Set up and create conversions using Direct API

Last updated: 3 minutes ago

You can set up a direct connection between your company’s server and LinkedIn using the LinkedIn Conversions API.

Before you can send conversions data using Direct API

Here's a tip

Before you set up Conversions API, we recommend that your developer uses our payload builder tool to validate that your server events are properly structured and formatted before using in the API call.

To set up Direct API, you’ll need to generate your access token in Campaign Manager: 

  1. Go to your ad account in Campaign Manager.

  2. Click Data on the left menu, then click Signals Manager.

  3. In the Sources section, click Direct API.

  4. Click the Generate token button and follow the on-screen instructions for access. You might need to sign into your LinkedIn account.

  5. Click the code to copy, then click Close.

    Important to know

    LinkedIn doesn’t store the token, so we recommend that you save it in an easily accessible and secure place.

  6. Follow the steps in the Get started with Conversions API section on the Microsoft Learn website. Use your token for authentication.

  7. Follow the API documentation on the Microsoft Learn website to build access to the Conversion API endpoints and begin streaming conversion events to LinkedIn.

To send conversions data using Direct API: 

Step 1: Select Conversions API as your source 

  1. Go to your ad account in Campaign Manager.

  2. Click Measurement on the left menu, then click Conversion tracking. 

  3. Click the Create conversion button and select Conversions API.

Step 2: Create a conversion rule

  1. Name your conversion rule. This name will only be visible in Campaign Manager. 

    Here's a tip

    Name your conversion in a way that defines the key conversion behaviors you'll be tracking, like filling out a lead form or downloading a white paper. Use naming conventions that will easily keep track of different conversion events.

  2. Click the Select the category of the conversion dropdown menu and select a behavior (for example, Download or Lead). 

  3. Click the Set the value of the conversion dropdown and select either:

    • Use the same value - The same value will be applied for each conversion.
    • Use a dynamic value - The value will be determined from your connected source.
    • No value (not recommended) - A zero value will be used for each conversion event. Note, if you select no value, you can’t measure the impact of your ads.

  4. Add a Default Value for your conversion. If you selected:

    • Use the same value - Enter the value to be used for all conversions.
    • Use a dynamic value - Enter a default value. This is required in case we don’t receive a value from the connected source.

  5. Click the dropdown menus below Clicks and Views to select a time frame for when your clicks and views can be counted.

  6. Below Select the attribution model to specify how each ad interaction is credited, use the dropdown menu to select either:

    • Last Touch - Each campaign
    • Last Touch - Last campaign 

  7. Click Next step. 

Step 3: Select Direct API integration

  1. Choose Direct API.

  2. Click Next step.

Step 4: Review and update the campaigns selected for your conversion  

After you set up your conversion, we’ll automatically select campaigns to associate with your conversion. You can review, add, or remove campaigns as needed. Campaign selection is determined by the category chosen in the Select the category of the conversion dropdown in Step 2 above.

To review and update the campaigns selected: 

  1. On the Review page, review the details of your conversion. To see the selected campaigns, scroll to the Campaigns section and click below Selected campaigns.

  2. Optional: To edit the selected campaigns:

    1. Click Edit in the upper-right corner of the section.
    2. Select or clear the checkboxes next to the campaigns where you’d like to either apply or remove your conversion. To find a specific campaign, use the search bar at the top or filter using the Status or Objective dropdown menus.  
    3. Click Save.

  3. Click Create.

Step 5: Set up the API integration and associate it with the conversion rule

After you’ve created your conversion in Campaign Manager:

  1. Contact your developers to associate the conversion and stream the conversion event using the Conversions API instructions.

  2. Choose the conversion rule name you created in step 2 above.  

Step 6: Check the status of your conversion

After you’ve completed the set up, you can check the status in Campaign Manager to help ensure that it’s set up correctly and receiving data.

  1. On your Conversion Tracking page in Campaign Manager, find your conversion rule. 

  2. Check the Status column. 

  3. If the status is Unverified, check that your connection is set up correctly and that the conversion events are being sent to LinkedIn. 

Here's a tip

The time it takes for the status to update depends on the type of conversion. Check the status based on the typical frequency of the conversion event.

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