In the crowded marketplace of digital advertising, tracking user interactions is essential for optimizing marketing efforts and improving ROAS. One of the key components of this process is acquisition event tracking, which helps brands understand how customers engage with their website before making a purchase or completing a desired action.
Acquisition events refer to specific user actions that indicate interest in a product or service, such as page views, add-to-cart actions, sign-ups, or purchases. By capturing these events and sending them to platforms like Meta and Google Ads, brands can analyze user behavior, refine their targeting strategies, and enhance ad performance.
Effective event tracking enables marketers to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns, allocate budgets more efficiently, and create personalized retargeting strategies. Without proper tracking, brands risk losing valuable data that could otherwise be used to drive higher conversions and revenue.
In this guide, we will explore how to set up and send acquisition events from Shopify to Meta and Google Ads, ensuring accurate tracking and data-driven decision-making.
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What Are Acquisition Events
Acquisition events refer to key user interactions that indicate interest, engagement, or intent to convert on a website. These events help brands track how target customers interact with their site, allowing them to measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. Common acquisition events include:
- Page Views – Tracking users who visit specific pages, such as product pages or landing pages.
- Add to Cart – Monitoring when users add a product to their shopping cart.
- Initiate Checkout – Identifying users who start the checkout process but may not complete it.
- Sign-ups – Tracking registrations for newsletters, free trials, or account creations.
- Purchases – Recording completed transactions as a key conversion event.
By capturing these actions, brands gain valuable insights into customer behavior, enabling them to refine their marketing strategies for better engagement and conversion rates.
How Acquisition Events Help Measure Marketing Success
In the field of digital marketing, acquisition events serve as crucial indicators of a campaign’s effectiveness. These events track key user actions, such as website sign-ups, app downloads, purchases, or form submissions, that signify a conversion or engagement. By monitoring acquisition events, marketers can assess how well their strategies are attracting and converting potential customers, thereby enabling data-driven decision-making to optimize campaigns and maximize ROI.
One of the most significant benefits of tracking acquisition events is the ability to evaluate the performance of different marketing channels. Whether through paid advertisements, organic search, social media, or email campaigns, understanding which channels drive the most valuable acquisitions allows marketers to allocate their budget effectively. For instance, if Google Ads generates higher sign-ups compared to Facebook Ads, resources can be shifted accordingly to enhance performance. Additionally, acquisition event data helps in identifying customer behavior patterns, such as peak engagement times or preferred devices, which can be leveraged to create more personalized and targeted marketing efforts.
Furthermore, acquisition events help brands gauge the efficiency of their sales funnel. By tracking key touchpoints like first-time visits, cart additions, or subscription activations, marketers can pinpoint potential drop-off areas and implement strategies to improve conversion rates. For instance, if many users abandon their cart before checkout, marketers may consider offering incentives like discounts or simplifying the checkout process to reduce friction. This optimization directly contributes to higher customer retention and revenue growth.
Meta vs Google Ads Acquisition Tracking
Both Meta and Google Ads help brands track user acquisition, but they differ in tracking methods, attribution models, and data collection approaches. Here’s a comparison:
| Feature | Meta Acquisition Tracking | Google Ads Acquisition Tracking |
| Tracking Method | Uses the Meta Pixel and Conversion API (CAPI) to track user actions . | Uses Google Ads conversion tracking and GA4 to track users. |
| Data Collection | Primarily relies on browser-based tracking (Pixel) and server-side tracking (CAPI) to capture user interactions. | Uses cookies, Google Click ID (GCLID), and GA4 event tracking for acquisition tracking. |
| Attribution Model | Uses a 7-day click and 1-day view attribution window (default), with options for last-click, linear, and other models. | Supports last-click, data-driven, first-click, linear, time decay, and position-based attribution models for more flexibility. |
| User Journey Coverage | Focuses on tracking social media-driven acquisitions, emphasizing engagement before conversion. | Covers the entire Google ecosystem, tracking acquisitions across search, video, display, and shopping touchpoints. |
| Cross-Device Tracking | Uses Facebook’s advanced matching and CAPI to track users across multiple devices and sessions. | Uses Google Signals and GA4 to track users across devices and platforms. |
| Privacy & Data Restrictions | Heavily impacted by iOS 14.5+ privacy changes, requiring server-side tracking for better accuracy. | Less impacted by iOS restrictions, as it relies on first-party data and Google’s ecosystem for tracking. |
| Optimization for Acquisition | Focuses on social-driven intent, relying on audience targeting, lookalike audiences, and engagement-based acquisition. | Optimizes for search intent-driven acquisition, using smart bidding, keyword intent, and audience lists. |
Meta’s event tracking is optimized for social media campaigns, allowing advertisers to retarget users based on their activity within Facebook and Instagram. Google Ads event tracking, on the other hand, is designed for search intent and cross-platform campaigns, leveraging Google’s vast network, including YouTube and Display ads.
Both platforms play a crucial role in digital marketing, and integrating acquisition event tracking for both ensures a comprehensive view of user behavior across different channels. By implementing these tracking methods correctly, brands make data-driven decisions to improve their ad performance and customer acquisition strategy.
Also Read: How To Set Up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads for Shopify: A Complete Overview
Setting Up Meta Acquisition Events in Shopify
Tracking acquisition events in Meta Ads is essential for optimizing campaigns and understanding user behavior. By integrating Shopify with Meta, brands can monitor important user actions like product views, add-to-cart interactions, and purchases. Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up Meta acquisition events in Shopify.
Step 1: Connect Shopify with Meta Pixel
The Meta Pixel is a tracking tool that records user activity on your Shopify store and sends this data to Meta Ads Manager. This allows brands to analyze customer behavior, improve ad targeting, and enhance conversion tracking.
How it works:
- Log in to Shopify Admin: Go to your Shopify dashboard.
- Open Customer Events: Click Settings → Customer events.
- Connect Meta Pixel: Click Connect, then choose Facebook Pixel.
- Login to Facebook: Sign in to your Facebook Business Manager account.
- Select/Create Pixel: Pick an existing Pixel or create a new one.
- Enable Data Sharing: Choose Maximum for the best tracking accuracy.
- Save & Verify: Click Save, then confirm data flow in Meta Events Manager.
Once the Meta Pixel is connected, it will begin tracking default events, but enabling CAPI ensures even more reliable tracking.
Step 2: Enable Conversion API (CAPI) for Better Tracking
The CAPI works alongside the Meta Pixel to improve event tracking. Unlike the Pixel, which relies on browser data, CAPI sends event data directly from Shopify’s server to Meta, ensuring higher accuracy.
How to Enable it:
- Go to Shopify Admin Panel: Click “Settings” and navigate to “Customer events.”
- Select Your Meta Pixel: Click on the connected Pixel from Step 1.
- Enable Conversion API: Check the option to turn on Meta’s CAPI.
- Select Data-Sharing Level: Choose Maximum to send both browser and server-side data for better tracking.
- Save Changes: Shopify will now send event data through both the Pixel and CAPI.
By implementing CAPI, brands track customer actions even if users opt out of browser tracking, leading to more accurate attribution and improved ad performance.
Also Read: Facebook Conversions API ( CAPI ) – Comprehensive Guide for Performance Marketers
Step 3: Configure Standard Events (Purchase, Add to Cart, etc.)
Meta supports several standard events that help brands track user activity on their website. Shopify automatically sends some of these events when integrated with Meta, but you can configure additional ones for more detailed insights.
Common Standard Events in Shopify:
- PageView – When a user visits any page.
- View Content – When a user views a specific product or collection page.
- Add to Cart – When an item is added to the shopping cart.
- Initiate Checkout – When a user starts the checkout process.
- Purchase – When a user completes a transaction.
How to Configure Standard Events:
- Go to Meta Events Manager: Log in to your Facebook Business Manager and open Events Manager.
- Select Your Shopify Pixel: Click on the Pixel connected to Shopify.
- Check Auto-Tracked Events: Shopify automatically tracks core events like Purchase, Add to Cart, and View Content.
- Set Up Additional Custom Events (Optional): If needed, create custom events for tracking unique actions, such as newsletter sign-ups or coupon redemptions.
- Test Events in Meta Debugger: Use the Test Events tool in Events Manager to ensure data is being sent correctly.
Proper event configuration ensures that Meta receives detailed data, allowing advertisers to retarget users effectively and optimize ad campaigns.
Step 4: Verify Event Tracking Using Meta Events Manager
Once the Meta Pixel and Conversion API are set up, it is crucial to verify that events are being tracked correctly. The Meta Events Manager provides real-time insights into event tracking, helping brands ensure data accuracy.
How to Verify :
- Go to Facebook Events Manager: Log in to your Facebook Business Manager and navigate to Events Manager.
- Select Your Shopify Pixel: Click on the Pixel ID connected to your Shopify store.
- Check Incoming Events: The dashboard will display real-time event tracking data, including PageView, Add to Cart, and Purchases.
- Use the Test Events Tool: Click on “Test Events,” open your Shopify store in another tab, and perform key actions (e.g., adding a product to the cart). The tool should show event triggers in real time.
- Troubleshoot Any Issues:
- If an event is not firing, check that the Pixel ID is correctly installed in Shopify.
- If duplicate events appear, ensure that Pixel tracking and CAPI tracking are not overlapping incorrectly.
- If events are missing, adjust your data-sharing settings in Shopify.
Once the verification process is complete, brands can confidently use event data for ad optimization, audience retargeting, and performance analysis.
Also Read: How to Use Shopify Data for Meta Ads
Setting Up Google Acquisition Events in Shopify
Tracking acquisition events in Shopify through Google Ads and GA4 (Google Analytics 4) ensures accurate measurement of user interactions and conversions. Below is a detailed step-by-step guide to setting up Google acquisition event tracking in Shopify.
Step 1: Set Up Google Tag Manager (GTM) in Shopify
Google Tag Manager allows you to manage tracking codes without modifying your Shopify theme directly.
Create a Google Tag Manager Account:
- Go to Google Tag Manager and sign in.
- Click Create Account, enter your brand’s details, and select Web as the target platform.
- Accept the terms and conditions.
Add GTM to Shopify:
- Copy the GTM container code provided by Google.
- In Shopify, go to Online Store → Themes → Edit Code.
- Paste the GTM script.
- Save changes.
Step 2: Configure Google Ads Conversion Tracking
Once GTM is installed, you need to set up conversion tracking for Google Ads.
Create a Conversion Action in Google Ads:
- Go to Google Ads → Tools & Settings → Conversions.
- Click New Conversion Action → Website.
- Enter your Shopify store URL and let Google scan your site.
- Select the event type (e.g., Purchase, Lead, Add to Cart, etc.).
- Choose the tracking method:
- Google Tag Manager (recommended) – Select “Use Google Tag Manager” for easier implementation.
- Click Create and Continue, then copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label.
Step 3: Set Up Google Ads Conversion Tracking in GTM
- In Google Tag Manager, create a new tag:
- Click Tags → New.
- Choose Google Ads Conversion Tracking.
- Enter the Conversion ID and Conversion Label from Google Ads.
- Set up the trigger:
- Click Triggering → New.
- Select Page View or Custom Event (e.g., “purchase”, “thankyou” page).
- Configure it to fire on the order confirmation page (/checkout/thankyou).
- Save and publish the container in GTM.
Step 4: Set Up Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Acquisition Tracking
GA4 helps track all acquisition sources, including Google Ads, organic search, and referral traffic.
Create a GA4 Property
- Go to Google Analytics → Admin → Create Property.
- Select GA4 and complete the setup.
- Copy the GA4 Measurement ID.
Add GA4 to GTM
- In GTM, create a new tag:
- Click Tags → New.
- Select Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration.
- Enter the GA4 Measurement ID.
- Set up the trigger:
- Choose All Pages to track every visit.
- Save and publish the GTM container.
Step 5: Set Up Acquisition Events in GA4
Acquisition events help measure how users arrive at your store and interact before converting.
Enable Enhanced Conversions
- In Google Analytics → Admin → Data Streams, enable Enhanced Measurement to track page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, and more.
- Make sure Google Signals is enabled for cross-device tracking.
Create Custom Events for Shopify
- In Google Analytics → Events, click Create Event.
- Define custom events such as:
- session_start (tracks new visitors)
- first_visit (tracks new users)
- purchase (tracks successful orders)
- Set conditions based on Shopify’s URLs (e.g., /thank_you page for purchases).
Step 6: Test and Validate Tracking
Before launching campaigns, verify that all events are tracking correctly.
Use Google Tag Assistant
- Install the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension.
- Navigate your store to check if the Google Tags fire properly.
Use a Third-Party Tool: EasyInsights
From Shopify , EasyInsights automatically sends acquisition events like purchases, checkouts, and add-to-cart in real-time to your ad platform(Meta, Google ads) – no developer support required.
- Automatically track and send your Shopify acquisition events
- Sync them with Meta’s Conversions API or Google’s Enhanced Conversions
- Build high-performing retargeting and lookalike campaigns
- Improve attribution and optimize ROAS with real-time data flow
Whether you’re retargeting cart abandoners or tracking new customers from first click to final conversion, EasyInsights ensures your acquisition data from Shopify flows directly into your ad platforms with accuracy, speed, and zero hassle.
Conclusion
Accurate tracking is the foundation of successful digital marketing. Ensuring your pixel or tag fires correctly, diagnosing missing conversion data, and debugging tracking issues in Shopify are crucial steps in optimizing campaign performance. Brands that invest in proper tracking gain deeper insights into customer behavior, improve attribution accuracy, and enhance data-driven decision-making.
With EasyInsights, you can streamline conversion tracking, improve attribution, and activate data effectively to maximize ROAS.
To learn how EasyInsights can help you, book a demo today!
