As privacy regulations evolve and traditional tracking methods become unreliable, marketers struggle to measure conversions accurately and confidently attribute ad performance. Yahoo's Conversions API solves this challenge by enabling server-side delivery of conversion data directly to Yahoo, giving you complete ownership over your data pipeline and significantly improving event deliverability. In this guide, we'll show you how to set up the Yahoo Conversions API so you can send conversions directly to Yahoo, optimize your search and native campaigns, and increase your return on ad spend.
How to set up the Yahoo conversion API?
1. Connect to your data source
Start by creating a Hightouch account. Once you're logged in:
- Navigate to the Integrations, then Sources.
- Select the data source that contains your event and customer data. This could be a data warehouse like Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, or a database like Postgres or MySQL.
- Enter your configuration details, such as credentials and hostnames, to authenticate your data source.
Hightouch will validate your connection and give you access to the schema for building your data model.
2. Define your data model
Next, define the event data you want to send to Yahoo. You can do this in three ways:
- SQL Editor: Write custom SQL to join and transform data for precise control.
- Table Selector: Choose pre-built tables and columns directly without needing SQL.
- Visual Audience Builder: Use a no-code interface to filter and segment your data based on behavior, properties, or timestamps.
This data model is the source of truth for what gets sent to Yahoo. Typical fields include user identifiers (email, phone), event names (purchase, signup), and metadata (value, currency, timestamp).
3. Create a Yahoo conversion destination
Now it’s time to connect Hightouch to Yahoo:
- Go to the Integrations, then Destinations.
- Click Add Destination and select Yahoo.
- Enter your Yahoo to client ID and secret.
4. Send conversions to Yahoo
Finally, you’ll configure your sync:
- Got to Activation, then Syncs.
- Click Add sync.
- Choose the model you created and your Yahoo destination.
- Map the data fields in your model to Yahoo’s expected parameters
- Run your sync.
What is the Yahoo conversions API?
The Yahoo Conversions API (also known as the Yahoo Enhanced Attribution) is an alternative to traditional web pixels and JavaScript tags and a more accurate way to send conversion data back to Yahoo. This direct, server-side approach allows you to leverage your 1st-party data and control exactly what user-completed events and associated values you send to Yahoo so you can optimize your campaigns toward the outcomes that matter most to your business and avoid the deliverability issues caused by adblockers and browser restrictions.
Benefits of using Yahoo conversion API
The Yahoo Conversions API offers advertisers a more resilient and precise way to send event data to Yahoo, enabling better campaign performance and measurement. Unlike browser-based tracking (e.g. traditional pixels), the Conversions API operates server-side, reducing data loss and enhancing targeting, even as privacy regulations tighten.
- Lower your Cost Per Result (CPR) by up to 13%: The Conversions API helps optimize ad delivery across Yahoo's search and native advertising network by reducing signal loss and giving Yahoo a complete view of user behavior. It enables more accurate event matching and supplies better training signals to Yahoo's algorithm, resulting in smarter bidding and targeting for both search campaigns and native content placements. This leads to lower CPRs and allows your budget to go further when reaching engaged Yahoo audiences.
- Increase attributed purchase events by up to 19%: When tracking breaks due to ad blockers, iOS restrictions, or cookie limitations, Yahoo may undercount conversions. The Conversions API solves this by sending events directly from your server, making them less likely to be blocked. You can also use deduplication to send both browser and server-side events. This ensures more conversions are accurately attributed to your Yahoo campaigns and improves Yahoo's optimization engine for both search and display advertising.
- Boost your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): More complete and reliable conversion data enables Yahoo to make better optimization decisions for your search campaigns and native advertising initiatives. This translates into sharper audience targeting and more efficient budget allocation toward high-performing keywords, content placements, and user segments. As a result, your campaigns deliver stronger performance, especially when optimizing for key actions like purchases, lead generation, or content engagement.
- Unlock better measurement and attribution: With server-side tracking, you gain more control over what data you send to Yahoo and how it is structured. You can include offline events like phone conversions from search ads, enrich conversion events with custom fields such as search keywords, content categories, or customer lifetime value (LTV), and apply deduplication logic to avoid counting the same event twice. This flexibility improves your analytics and helps align Yahoo optimization with real business outcomes across search and native advertising.
- Future-proof campaigns against privacy changes: As browser vendors and operating systems roll out stricter privacy features like third-party cookie blocking and App Tracking Transparency, traditional pixel-based tracking becomes less reliable. The Conversions API lets you maintain robust conversion tracking using first-party data delivered from your server, which is more resilient to these restrictions. That means you can continue measuring and optimizing your Yahoo search and native campaigns even in a privacy-first digital landscape.
What's the difference between a pixel & the Yahoo conversions API?
A traditional pixel runs on the user's browser or web application and automatically sends conversion events back to Yahoo. Unlike a traditional pixel, the Yahoo Conversions API allows you to send conversion data directly from your server to Yahoo. Pixels are easy to implement but less reliable; conversion APIs are slightly harder to implement but much more reliable because they give you complete control over the conversion signals you send back to Yahoo.
Here's a quick table highlighting the difference between a traditional web pixel and the Yahoo Conversions API:
| Feature | Traditional Pixel | Yahoo Conversions API |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking Method | Track events using web script or mobile SDK | Track and store events in your data warehouse or another internal system (e.g., CRM or CDP) |
| Delivery Method | Events sent client-side via web script or mobile SDK | Events sent server-side via API from your server to Yahoo |
| Reliability | Frequently blocked by ad blockers, cookie restrictions, & network interruptions | No interference from ad blockers, browsers, or operating systems |
| Supported Properties | Typically only supports website conversions | Supports both online & offline conversions |
| Privacy & Compliance | Limited control over what data you share with Yahoo | Maintain complete control over exactly what data you share with Yahoo to manage opt-out compliance |
| Benefits | Easy to implement | Better spend efficacy, more accurate attribution, & better consent management |
Why are companies switching to conversion APIs?
Ad blockers, browser restrictions, and operating system policies, such as Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) and App Tracking Transparency (ATT) from Apple, are making client-side tracking through traditional pixels increasingly unreliable. To combat this, nearly every major ad network is introducing new conversion APIs to support server-side events so advertisers can more reliably send their data to Yahoo to optimize their campaigns.
- Offline conversion tracking: Track and upload offline conversions not captured through client-side tracking, such as phone calls generated from search ads, in-store visits driven by native content, or lead qualification processes in your CRM. This is especially valuable for businesses that generate leads through Yahoo search and convert them offline, enabling you to connect digital advertising to real-world business outcomes across Yahoo's advertising network.
- Advanced matching: Increase your event-match quality by enriching your conversion events with first-party customer attributes and additional third-party identifiers. Improve Yahoo's ability to match conversion events to users by including data like email, phone number, and geographic location, as well as system identifiers like IP address or user-agent. This boosts your match rates and ensures more conversions are correctly attributed to your Yahoo campaigns, particularly important for search advertising where user intent and attribution accuracy are critical.
- Value-based bidding: Send conversion values to Yahoo to unlock value-based bidding so the algorithm can bid more on high-value conversions and less on low-value ones. By including monetary values tied to each conversion, Yahoo can optimize not just for quantity but also for value, improving your return on ad spend by bidding more aggressively for high-value search queries and premium native content placements.
Yahoo conversion API use cases
With the Yahoo Conversions API, you can tailor your setup and bidding strategy to align with your search and content marketing objectives. Whether you're focused on driving more qualified traffic, increasing revenue from search campaigns, or maximizing profit from your Yahoo advertising presence, the Yahoo Conversions API gives you the flexibility to send the data Yahoo needs to optimize campaigns across their search and native advertising network.
Optimize for conversion volume
To optimize for conversion volume, configure your setup to send conversion events without attaching revenue or monetary values. These events represent actions like purchases, signups, or inquiries, which aim to increase quantity across Yahoo's search results and native content placements. Use Yahoo's volume-based bidding strategies to drive the highest conversions at the lowest cost per action among Yahoo's engaged audience.
| Industry | Optimization Goal |
|---|---|
| Retail & E-commerce | Maximize the volume of purchase events on the website, in-app, and in-store |
| Media & Entertainment | Maximize the volume of subscription sign-ups |
| Financial Services | Maximize the volume of loan applications submitted |
| B2B SaaS | Maximize the volume of demo requests or product signups |
| Travel | Maximize the number of flights or rooms booked |
| Healthcare | Maximize the volume of health service signups |
| Education | Maximize the volume of enrollments for a course or event |
Optimize for conversion value
To optimize for conversion value, send the gross revenue associated with each conversion event, such as the order or subscription amount. Yahoo's value-based optimization will then aim to increase total revenue from your search and native campaigns rather than just the number of actions.
| Industry | Optimization Goal |
|---|---|
| Retail & E-commerce | Maximize the gross revenue value of each purchase |
| Media & Entertainment | Maximize the gross revenue from the first subscription payment (e.g., bid more for premium subscription signups) |
| Financial Services | Maximize the potential value of loan applications submitted (e.g., bid more on users with a higher likelihood of applying for large loan value) |
| B2B SaaS | Maximize the volume of qualified demo requests or product signups |
| Travel | Maximize the gross revenue value of flights or rooms booked |
| Healthcare | Maximize the gross revenue value of health service signups |
| Education | Maximize the gross revenue value of enrollments for a course or event signup (e.g., bid more for premium courses or packages to increase LTV) |
Optimize for financial outcome
To optimize for financial outcomes like profit or customer lifetime value, calculate and send the predicted financial value of each conversion. This could be estimated profit margins, post-cost revenue, or LTV from repeat customers. Then use Yahoo's optimization algorithms to align ad spend with real business performance across search and native advertising channels.
| Industry | Optimization Goal |
|---|---|
| Retail & E-commerce | Maximize the estimated profit of purchases by subtracting the estimated cost of goods sold, taxes, and fees (e.g., shipping) |
| Media & Entertainment | Maximize the estimated lifetime value of subscription purchases (e.g., bid more to convert users with a higher likelihood of retaining) |
| Financial Services | Maximize the predicted value of loan applications submitted (e.g., bid based on likelihood of loan approval and estimated interest value) |
| B2B SaaS | Maximize the predicted revenue value of demo requests or product signups (e.g., bid using intent data, lead scoring, and predicted ACV) |
| Travel | Maximize the estimated profit from flights or rooms booked by subtracting the cost of goods sold, taxes, and fees |
| Healthcare | Maximize the gross profit value or estimated lifetime value of health service signups |
| Education | Maximize the gross profit value or estimated lifetime value (if recurring) of a course or event signup (e.g., bid based on estimated profit margins from offering or likelihood to retain subscriber) |
What events does the Yahoo conversions API support?
Yahoo supports two types of events: standard events and custom events.
Standard events are predefined actions that Yahoo provides by default for basic use cases across industries.
Custom events are not predefined by Yahoo but can be configured to track user-completed events that are not covered underneath the standard events. Not every ad platform will support the same events or have the same naming convention. Additionally, it's always best to map your events back to standard events because the AI algorithms are trained on standard events and not custom ones.
Here's a table breakdown of the most common standard events and custom events that Yahoo supports:
| Category | Event Type | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase Events | Purchase, Complete Registration, Donate, Place an Order | Track & optimize toward purchases |
| Checkout Flow Events | Add to Cart, Initiate Checkout, Add Payment Info | Track and optimize toward steps that lead to purchases |
| Engagement Events | Customize Product, Add to Wishlist, View Content, Search, Find Location, Click Button | Track and optimize engagement with key actions on your site or in your app |
| Lead Capture Events | Subscribe, Submit Application, Start Trial, Contact Captured, Lead Captured, Scheduled, Download, Submit Form | Track and optimize toward lead capture |
| Custom Events | Business- or industry-specific actions (e.g., Search Query Performed, Content Shared, Newsletter Signup) | Track and optimize toward custom conversion events |
FAQS
Where can I access the Yahoo Conversions API?
You can read more about Yahoo Conversions API in Yahoo's documentation. Depending on your use case and implementation, you may need to reach out to Yahoo directly.
How do I check if the Yahoo Conversions API is working?
Check for successful API responses and verify that Yahoo has successfully received your events. Then, run a campaign to see if your ads are being attributed to conversions. (Note: If you don't see any attributed conversions, there's a chance that the ad just isn't converting.)
What match rate should I expect from the Yahoo Conversions API?
Your match rates can vary widely depending on the quality and coverage of unmatchable attributes you collect and/or enrich for each event and send to Yahoo. Sending additional identifiers like system attributes (e.g., IP address and user-agent), customer attributes (e.g., email and phone), and pseudonymous attributes (e.g., Click ID and Mobile Ad ID) can improve your match rates.
How often should I upload conversions?
Every ad platform has different recommendations, but the best practice is to upload your conversion events to Yahoo daily to ensure you're providing the targeting algorithms with immediate feedback.
What data should I include when uploading conversion events?
Each conversion event you send should include consented attributes about your users to achieve the highest match rates and accuracy for maximum campaign effectiveness, attribution, and measurement. Here's a quick list of the most important data to upload with your conversion events:
- System Event Parameters: Required attributes that tell the system what happened (e.g., event name and ID) and when it happened (e.g., event date and time).
- Consent Parameters: Attributes that tell Yahoo how to use the data and how the data should be processed to comply with regional requirements and customer data-sharing preferences.
- Customer Information Parameters: Additional customer attributes used to help the system match a conversion event back to their users and devices (e.g., email, phone, mobile ad IDs, and click IDs).
- Conversion Value Parameters: Monetary values (e.g., revenue, profit, LTV, etc.) assigned to conversion events that help Yahoo bid more on high-value conversions and less on low-value ones.
How long does it take your conversion data to be available in Yahoo?
The Yahoo Conversions API will receive data instantly, but it may take at least 24 hours to process it and make it available in campaign performance reports.
Does the Yahoo Conversions API have rate limits?
Rate limits always vary by ad platform, so you'll need to look through Yahoo's documentation to understand the platform's intricacies.
