has more to learn from, and the seller can finally judge the channel by cost per purchase instead of cost per click. As always, the numbers are compared with the seller's own data before budget moves.
Works with your stack
Grab a logo and throw it. These are the tools Open Tracked already talks to.
Frequently asked questions
How do I send Taboola conversions from the server?
Store the click ID on arrival and send the conversion with it from your server container, following Taboola's documentation.
Why use server-side tracking for native ads?
Much native traffic is mobile and in-app, where browser pixels miss conversions.
Do I still need the Taboola pixel?
Many advertisers keep both and share an ID.
What if the click ID is missing?
Taboola cannot match the conversion precisely. Fix the tracking template.
Can Open Tracked host the server container?
Yes, on any plan.
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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