Outbrain Event Tracking

Overview

Outbrain uses the Outbrain Pixel for conversion tracking, audience building, and campaign optimization across its content discovery network. As a native advertising platform, Outbrain's tracking enables measurement of user engagement with recommended content and conversion actions driven by native ads on premium publisher sites.

Standard Events

Outbrain supports standard events for various objectives:

Ecommerce Events

Purchase - Transaction completed
Add to Cart - Product added to cart
View Content - Product or content page viewed

Lead Generation Events

Lead - Form submission
Complete Registration - Account signup
Subscribe - Newsletter subscription

Engagement Events

Page View - Standard page visit
Custom - Business-specific events

Custom Events

Creating Custom Conversions

Define custom conversion tracking:

// Custom event
obApi('track', 'Custom Event Name', {
  orderValue: 25.00,
  currency: 'USD',
  orderId: 'CUSTOM_12345'
});

Event Parameters

Add parameters to events:

obApi('track', 'Purchase', {
  orderValue: 99.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  orderId: 'ORDER_12345',
  // Custom parameters
  category: 'electronics',
  customerType: 'returning'
});

Ecommerce Events

Purchase Tracking

Complete purchase implementation:

<!-- Outbrain Pixel Base Code (on all pages) -->
<script type="text/javascript">
  !function(_window, _document) {
    var OB_ADV_ID = 'YOUR_ADVERTISER_ID';
    if (_window.obApi) {
      var toArray = function(object) {
        return Object.prototype.toString.call(object) === '[object Array]' ? object : [object];
      };
      _window.obApi.marketerId = toArray(_window.obApi.marketerId).concat(toArray(OB_ADV_ID));
      return;
    }
    var api = _window.obApi = function() {
      api.dispatch ? api.dispatch.apply(api, arguments) : api.queue.push(arguments);
    };
    api.version = '1.1';
    api.loaded = true;
    api.marketerId = OB_ADV_ID;
    api.queue = [];
    var tag = _document.createElement('script');
    tag.async = true;
    tag.src = '//amplify.outbrain.com/cp/obtp.js';
    tag.type = 'text/javascript';
    var script = _document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
    script.parentNode.insertBefore(tag, script);
  }(window, document);

  obApi('track', 'PAGE_VIEW');
</script>

<!-- Purchase Event (on confirmation page) -->
<script type="text/javascript">
  obApi('track', 'Purchase', {
    orderValue: 149.99,
    currency: 'USD',
    orderId: 'ORDER_12345'
  });
</script>

Shopping Funnel Events

Track complete customer journey:

// View Content
obApi('track', 'View Content', {
  contentId: 'SKU_123',
  contentType: 'product'
});

// Add to Cart
obApi('track', 'Add to Cart', {
  orderValue: 99.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  contentId: 'SKU_123'
});

// Purchase
obApi('track', 'Purchase', {
  orderValue: 149.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  orderId: 'ORDER_12345'
});

Conversion Tracking

Implementation Methods

1. Outbrain Pixel (JavaScript)

Standard implementation:

<!-- Universal Pixel Code -->
<script type="text/javascript">
  !function(_window, _document) {
    var OB_ADV_ID = 'YOUR_ADVERTISER_ID';
    if (_window.obApi) {
      var toArray = function(object) {
        return Object.prototype.toString.call(object) === '[object Array]' ? object : [object];
      };
      _window.obApi.marketerId = toArray(_window.obApi.marketerId).concat(toArray(OB_ADV_ID));
      return;
    }
    var api = _window.obApi = function() {
      api.dispatch ? api.dispatch.apply(api, arguments) : api.queue.push(arguments);
    };
    api.version = '1.1';
    api.loaded = true;
    api.marketerId = OB_ADV_ID;
    api.queue = [];
    var tag = _document.createElement('script');
    tag.async = true;
    tag.src = '//amplify.outbrain.com/cp/obtp.js';
    tag.type = 'text/javascript';
    var script = _document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
    script.parentNode.insertBefore(tag, script);
  }(window, document);

  obApi('track', 'PAGE_VIEW');
</script>

2. Google Tag Manager

Deploy via GTM:

Base Tag:

<!-- GTM Custom HTML Tag - All Pages -->
<script type="text/javascript">
  !function(_window, _document) {
    var OB_ADV_ID = '{{Outbrain Advertiser ID}}';
    if (_window.obApi) {
      var toArray = function(object) {
        return Object.prototype.toString.call(object) === '[object Array]' ? object : [object];
      };
      _window.obApi.marketerId = toArray(_window.obApi.marketerId).concat(toArray(OB_ADV_ID));
      return;
    }
    var api = _window.obApi = function() {
      api.dispatch ? api.dispatch.apply(api, arguments) : api.queue.push(arguments);
    };
    api.version = '1.1';
    api.loaded = true;
    api.marketerId = OB_ADV_ID;
    api.queue = [];
    var tag = _document.createElement('script');
    tag.async = true;
    tag.src = '//amplify.outbrain.com/cp/obtp.js';
    tag.type = 'text/javascript';
    var script = _document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
    script.parentNode.insertBefore(tag, script);
  }(window, document);

  obApi('track', 'PAGE_VIEW');
</script>

Conversion Event:

<script type="text/javascript">
  obApi('track', 'Purchase', {
    orderValue: {{Transaction Value}},
    currency: 'USD',
    orderId: {{Transaction ID}}
  });
</script>

Offline Conversions

Server-Side Tracking

Upload offline conversions:

import requests

# Offline conversion
conversion_data = {
    "advertiser_id": "YOUR_ADVERTISER_ID",
    "event_name": "Purchase",
    "order_value": 149.99,
    "currency": "USD",
    "order_id": "OFFLINE_ORDER_12345",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

headers = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.outbrain.com/amplify/v1/conversions",
    json=conversion_data,
    headers=headers
)

Attribution

Attribution Windows

Outbrain uses standard attribution:

Default Windows:

Post-click: 30 days
Post-view: 1 day

Attribution Models

Last-touch attribution:

Last Outbrain click gets credit
Post-view for impressions

Debugging & Validation

Browser Console

Verify pixel implementation:

// Check if Outbrain API loaded
if (typeof obApi !== 'undefined') {
  console.log('Outbrain Pixel loaded');
  console.log('Advertiser ID:', obApi.marketerId);
} else {
  console.error('Outbrain Pixel not found');
}

Platform Validation

Verify in Outbrain dashboard:

Navigate to Conversion Tracking
Select your pixel
Review activity and events

Best Practices

Implementation

Install pixel on all pages
Use GTM for management
Include orderId for deduplication
Pass accurate values for optimization
Test thoroughly before launch

Content Strategy

Create engaging headlines to improve CTR
Use compelling images for native ads
Match content to landing page
Test different publishers for performance
Optimize by placement performance

Optimization

Use CPA bidding for conversions
Create audiences from converters
Test different creatives systematically
Exclude recent converters
Monitor content performance