Follow this guide if your NewsBreak ad campaign drives users to complete a web purchase, after which they can open or install your app to redeem their item or access content.
TL;DR: This guide is for advertisers who:
Drive NewsBreak ad traffic to a website to complete a purchase.
Direct buyers to open or install an app post-checkout to access what they bought.
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.
| Stage | What happens | Measurement role |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ad click | The user clicks a NewsBreak ad and is taken to your website. | Starts the web conversion journey. |
| 2. Web funnel | The user views the offer, adds an item, and begins checkout. | Intermediate events provide optimization and audience signals. |
| 3. Web purchase | Payment is successfully completed and confirmed on your website. | Complete Payment is the primary conversion and revenue event. |
| 4. Optional app handoff | The confirmation page offers a link to open or install the app. | Optional user experience; no App Event is required when only the web purchase is measured. |
| Key principle: Log purchase value strictly at the initial web checkout. Treat later app opens, installs, or code redemptions as post-purchase activity—not new sales. Firing duplicate purchase events will artificially inflate your reported ROAS and throw off campaign optimization algorithms. |
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. 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.
| Collection and reporting need | Recommended approach |
|---|---|
| Full website funnel and retargeting | Use the Pixel to collect page views and intermediate website events. |
| Confirmed purchase | Use the backend Postback when available. |
| Ad set optimization | Select one Complete Payment source—Pixel or Postback—for the ad set. |
| Duplicate-counting control | Do not treat Pixel Complete Payment and Postback Complete Payment as two separate purchases for the same order. |
5. 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.
6. 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.
Expected behavior
| User state | Expected destination | Required capability |
| App installed | Open the intended in-app redemption, entitlement, or content screen. | iOS Universal Link or Android App Link, usually managed through the MMP. |
| App not installed | Open the appropriate app store, then route the user to the intended in-app screen after install and first open. | MMP deferred deep link plus correct store fallback. |
For provider-specific app-side configuration, see the MMP Integration Guides. For this web-purchase flow, keep the NewsBreak campaign configured with Web Events and keep the NewsBreak ad destination as the landing page.
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 Conversions 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.