Facebook Pixel vs. CAPI: What to Choose for Conversion Tracking?

When it comes to conversion tracking in digital advertising, Facebook has always been a notable choice for advertisers seeking to reach their target audience and to analyze the effectiveness of the campaign. Facebook Pixel has been the go-to tool for tracking conversions. Still, with the introduction of Facebook’s Conversion API (CAPI), many marketers are now faced with a decision: are they going to remain using the Facebook Pixel or are they going to use the Conversion API?

In this comprehensive blog guide, you’ll learn what exactly sets Facebook Pixel apart from CAPI, the benefits and drawbacks that can come with either option and the rules for deciding which approach is right for your business.

What is Facebook Pixel?

Facebook Pixel is a JavaScript code that you can place on your website and use to track user actions like page views, ‘add-to-cart’ actions, and buying activities. Its main role is to assist advertisers in monitoring the performance of the ads since it tracks user engagement.

Pixel offers advertisers the flexibility of the possibility of monitoring certain activities on their site and a comprehensive insight into the actions made by customers. It can be also utilized to improve ad relevant audience, retargeting the visitors who have previously visited the website, as well as establish more suitable custom audiences for advertisements.

Some key features of Facebook Pixel include:

• Conversion Tracking: Records what users do on your website like buying a product, or subscribing to a newsletter among others.
• Retargeting: Targets users who have previously engaged with your site in some way or the other.
• Lookalike Audiences: With Facebook advertising, one gets the opportunity to create audiences similar to the one that has already had traffic with the website or ads.
• Custom Events: Allows monitoring of certain steps users make on the website that address business objectives.

However, Facebook Pixel has been effective in analyzing conversion, but it has its cons. However, one of the major disadvantages is that it uses browser cookies and JavaScript to capture the user’s behavior. This means tracking can be interrupted by ad blockers or cookie limitations in users’ browsers, or they may simply turn off JavaScript.

What is the Conversion API and where does it fit in the picture?

CAPI is also known as Conversion API. It is a server-to-server solution that enables advertisers to send data to Facebook from the advertiser’s server. While Facebook Pixel tracks the data on the client’s browser, CAPI provides marketers with the necessary tools to track consumer behavior and quantify the result without using browser tracking or risking being banned by ad blockers or cookie restrictions.

CAPI transmits conversion data to Facebook from the server side so the tracking is correct if the pixel does not work because of user settings in the browser. This makes it a more reliable way of tracking conversions within a constantly developing digital environment with less tolerance for tracking cookies.

Key features of CAPI include:

• Server-Side Tracking: CAPI bypasses the limitations of client-side tracking, ensuring more accurate conversion data.
• Enhanced Data Privacy: Another advantage of CAPI is it operates on the server side and inoculates itself from issues like cookie blocking and data privacy constraints.
• Better Data Quality: Since the tracking takes place directly from the server, businesses can send better and superior information thereby enhancing the campaign’s efficiency.

Facebook Pixel vs. CAPI: Key Differences

Let’s take a closer look at Facebook Pixel and CAPI. Understand the differences and similarities to make a better decision about which mechanism suits your business best.

1. Tracking Method: Browser vs. Server Side

The main distinction between the two can be distinguished based on how they capture user activities.

• Facebook Pixel: Paid much attention to using client-side tracking (browser-side). It uses a JavaScript code placed on the website to capture users’ behavior.
• CAPI: CAPI is preferable since it does not rely on the user’s web browser. In the server, it transmits the user’s activity, thus even if the user has a blocking application or high privacy level is recorded.

2. Data Privacy Compliance

Currently, the issue of data protection is growing more important all over the world, and CAPI can be an advantage to ensure compliance.

• Facebook Pixel: That is why this tool is client-site and it can be affected by privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA. These generally are third-party sponsored cookies and users get a choice to disable or prevent cookies, this degrades the quality of data that you gather.
• CAPI: For the same reason that CAPI is a server-side tool, it is less susceptible to privacy regulation. Moreover, using CAPI means a user submits data directly on the backend, which is useful for compliance with personal data protection laws.

3. Ease of Setup

Installation of Facebook Pixel is not such a complicated process and there are specific guides on how to undertake it depending on the website developer platform like WordPress, Shopify, and Magento among others. However, if you have the desire to perform CAPI, then the setup process is slightly a bit more complicated since it involves server settings and these may need some technical support.

• Facebook Pixel: It can be easily installed and operated by average users who don’t have background knowledge in computer programming.
• CAPI: There is a need for more technical knowledge in integrating it on the server side. On some of these, you might need the assistance of a developer to set the thing up for you.

4. Customization & Control

With CAPI it is easier to choose and control what exactly you want to send to Facebook. If you are the one sending data directly from your server, then you have full control over what information is being tracked, thereby getting the much-needed data for your marketing out there.

• Facebook Pixel: The data collected is inherently limited because it is based on browser events.
• CAPI: Offers the user more control by allowing them to schedule their event or choose a specific type of event or behavior with which they want to track.

Which Should You Choose: Facebook Pixel or CAPI?

The choice between Facebook Pixel and CAPI depends on what you need from your business and whether or not you have the necessary machinery. Here’s a breakdown to help you decide:

• If you’re looking for simplicity and ease of use: If the Facebook Pixel is compared to the Facebook Pixel, then the Facebook Pixel should be picked. The simplest to install and use and if you do not have internal IT resources it is perhaps the preferred option.
• If you want more reliable and accurate conversion tracking: CAPI is the better option. In addition, it functions even when Facebook Pixel is not accessible, and it allows users to control the information transmitted to Facebook.
• If privacy and data security are important: CAPI is preferable for businesses that are sensitive about privacy and compliant policies. It also works better for ad blockers or any type of cookie restrictions and will aid businesses in compliance with privacy laws.
• For businesses with technical resources: CAPI is most suitable to those that can implement the server-side tracking capabilities. There are cases where you have a development team or the technical capacity to implement server-side tools, and CAPI tracking is more flexible there.

How Kaliper Helps Clients with Facebook Pixel and CAPI

At Kaliper, we assist your company’s utilization of Facebook pixel advertising along with added solutions from CAPI (Conversion API).  Depending on your needs, we provide set-up solutions. For example, basic Pixel integration or CAPI lets you track a number of business objectives, so you gather only the most effective data for the campaign. Thus, in addition to greater precision in the delivered data, we offer enhanced audience targeting, as well as increased efficiency solutions in terms of ad placements/products and the consequent return on investment.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, it can be concluded that While both Facebook Pixel and CAPI are great, the decision on when to use one versus the other will all depend on your tracking requirements, IT support, and adherence to data privacy regulations. Hence for most companies, it is possible to get the benefits from the simplicity of the Facebook Pixel tool while also benefitting from the CAPI’s improved data quality and data protection standards. If you want specific conversion rates tracked accurately or a less data-contaminated pipeline CAPI is a way to go. However, for those companies who are just beginning to implement conversion tracking, Facebook Pixel is still a good fit for the beginning. To know more, visit our website.