Taboola Event Tracking

Overview

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

Standard Events

Taboola supports standard events for various business objectives:

Ecommerce Events

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

Lead Generation Events

Lead - Form submission or contact
Complete Registration - Account signup
Subscribe - Newsletter or service subscription
Contact - Contact form submission

Engagement Events

Page View - Standard page visit
Search - Site search performed
Download - File or content download
Video View - Video content watched

Custom Events

Custom - Business-specific conversion actions

Custom Events

Creating Custom Conversions

Define custom conversion tracking:

// Custom event
_tfa.push({
  notify: 'event',
  name: 'custom_event_name',
  revenue: 25.00,
  currency: 'USD',
  orderid: 'CUSTOM_12345'
});

Event Parameters

Add custom parameters to events:

_tfa.push({
  notify: 'event',
  name: 'purchase',
  revenue: 99.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  orderid: 'ORDER_12345',
  // Custom parameters
  category: 'electronics',
  customer_type: 'returning',
  promo_code: 'SAVE20'
});

Ecommerce Events

Purchase Tracking

Complete purchase implementation:

<!-- Taboola Pixel Base Code (on all pages) -->
<script type='text/javascript'>
  window._tfa = window._tfa || [];
  window._tfa.push({notify: 'event', name: 'page_view', id: PIXEL_ID});
  !function (t, f, a, x) {
    if (!document.getElementById(x)) {
      t.async = 1;t.src = a;t.id=x;f.parentNode.insertBefore(t, f);
    }
  }(document.createElement('script'),
  document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],
  '//cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/unip/PIXEL_ID/tfa.js',
  'tb_tfa_script');
</script>

<!-- Purchase Event (on confirmation page) -->
<script type='text/javascript'>
  window._tfa = window._tfa || [];
  window._tfa.push({
    notify: 'event',
    name: 'make_purchase',
    id: PIXEL_ID,
    revenue: 149.99,
    currency: 'USD',
    orderid: 'ORDER_12345'
  });
</script>

Shopping Funnel Events

Track complete customer journey:

// View Content
_tfa.push({
  notify: 'event',
  name: 'view_content',
  id: PIXEL_ID,
  content_type: 'product',
  content_id: 'SKU_123'
});

// Add to Cart
_tfa.push({
  notify: 'event',
  name: 'add_to_cart',
  id: PIXEL_ID,
  revenue: 99.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  content_id: 'SKU_123'
});

// Initiate Checkout
_tfa.push({
  notify: 'event',
  name: 'initiate_checkout',
  id: PIXEL_ID,
  revenue: 149.99,
  currency: 'USD'
});

// Purchase
_tfa.push({
  notify: 'event',
  name: 'make_purchase',
  id: PIXEL_ID,
  revenue: 149.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  orderid: 'ORDER_12345'
});

Conversion Tracking

Implementation Methods

1. Taboola Pixel (JavaScript)

Standard implementation:

<!-- Universal Pixel Code -->
<script type='text/javascript'>
  window._tfa = window._tfa || [];
  window._tfa.push({notify: 'event', name: 'page_view', id: YOUR_PIXEL_ID});
  !function (t, f, a, x) {
    if (!document.getElementById(x)) {
      t.async = 1;t.src = a;t.id=x;f.parentNode.insertBefore(t, f);
    }
  }(document.createElement('script'),
  document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],
  '//cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/unip/YOUR_PIXEL_ID/tfa.js',
  'tb_tfa_script');
</script>

<!-- Event Tracking -->
<script type='text/javascript'>
  _tfa.push({
    notify: 'event',
    name: 'make_purchase',
    id: YOUR_PIXEL_ID,
    revenue: 99.99,
    currency: 'USD',
    orderid: 'ORDER_12345'
  });
</script>

2. Google Tag Manager

Deploy via GTM:

Base Tag:

<!-- GTM Custom HTML Tag - All Pages -->
<script type='text/javascript'>
  window._tfa = window._tfa || [];
  window._tfa.push({notify: 'event', name: 'page_view', id: {{Taboola Pixel ID}}});
  !function (t, f, a, x) {
    if (!document.getElementById(x)) {
      t.async = 1;t.src = a;t.id=x;f.parentNode.insertBefore(t, f);
    }
  }(document.createElement('script'),
  document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],
  '//cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/unip/{{Taboola Pixel ID}}/tfa.js',
  'tb_tfa_script');
</script>

Conversion Event:

<script type='text/javascript'>
  window._tfa = window._tfa || [];
  _tfa.push({
    notify: 'event',
    name: 'make_purchase',
    id: {{Taboola Pixel ID}},
    revenue: {{Transaction Value}},
    currency: 'USD',
    orderid: {{Transaction ID}}
  });
</script>

3. Server-Side Tracking

For server-to-server conversions:

import requests

# Server-side conversion
conversion_data = {
    "pixel_id": "YOUR_PIXEL_ID",
    "event_name": "make_purchase",
    "user_id": "USER_12345",
    "revenue": 99.99,
    "currency": "USD",
    "order_id": "ORDER_12345",
    "timestamp": "2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

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

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.taboola.com/1.0/conversions",
    json=conversion_data,
    headers=headers
)

Offline Conversions

API Upload

Upload offline conversions via Taboola API:

// Node.js example
const axios = require('axios');

const offlineConversion = {
  pixel_id: 'YOUR_PIXEL_ID',
  event_name: 'make_purchase',
  conversion_time: '2025-01-15T10:30:00Z',
  revenue: 149.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  order_id: 'OFFLINE_ORDER_12345',
  user_identifiers: {
    email: hashEmail('customer@example.com'),
    phone: hashPhone('+15551234567')
  }
};

const response = await axios.post(
  'https://api.taboola.com/1.0/conversions',
  offlineConversion,
  {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    }
  }
);

CRM Integration

Connect CRM for offline tracking:

Capture Taboola click ID from URL
Store in CRM with customer record
Export conversions with click IDs
Upload via Taboola API

Attribution

Attribution Windows

Taboola uses standard attribution:

Default Windows:

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

Customizable:

Configure in campaign settings
Set per conversion goal

Attribution Models

Taboola uses last-touch attribution:

Last Taboola click gets credit
Post-view conversions for impressions

Content Performance

Track which content drives conversions:

Article/video performance
Headline effectiveness
Thumbnail impact
Publisher placement analysis

Debugging & Validation

Browser DevTools

Verify pixel implementation:

// Check if Taboola pixel loaded
if (typeof _tfa !== 'undefined') {
  console.log('Taboola Pixel loaded');
  console.log('Pixel queue:', _tfa);
} else {
  console.error('Taboola Pixel not found');
}

Network Tab:

Filter for "taboola.com"
Verify tfa.js loads
Check conversion requests fire

Platform Validation

Verify in Taboola Ads platform:

Navigate to Tracking > Pixels
Select your pixel
Review activity and events
Check for errors or warnings

Common Issues

Pixel not firing:

Verify pixel ID is correct
Check tfa.js loads successfully
Ensure _tfa array exists before events
Test without ad blockers

Conversions not tracking:

Verify event name format
Check revenue is numeric
Confirm orderid for deduplication
Review attribution window settings

Best Practices

Implementation

Install pixel on all pages for complete tracking
Use GTM for easier management
Include orderid for deduplication
Pass revenue values for optimization
Test thoroughly before launch

Content Strategy

Test different headlines to improve CTR
Use high-quality thumbnails for engagement
Match content to landing page
Create native-feeling content
Test different publishers for performance

Data Quality

Pass accurate revenue for value optimization
Use consistent currency codes
Include order IDs for all purchases
Track micro-conversions for audiences
Regular pixel audits for accuracy

Optimization

Use CPA bidding for conversion goals
Create audiences from converters
Exclude recent converters from acquisition
Test different creatives systematically
Optimize by publisher performance

Reporting

Track content performance metrics
Segment by device and location
Analyze time to conversion patterns
Monitor publisher quality regularly
Export data for deeper analysis