Best Practices for Tracking Revenue in Website-to-App Journeys

Follow this guide if your NewsBreak ad campaign sends users to your website and then to your app. How you set up tracking depends on where the revenue happens: on your website, or inside your app.

TL;DR: This guide is for advertisers who:

• Drive NewsBreak ad traffic to a website first.
• Direct users from that website to open or install an app.
• Want to measure revenue accurately and optimize campaigns toward the right event.

Choose your scenario

Part A: Web Purchase Followed by an App Handoff

Use this part if users complete a purchase on your website and then open or install your app to redeem their item or access content.

A1. Understand the conversion boundary

Treat the web purchase as your sole conversion event for measurement, reporting, and campaign optimization. Any subsequent app handoff is part of the user experience, not a secondary ad conversion.

Log purchase value strictly at the initial web checkout. Treat later app opens, installs, or code redemptions as post-purchase activity, not new sales.

A2. Start with the NewsBreak Pixel

Install the NewsBreak Pixel before launching the campaign. The Pixel provides website behavior signals across the funnel and supports campaign learning, audience building, retargeting, and website analytics.

For installation steps, see How to install NewsBreak Pixel with custom code.

A3. Track the complete web funnel

The final conversion is the web purchase, but intermediate events help NewsBreak understand the actions that lead to it. Use event names that accurately describe the action performed on the website.

For guidance on selecting and implementing web events, see Best Practices for Event Tracking.

A4. Add Postback for confirmed purchases when possible

Use the Pixel for broad website behavior signals. When possible, also use Postback to send confirmed purchases from your backend. This makes the final conversion less dependent on the user's browser and helps distinguish a completed payment from an initiated or failed checkout.

For implementation steps, see NewsBreak Postback Integration (Generic Integration).

A5. Choose one optimization source per ad set

You can deploy both Pixel and Postback, but the same ad set should use only one version of the final conversion event for optimization and primary reporting. For example, select either Complete Payment (Pixel) or Complete Payment (Postback) for that ad set.

A6. Send useful and consistent event data

Whenever supported by your setup, include the order value, product or package ID, and other approved fields that help distinguish conversion value and customer type. Use consistent field names and formats across Pixel and Postback.

• Send the confirmed order value with Complete Payment, not with the later app handoff.
• Send website event data from all traffic sources when possible so attribution and retargeting can evaluate the complete customer journey.
• Follow NewsBreak formatting and hashing requirements for any customer information included with an event.

A7. Set up the post-purchase app handoff

After the website purchase is confirmed, the confirmation page may offer a button such as Open the App, Redeem in App, or Continue in App. An MMP is recommended when you need deferred deep linking or want to measure app activity after the handoff.

The handoff link lives on your confirmation page and is managed through your MMP and app. It is not configured in NewsBreak Ads Manager (NAM). For this flow, keep the NewsBreak campaign configured with Web Events and keep the NewsBreak ad destination as your landing page.

For provider-specific app-side configuration, see Apps & Mobile Gaming Campaigns on NewsBreak Ads: Guide to Launching and Scaling.

A8. App-side measurement does not replace the web conversion

The MMP can measure installs, first opens, redemptions, or other app actions after the web purchase. These events are separate from the website conversion event used to optimize the campaign.

• Report the order value once with the confirmed web Complete Payment event.
• If a user later redeems the purchase in the app, report it as a distinct non-purchase event such as Redemption Completed or Entitlement Accessed.
• Do not send the same order value again as an in-app purchase for the same order.

Part B: In-App Monetization (IAP and IAA)

Use this part if users click a NewsBreak ad, visit a website that introduces your app, and then install or open the app. Your website directs users to the app; monetization takes place inside the app through in-app purchases (IAP) or in-app advertising (IAA).

Before you begin: Confirm Web-to-App availability, supported app events, and bidding strategies with your Account Manager (AM), and plan time to complete tracking tests (see B6).

B1. Define what you are measuring

IAP revenue comes from confirmed purchases. IAA revenue comes from ads shown inside the app, such as rewarded videos, interstitials, and banners. Website visits, download button clicks, installs, and app opens are separate steps; none of these actions alone confirms that purchase revenue or ad revenue has been generated.

B2. Set up the Web-to-App campaign and App Events

These steps apply to accounts with Web-to-App enabled. Set up App Events in the correct ad account, then configure the campaign, ad set, and ad. If you do not see the Web to App option, contact your AM to confirm availability.

B2.1 Create App Events in Event Management

• Go to Tools → Event management → App Events. Check the ad account shown at the top of the page, then click Create app event. If the correct event already exists, click Access to review its configuration instead of creating a duplicate.
• Under Store URL, select iOS or Android and enter the app's App Store or Google Play URL. This field is for the app store address. You will enter the website users visit first at the ad level.
• Under Choose your conversion event, select Purchase (app_purchase) for IAP or In-App Ad Impression (app_in_app_ad_impr) for IAA. Select Install if you plan to start with install optimization. Copy the exact Event Type shown in NAM for MMP event mapping.
• Enable Event value when sending revenue or using ROAS or Max Conversion Value bidding. This setting indicates that the event carries a value; the actual amount and currency must still be sent through your MMP or another confirmed integration.
• Under Connect to a mobile measurement partner, select your MMP. Enter the Click Tracking URL and corresponding Default Impression Tracking URL generated for this app, review the settings, and click Save. Back in the event list, check Event Type, Event Value, Android/iOS, Store Link, and Mobile Measurement Partner.

B2.2 Select Web to App at the campaign level

• In Ad management, create and name a campaign. Under App Install, select Web to App. Direct Download is for the direct download flow; select Web to App when a website is the first destination.

B2.3 Choose the app event and bidding strategy

• Select the app event you configured and check the app, operating system, and event type. Use Purchase for IAP or In-App Ad Impression for IAA. Each ad set should select one optimization event that matches its business goal.
• Choose an available bidding strategy that matches your goal, then set the target, budget, schedule, and audience. For revenue optimization, confirm that Event value is enabled, revenue postbacks are working, and the strategy's data requirements are met. New apps without enough revenue data can start with install optimization.
• Review audience exclusions to ensure that users who have already installed the app are excluded. Confirm view-through attribution and attribution windows with your AM. Do not select a website visit or download button click from Web Events as the in-app monetization goal.

B2.4 Add the website landing page and check the handoff

• Add the ad name, creative, headline, and call to action. In Landing Page URL, enter the website users should visit first and configure click parameters as described in B4. Separately configure the website's download button to use the MMP attribution link and open the app store or intended app page.
• Web-to-App does not use NAM's Deferred Deep Link URL or CPP options. It also does not automatically use the click or impression tracking links saved in App Events to attribute the website-to-app journey. Configure the in-app destination through your website, MMP, and app. After saving the ad, test the full journey as described in B6 before launch.

B3. Set up IAP and IAA tracking

Connect your app's MMP integration to NewsBreak, then follow the IAP or IAA workflow below for your app's monetization model. Configure the corresponding app event and revenue source.

IAP: Track confirmed in-app purchases

• Capture purchases: Record the purchase event after payment is confirmed. Include the order or transaction ID, actual revenue, currency, and event time. Do not send free trials, checkout starts, or failed payments as completed purchases.
• Configure postbacks: Enable purchase event postbacks in your MMP's NewsBreak partner settings. For standard IAP tracking, map the purchase event to app_purchase and include revenue and currency. For example, AppsFlyer's af_purchase can be mapped to this event.
• Verify the results: Check the purchase record received by the MMP, the postback sent to NewsBreak, and the corresponding event in NAM. Confirm that the transaction and amount match and that the event aligns with your optimization goal.

IAA: Track in-app ad impressions and ad revenue

• Connect the revenue source: Use your ad monetization SDK or mediation platform to collect ad impressions and their revenue, then send the data to your MMP. Confirm the source, data granularity, amount, and currency. Ad requests, clicks, or reward claims are not substitutes for ad revenue records.
• Enable revenue sharing: Turn on ad revenue postbacks and revenue sharing in your MMP's NewsBreak partner settings. Confirm that your account meets the required plan, permission, and SDK integration conditions. Seeing ad revenue in the MMP does not mean it has been sent to NewsBreak.
• Connect the NAM event: Create an In-App Ad Impression event in NAM and enable Event value. Use event mapping or dedicated ad revenue sharing settings as required by your MMP integration. Where mapping is required, copy the exact app_in_app_ad_impr event type. Do not assume every MMP handles ad revenue as a regular in-app event.
• Validate postbacks: Follow the data from the source revenue record to the MMP, the outgoing postback, NewsBreak receipt, and reporting. Confirm that revenue amounts are included, not just impression counts. Check for delays, aggregation, and duplicate revenue.

For integration details, see the AppsFlyer Integration Guide, Adjust Integration Guide, or Apps & Mobile Gaming Campaigns on NewsBreak Ads: Guide to Launching and Scaling.

Settings required for either workflow

Check the app, operating system, data sharing scope, and event postback window. Configure all-source data sharing and revenue fields according to the relevant MMP guide. Set up the website's download button with an MMP click attribution link and pass the actual Click ID as described in B4.

If you send direct server-to-server (S2S) postbacks, confirm supported app events, revenue fields, and mapping with your AM first. Your backend must associate the website's Click ID with the app user and subsequent revenue records; storing it only in a browser cookie is not enough. Send confirmed purchase revenue for IAP or ad revenue from the agreed source for IAA, using the corresponding app event. Do not reuse the web Complete Payment event.

B4. Preserve attribution from website to app

When a user clicks the ad, NewsBreak replaces macros in the landing page URL. Your website should read the resolved values and pass them into the MMP link used by the download button to preserve the connection to later app events.

For example, add the following parameter to the ad's landing page URL:

https://example.com/app?newsbreak_cid=__CALLBACK_PARAM__

• __CALLBACK_PARAM__ has two underscores at both the beginning and the end. After an ad click, it should be replaced with the actual NewsBreak Click ID.
• Preserve the Click ID and the campaign, ad set, and ad information required by your MMP. Check that intermediate redirects do not drop these parameters.
• Pass the actual Click ID into the appropriate field in the MMP-generated link, such as clickid for AppsFlyer or newsbreak_click_id for Adjust. Follow the current integration requirements for your app.
• The download button link should not contain unresolved macros. Do not name a custom parameter nb_cid; that name is reserved by the platform. Pass device identifiers only when they are actually available.

Saving a Tracking URL in App Events does not configure the website's download button; that attribution flow must be set up separately. Confirm view-through attribution support with your AM. An MMP Impression Tracking URL measures impressions of the acquisition ad, not the monetization ads shown inside your app.

B5. Match the optimization event to your revenue goal

Select the app event that matches the ad set's business goal. Keep the optimization event, revenue postbacks, and reporting definitions aligned.

Before enabling revenue optimization, confirm that the selected app event is receiving revenue correctly and that the account meets the bidding strategy's data requirements. Check the D1/D7 value window and reporting definitions. Evaluate IAP using purchase revenue and IAA using ad revenue.

To analyze website activity, use the NewsBreak Pixel to record actions that actually occur on the website. Do not fire Complete Payment if no payment takes place there. Website tracking does not replace in-app monetization postbacks.

B6. Test the full journey before launch

Walk through the complete journey on a test device for each operating system you plan to run, and confirm each handoff:

• Landing page: After a test click, the landing page URL shows an actual Click ID in place of __CALLBACK_PARAM__, and any redirects keep the parameter.
• Download button: The MMP link contains the resolved Click ID, has no unresolved macros, and opens the correct app store or app page.
• Install and first open: Your MMP records the install or first open and attributes it to NewsBreak.
• Revenue event: For IAP, complete a test purchase; for IAA, trigger an in-app ad impression. Trace the record from the source to the MMP, the postback to NewsBreak, and the event in NAM. Confirm the event type, amount, and currency match, and that nothing is counted twice.

Part C: When Revenue Happens on Both the Website and in the App

Some journeys include both: the user pays on your website, then makes additional purchases inside the app, such as upgrades or add-ons.

• Report the web order once with the web Complete Payment event.
• Report an in-app purchase as an app purchase only when it is a new transaction, not the same order that was paid on the website. Use order or transaction IDs to make sure each payment is counted once.
• Each ad set optimizes toward one event. Choose the event that represents your primary revenue, and confirm with your AM which campaign type and setup support your journey.

Related guides

• Best Practices for Event Tracking
• How to install NewsBreak Pixel with custom code
• NewsBreak Postback Integration (Generic Integration)
• Apps & Mobile Gaming Campaigns on NewsBreak Ads: Guide to Launching and Scaling
• AppsFlyer Integration Guide
• Adjust Integration Guide