On Pinterest the gap between inspiration and purchase outlives the browser
A pin is saved in March and bought in May. No cookie written in JavaScript survives that distance. The Conversions API sends the purchase from your server, with the click identifier captured at first contact.
The problem
Why Pinterest looks less profitable than it is
The channel has a long cycle. Measurement tools have short memory.
The cycle outlasts the cookie
Pinterest usage is saving now and returning later. A cookie written in JavaScript can be cut to a few days by the browser, far shorter than the real delay between discovery and purchase.
The purchase happens elsewhere
The return often happens by typing the shop name directly, or from another device. With no identifier kept server-side, the sale is credited to direct traffic and the campaign gets none of it.
A distorted budget decision
A channel whose conversions are undercounted looks expensive per click. It loses budget not because it performs badly, but because it is measured badly.
Match keys
What Pinterest accepts, and what we send
Personal data is SHA-256 hashed on your server before anything is sent.
- click_id
- The Pinterest click identifier, taken from the epik parameter in the landing URL. Captured on the first page and kept server-side until the order, even weeks later.
- em, ph
- Hashed email and phone. They take over when the click identifier did not survive, which is common on a long-cycle channel.
- external_id
- The hashed customer id. Independent of cookies, it links a known buyer to their earlier visits, including from another device.
- client_ip_address, client_user_agent
- Sent unhashed, with the visitor's real values, as Pinterest specifies.
Pinterest's rules
Constraints we respect on your behalf
This channel is more permissive on timing than others, which is no excuse for sloppiness.
Consent denied, nothing sent
If the visitor declines advertising tracking, no event goes to Pinterest. Unspecified consent limits the payload to click identifiers, with no personal data.
Deduplication with the tag
The Pinterest tag and the server send must share an event identifier, otherwise the same sale is counted twice. Trackful generates that identifier deterministically from the order.
No invented window
We could not find a publicly documented age limit for this channel. Trackful therefore does not filter events on that basis here: inventing a window would silently drop conversions Pinterest would have accepted.
Your platforms
Pinterest on Shopify and on WooCommerce
Shopify
The theme extension captures the epik parameter on the landing page and carries it across visits. The Web Pixel and the webhook feed the same purchase, deduplicated.
Trackful for ShopifyWooCommerce
The click identifier is stored in a server-set cookie valid for one year. That is the difference that matters on a channel where the purchase arrives weeks after discovery.
Trackful for WooCommerceSetup
Connected in minutes
- 1
Enter the account
Ad account id and access token, from your Pinterest manager.
- 2
Send a test
A test conversion goes out immediately and you confirm Pinterest received it.
- 3
Switch the channel on
Once delivery is confirmed, leave the channel running. Trackful alerts you if sends stop landing.
Questions
Frequently asked
Should I keep the Pinterest tag?
Yes. The tag captures what the browser can see, the server send fills the rest, and the shared event identifier prevents double counting. Removing the tag would cost you the browsing events.
How long is the click identifier kept?
On WooCommerce a server-set cookie holds it for one year, out of reach of the limits applied to JavaScript cookies. On Shopify, persistence relies on theme storage plus the server-side session, and on the identity graph for known customers.
Is Pinterest worth measuring server-side?
It is close to a textbook case. The delay between discovery and purchase is structurally long there, which is exactly the situation where browser-dependent measurement fails hardest.
Is my customer data sent in the clear?
No. Email, phone and customer id are SHA-256 hashed on your server. Pinterest never receives the original value.
Trackful is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pinterest. Pinterest is a trademark of Pinterest, Inc., referenced here to identify the service Trackful sends your conversions to.
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