Conversions API

Conversions API Gateway

The Conversions API Gateway is a self-serve configuration option in Events Manager. It enables businesses to integrate following best practices guidance and send events with the Meta Pixel and the Conversions API in a redundant set up, without dedicated developer resources, so no third-party partners or coding is necessary.

Additionally, the Conversions API Gateway offers incremental efficiencies, such as:

  1. Speed: Brings down the potential Conversions API integration time from weeks to hours.
  2. Cost: The Conversions API Gateway may incur a lower cost to clients due to lower technical resources or requirements. The only cost of the Conversions API Gateway are the associated Amazon Web Services fees.
  3. Low technical lift: Performance marketers with some technical expertise can set up and configure the Conversions API themselves with minimal support from their IT or developer teams.
  4. Low maintenance costs: Unlike manual direct integrations, the Conversions API Gateway will auto update (with client consent) whenever new features become available, reducing long-term maintenance costs.

The current version of Conversions API Gateway only supports Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The Conversions API Gateway integration is not intended to have any incremental performance benefits over other integration methods, other than the efficiencies listed above. However, by making integration faster, easier and more cost-effective, more clients will be able to take advantage of the Conversions API and its performance-enhancing potential in general.

Architecture

Conversions API Gateway is configured by self-provisioning a server instance in your cloud environment, which is used to send web events through a reliable server to server connection to Facebook.

Below is a high level diagram of the major components involved in Conversions API Gateway:


In this diagram:

  • Conversions API Gateway (CAPIG) serves Javascript clients and receives events from browsers. It is also responsible for processing the events and sending events to the Conversions API.
  • A Meta Pixel configured with CAPIG endpoint retrieves Javascript client from CAPIG, sends events to CAPIG by the Meta Pixel script and CAPIG script.
  • event_id deduplication key is automatically generated and propagated to help ensure deduplication between both channels.

Multi-Pixel and Multi-Domain Support for Meta Pixel

Conversions API Gateway supports multiple domains. For example, you can have multiple domains such as “domain.com” , “domain.co.uk”, “anotherdomain.com”. All of these domains could be configured within a single instance of Conversions API Gateway during deployment. Please review the setup guide for more details.

Conversions API Gateway supports multiple Meta Pixels. To configure this, your Meta Pixel should be under the same business account and have an existing Conversions API Gateway deployment for one of your Meta Pixels. Please review the setup guide for more details.

Conversions API Gateway Components

Conversions API Gateway requires a non-Facebook third-party managed cloud provider (for example, AWS) account to allow businesses to automatically deploy the underlying infrastructure without the need of a developer as well as to have a predictable cost.

The current version of Conversions API Gateway only supports Amazon Web Services (AWS) accounts.

Software Components

Meta Pixel

Facebook standard JavaScript library loaded on the advertiser’s website that allows business to share data about customer actions, referred to as Business Tools Data in the Facebook Business Tools Terms. For businesses which enable Conversions API Gateway, this JavaScript tag will:

  • Download and launch the Conversions API WebSocket client code used to communicate with the server
  • Every time the Meta Pixel is fired from the browser, the events will be forwarded to both Facebook and Conversions API Gateway through a secure connection (HTTPS or Websocket Secure)

Conversions API Gateway

Conversions API Gateway is a standalone Facebook software and a Kubernetes-based deployment hosted on an AWS EC2 instance. It is provisioned within an AWS account owned by the business, using AWS CloudFormation. It is composed of two main modules:

  • One middleware module in charge of receiving incoming events from browsers, transforming those browser events to Conversions API events, sending events to Facebook through the Conversions API connection
  • One admin portal (web UI) where businesses can administer, maintain and monitor their Conversions API Gateway server instance

Conversions API Gateway Admin UI

Conversions API Gateway provides a user interface with the product. You can access this UI from “https://<Conversions API Gateway Endpoint>/hub/capig” (i.e., the Conversions API Gateway endpoint that you have configured in DNS).

From this UI, you can see:

  • Connected Pixels: You can close and open connections for different Meta Pixels
  • Event Activity: You can see event volume received by Facebook from both channels, Pixel and Conversions API Gateway
  • Conversions API Success Rate: You can see the what is the percentage of events received from browser published to Facebook
  • Be notified of product updates and update the Conversions API Gateway software

Data Sharing

Through the Conversions API Gateway, businesses can share the same data that is shared when using the Meta Pixel, with an exception of the list below. Please reference the Facebook Business Solutions guide for more information.

The following data is not supported through Conversions API Gateway:

  • Customer actions configured using Event Setup Tool
  • Facebook third-party cookie

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