cut through the noise

The Truth About Tracking

There's an overwhelming amount of bad information, outdated advice, and straight-up myths about tracking and attribution floating around the internet.

We've been doing this for 11 years, helped over 122,000 advertisers, and we're going to give it to you straight — no BS, no vendor spin, just the facts you need to make informed decisions.

Can't find what you're looking for below? Reach out and we'll set the record straight.

logo Why ClickMagick

  • Why do I need ClickMagick — can't I rely on the ad networks or my funnel builder?

    • Short answer: No, and here's why.

      Ad networks have fundamental tracking problems. They use short attribution windows, give you estimated and delayed data, practice "greedy attribution" (claiming credit for conversions they didn't drive), and are crippled by ad blockers and iOS privacy features. These aren't bugs — they're baked into how ad platforms work. Read our detailed breakdown here.

      Your funnel builder, CRM, or ecom platform? Tracking is an afterthought for them. They're great at what they're built for, but their tracking capabilities aren't even close to ClickMagick.

      Simple example: Someone opts into your list twice using different emails. Your funnel builder shows two new leads when it's actually one person. That skews every metric you rely on — conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, everything.

      The real issue: You're making business decisions — what ads to scale, what to cut, where to invest more budget — based on fundamentally flawed data. ClickMagick gives you the accurate attribution and metrics you need to actually grow profitably, not just spend more hoping something works.

  • But doesn't "server-side tracking" solve all my problems without ClickMagick?

    • If it did, thousands of performance marketers and small businesses wouldn't be using ClickMagick to optimize and scale their ads.

      Here's what server-side tracking actually does: It helps improve accuracy by getting around ad blockers and most iOS tracking issues. That's useful, but it doesn't solve the core problem.

      The core problem: With server-side tracking, you're still relying on your ad network's tracking and attribution. Both the Facebook Pixel and Google Tracking Tag have unfixable problems baked into how they work — problems that result in consistently inaccurate tracking no matter how you implement them.

      Server-side tracking is basically a Band-Aid on a broken system. It improves one aspect of tracking while leaving the fundamental attribution problems completely untouched.

      We've written a detailed breakdown of exactly why this is: How does Server-Side Tracking compare to ClickMagick?

  • Why is accurate tracking just as important as my ads themselves?

    • Most advertisers spend tons of time and resources testing and tweaking their ads to improve performance and lower costs. But they don't realize that accurate tracking and attribution is just as important as the ads themselves.

      Without accurate tracking, you're flying blind. You don't actually know what's working and what's not. You can't optimize your ad copy and creatives in any meaningful way because you're making decisions based on guesswork.

      It gets worse: Your ad networks are using your bad tracking data to try to optimize your campaigns. So their algorithms are learning from inaccurate information about who converts and who doesn't.

      The result? Fewer customers for you, lower quality customers, and higher costs to acquire them.

      ClickMagick fixes both problems — you get accurate data to make better decisions, and your ad networks get accurate conversion data to optimize more effectively.

  • And what if I don't run paid ads?

    • Your social media posts, YouTube videos, influencer marketing, emails — even if you don't run paid ads, you still need to accurately track it all if you want to grow quickly and efficiently.

      ClickMagick reveals every click, every conversion, and every customer journey, exactly as it happened. You'll know down to the penny how much revenue is generated from every post, email, or traffic source.

      You'll finally have access to truly accurate metrics like average order value (AOV) and lifetime value (LTV) to help you optimize and grow — not the inflated or deflated numbers you're getting from other tools.

      Our Starter plan was created specifically for businesses like yours. It provides unbeatable tracking and attribution, real-time stats, and actionable reports for all your traffic sources — so you can focus on what's working and stop wasting time on everything else.

logo Getting Started

  • Will ClickMagick work with my online store, sales funnel or website?

    • Yes, yes, and yes!

      ClickMagick works with any type of ecommerce store, sales funnel, or website. Shopify, WooCommerce, custom-built stores — doesn't matter. ClickFunnels, GoHighLevel, Kajabi, WordPress — all of them work.

      We've been doing this for 11 years and have helped over 122,000 businesses set up tracking. We've seen every tech stack imaginable — from simple one-page sites to complex multi-step funnels with upsells, downsells, and order bumps.

      How it works: You add our TrueTracking™ code to your pages (similar to how you'd add Google Analytics or a Facebook Pixel), and ClickMagick handles the rest. It tracks everything that happens across your entire customer journey, regardless of what platforms or tools you're using.

      If you're using something unusual or have a complex custom setup, our support team has seen it before and can help you get it working properly.

  • So what exactly can I track and optimize with ClickMagick?

    • Everything. With ClickMagick you can accurately track and optimize all your paid ads and other online promotions.

      You can track your ads from any traffic source — Facebook, Google, TikTok, YouTube, native ads, whatever. You can track your social media activity, your emails, and even specific events on your own site like button clicks or video plays.

      Every click. Every conversion. Every customer journey in between. Exactly as it happened.

      Then we give you all the stats and reports you need to actually know what's working and what's not, down to the penny, for every traffic source, ad campaign, and even individual ads and keywords.

      ClickMagick reveals your true conversion rates, net profit, average order value, return on ad spend, customer lifetime value, and tons more. You get real-time, on-demand reports showing things like your best and worst performing ads, how long it takes to convert clicks to sales, and which traffic sources are actually profitable.

      But it goes beyond just reporting. ClickMagick Audience Optimization™ supercharges your ad networks' AI by automatically sending them your actual conversion data in real-time — not the broken data they're currently using.

      It leverages first-party data collected on your site, which results in the absolute best "match scores" possible. You don't need to worry about the technical details — the end result is more customers for you, better quality customers, at the lowest cost possible.

      Here's something unique: You can optimize your ads for any goal or conversion type you want. Our competitors only let you send sales data back to ad networks. With ClickMagick, you can also optimize for opt-ins, info requests, add-to-carts, or anything else you can dream up.

  • How quickly can I set up and integrate ClickMagick into my business?

    • Basic setup takes 20-30 minutes if you're comfortable with adding tracking codes. You just need to add the TrueTracking™ code to your store or webpages, and add industry-standard UTM parameters to your URLs if you aren't already using them.

      We have step-by-step tutorials for all popular ecom platforms, page builders, and ad networks. If you've ever added Google Analytics or a Facebook Pixel to your site, this is similar.

      Brand new to this stuff? It'll take a bit longer, but our step-by-step Setup Wizard makes it as easy as possible, with help available at every step. You're not expected to figure it out on your own.

      Our more advanced features like Audience Optimization™ and Click Shield™ do require a bit more setup, but we have detailed step-by-step guides for everything. And if you ever do get stuck, our Fanatical Support team is available via Live Chat and Help Desk — we'll even do "done with you" support where we walk you through everything if needed.

  • Okay, but what if I have a really complicated or custom set up?

    • Our team of real marketers has decades of digital marketing experience. We've helped over 122,000 performance marketers, ecommerce stores, and small businesses track and optimize their online marketing — and we've seen every setup imaginable.

      Custom-built checkout process? Multi-step funnels with complex upsell sequences? Unusual tech stack? We've handled it before.

      Regardless of the type of store, sales funnel, or website you have, there's no one more qualified to help than ClickMagick. We obsess over tracking so you don't have to.

logo ClickMagick Highlights

  • How does ClickMagick's accuracy compare to other solutions?

    • Ad networks misattribute or completely miss 25-50% of your conversions. And tracking is just an afterthought with your funnel builder, CRM, or ecom platform — so you can't rely on them for accurate attribution either.

      ClickMagick users generally see 97-99% accuracy. Where you fall in that range depends on your exact tech stack, but here's the key thing: it doesn't really matter.

      Here's why: When your ad network misattributes 25-50% of your conversions, that's a massive problem. But a few untracked conversions here and there aren't going to affect the stats you rely on to make decisions in any meaningful way.

      For example, if your conversion rate is 9.2% and your cost to acquire a customer is $48.24, these numbers aren't going to change in any statistically significant way whether your tracking accuracy is 97% or 99%.

      And no, in case you're wondering, 100% accuracy is simply not possible.

      What about our competitors? It's not technically possible to be "more accurate" than ClickMagick. So at best, their accuracy is on par with us — but that's being extremely generous.

      We've helped more advertisers fix their tracking problems than anyone else. We have more experience dealing with the almost endless issues that can cause tracking problems. And that experience is exactly what it takes to build a tracking solution that delivers the most accurate results for the most advertisers.

  • How does Audience Optimization™ help find me more customers at the lowest cost?

    • The major ad networks like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and TikTok misattribute or completely miss 25-50% or more of your conversions.

      That means the stats in your ad network accounts are essentially useless, aside from showing your ad costs.

      Even worse: The ad network pixels you have on all your pages are feeding this bad conversion data back to the ad networks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So their algorithms are trying to find you new customers based on fundamentally flawed data.

      The result? Their algorithms are far less efficient than they should be, which means fewer new customers for you, and at a higher cost for the ones you do get.

      ClickMagick's Audience Optimization™ fixes this problem. It automatically sends your actual conversion data back to the ad networks in real-time, which allows their algorithms to find you more and better customers at the absolutely lowest cost possible.

      This dramatically increases your profit margins and makes it much easier to scale profitably.

  • How will ClickMagick’s Click Shield™ help me save money from day one?

    • Whether it's your competitors trying to waste your ad budget, "click happy" users who click on your paid ad every time they want to visit your site, or bots clicking your ads — click fraud is a huge problem.

      If you're running pay-per-click ads on Google or Bing, Click Shield™ will almost certainly save you more than the cost of ClickMagick in your very first month.

      Here's how it works: You set up specific rules to define what type of paid click behavior is acceptable to your business and what's not. Anyone who violates these rules is added to a custom "blacklist."

      This blacklist is then automatically synced to your ad networks, preventing these users from even seeing your ads — so they can no longer repeatedly click on them and waste your ad budget.

      The end result is simple: Your conversions stay the same, but your ad spend goes down.

  • How does ClickMagick protect me from "bots" and other fake clicks?

    • Experts say bots generate 40-50% of all Internet traffic. Whether it's something innocent like a search engine spider or link checker, or a malicious bot designed to click on ads and waste your money — you can't have accurate tracking without best-in-class bot filtering.

      ClickMagick TrueTracking™ protects your stats and your ad budget better than anyone. We've been in the trenches battling bots as direct response marketers longer than anyone. With billions of clicks processed and analyzed, no other bot filtering system even comes close.

      That's why ClickMagick filters out 99% of all bot and other fake clicks, resulting in the cleanest and most accurate stats possible.

      Here's a simple test you can do right now: Take one of the URLs you're promoting and paste it into Slack or post it on Facebook. As soon as you do, their bots will generate a "click" to your URL to preview it.

      Then go check your stats in your current tracking system. It will almost certainly show that as a real click — which means your stats aren't even remotely accurate.

      ClickMagick automatically filters out clicks like these so you only see real human traffic in your reports.

  • What about things like Cross-Device and Offline Sales Tracking — hard to set up?

    • Not only are these things not hard to set up — you literally don't have to do anything at all. Once you install the ClickMagick tracking code, it all just works.

      Cross-device tracking is automatic. If someone clicks your ad on their phone, then later completes a purchase on their laptop, ClickMagick tracks that entire journey and properly attributes the conversion.

      Offline sales tracking requires one additional step — you just enter the sale information into a simple form when it happens. ClickMagick handles the attribution automatically.

  • I’ve heard your support is amazing. How do you do it?

    • We know you're going to get stuck at times, and you're going to need help. That's just part of running a business online.

      That's why we offer live chat support, and even Zoom support if necessary — so you can get your issue resolved quickly and get back to work growing your business and making money.

      Even for complex issues that require opening a ticket in our Help Desk, we'll always get back to you within a few hours at most (usually it's just an hour or so).

      We know how frustrating it is when you submit a support ticket, wait 24 or 48 hours, and then the reply doesn't even actually help you. That's totally unacceptable to us. Our mission is to give you real solutions that get you unstuck fast.

      We'll often shoot a custom video just for you that walks you through the entire solution step-by-step.

      This will almost certainly be the best support you've ever received from any company you've ever done business with — because our team consists of real marketers with years of experience, not low-paid outsourced "customer support" reps who've never been in the trenches.

logo ClickMagick vs. Others

  • How does Ecom Store Tracking + CAPI compare to ClickMagick?

    • Ecom store tracking with CAPI is better than nothing, but it falls short in critical ways. The main issues: your store can't properly attribute conversions when people switch devices (which happens about 46% of the time), uses overly simplistic "last click" attribution, and often can't send complete data back to ad networks for optimization.

      The result? Inaccurate stats you can't trust, and ad networks optimizing with incomplete data — which means fewer customers at higher costs.

      We break down exactly why ecom store tracking fails and how ClickMagick solves these problems:

      How does Ecom Store Tracking + CAPI compare to ClickMagick?

  • How does Facebook Pixel Tracking compare to ClickMagick?

    • The Facebook Pixel has serious problems that hurt your ad performance. Facebook now uses just a 7-day attribution window (missing 25%+ of conversions), can't track 96% of iOS users who opt out, gets blocked by privacy-focused browsers and plugins, and uses "greedy attribution" that takes credit for sales it didn't drive — even counting "view-through conversions" when people never clicked your ad.

      The bigger problem? Facebook's AI is using all this bad data to optimize your ads, which means worse targeting and higher costs.

      We break down all the ways Facebook Pixel tracking fails and how ClickMagick solves each one:

      How does Facebook Pixel Tracking compare to ClickMagick?

  • How does Funnel Builder Tracking + CAPI compare to ClickMagick?

    • Funnel builder tracking with CAPI is better than nothing, but tracking is just an afterthought for these platforms. The main problems: they can't properly attribute conversions when people switch devices (46% of the time), use overly simplistic "last click" attribution, and often can't send complete data — like the ad network "click id" — back to your ad networks due to broken tracking.

      The result? About half the data being sent to your ad networks for optimization is incomplete or wrong, which means their AI can't optimize effectively.

      We explain exactly why funnel builder tracking falls short and how ClickMagick fixes it:

      How does Funnel Builder Tracking + CAPI compare to ClickMagick?

  • How does Google Analytics/GA4 compare to ClickMagick?

    • GA4 is free, but it's a terrible choice for performance marketers. Google built it to comply with privacy regulations, not to give you accurate data. The result is a system that relies heavily on AI modeling and guessing rather than actual tracking. GA4 can't track iOS users who opt out (96% of them), gets blocked by privacy browsers and plugins, fails at cross-device tracking 40% of the time, and records duplicate conversions.

      Worse yet: GA4 gives you anonymous, fragmented data with no visibility into individual customer journeys — you just have to "trust" their estimates.

      We explain why GA4 falls short for direct response marketing and how ClickMagick provides the accurate data you actually need:

      How does Google Analytics/GA4 compare to ClickMagick?

  • How does Google Tag Tracking compare to ClickMagick?

    • The Google Ads Tracking Tag has the same fundamental problems as the Facebook Pixel. It uses limited attribution windows (30-90 days), can't track 96% of iOS users who opt out, gets blocked by privacy-focused browsers and plugins, and uses "greedy attribution" — even taking credit for "view-through conversions" when people never clicked your ad. Google also fails at cross-device tracking about 40% of the time and relies heavily on data sampling and modeling (guessing).

      The result? The stats in your Google Ads account are corrupted with bad data, and Google's AI is using that bad data to optimize your campaigns — which means worse targeting and higher costs.

      We break down all the problems with Google Tag tracking and how ClickMagick solves them:

      How does Google Tag Tracking compare to ClickMagick?

  • How does Hyros compare to ClickMagick?

    • Hyros is expensive and leans heavily on marketing hype. The biggest problem: Hyros has no meaningful bot filtering, which means their stats include tons of fake clicks counted as real traffic. ClickMagick has the most advanced bot filtering in the industry, trained on billions of clicks over 10+ years.

      Beyond that: Hyros only sends conversions to ad networks once per day (ClickMagick does it in real-time), sends fewer data points for optimization (6 vs. 15 for Facebook), and costs 3x more than ClickMagick if you're doing $100k/month in revenue — with many users paying $2,000+ per month.

      We compare Hyros and ClickMagick across 10 different areas so you can see the real differences:

      How does Hyros compare to ClickMagick?

  • How does Server-Side Tracking compare to ClickMagick?

    • Server-side tracking is a step in the right direction — it helps get around ad blockers and some iOS tracking issues — but it doesn't solve the real problem. You're still relying on the Facebook Pixel and Google Tracking Tag for attribution, and both have unfixable problems baked into how they work.

      The core issues remain: Short attribution windows (Facebook's 7-day, Google's 30-90 day), "greedy attribution" that takes credit for conversions they didn't drive, unreliable cross-device tracking, and heavy reliance on data sampling and modeling (guessing). Server-side tracking is basically a Band-Aid on a fundamentally broken system.

      We explain exactly why server-side tracking falls short and how ClickMagick solves the underlying attribution problems:

      How does Server-Side Tracking compare to ClickMagick?

  • Why is ClickMagick so affordable compared to other options?

    • We're so focused on building an amazing product that we made the mistake of setting our initial pricing way too low back in 2014. Then we didn't increase prices as we added more features and value over the years.

      Over the past 18 months we've been slowly raising prices to better reflect the value ClickMagick provides — our closest competitors start at $400-500+ per month. We'll continue adjusting prices going forward, but ClickMagick will never cost that much.

      We'll never charge based on your contact count or ad spend like some competitors do, because we think that's unreasonable. Your success shouldn't make our product more expensive.

      If you want to lock in today's pricing before it goes up again, sign up now and you'll keep these rates as long as you remain a customer.

logo iOS Tracking Issues

  • Is ClickMagick affected by iOS privacy changes or Intelligent Tracking Prevention?

    • Nope, not at all. ClickMagick TrueTracking™ uses no redirects and only first-party cookies on your own domain. That means it is not — and cannot be — blocked by iOS.

      Even better: ClickMagick Campaigns with Audience Optimization automatically sends your actual conversion data back to the major ad networks using Facebook's Conversion API and Google's new "WBRAID" tracking parameter. This results in improved optimization and increased ad performance.

      Here's the key distinction: The privacy fight is about tracking people across the entire Internet and sharing their data across multiple apps and websites for profit. ClickMagick has nothing to do with that.

      We help you track your own advertising and the traffic to your own website — which is something you have a fundamental right to do.

  • What should I know about tracking iOS users and Google Ads?

    • There's a massive amount of confusion among digital marketers about how iOS privacy changes affect Google Ads tracking. Here's all you really need to know:

      The stats in your Google Ads account have never been accurate, they will never be accurate, and you should never rely on them. As you can read about in our comparison of Google Tag tracking with ClickMagick, this has always been true.

      The iOS situation has just made things even worse, to the point where the conversion stats in your Google Ads account are effectively useless.

      The key is to simply acknowledge this and find a better solution. ClickMagick will instantly solve your Google Ads tracking problems — you can literally forget about the whole thing.

      We'll even send your iOS conversions back to Google using their new "WBRAID" parameter, which allows Google to optimize your ads for iOS users far better than they can with the bad data they have. The end result? More high-quality customers at the lowest cost possible.

  • What should I know about tracking iOS users and Facebook Ads?

    • There's a massive amount of confusion among digital marketers about how iOS privacy changes affect Facebook Ads tracking. Here's all you really need to know:

      The stats in your Facebook Ads account have never been accurate, they will never be accurate, and you should never rely on them. As you can read about in our comparison of Facebook Pixel Tracking with ClickMagick, this has always been true.

      The iOS situation has just made things even worse, to the point where the conversion stats in your Facebook Ads account are literally useless — and Facebook alone can no longer effectively optimize your ads for iOS users.

      The good news: ClickMagick can instantly solve your Facebook Ads tracking problems. While your competitors are wasting time and resources trying to solve an unsolvable problem, you can forget about the whole thing forever.

      ClickMagick Audience Optimization will automatically send your accurate conversion data back to Facebook, leveraging first-party data from your site. This restores Facebook's ability to optimize your ads for iOS users — even in the absence of a Facebook Click ID if iOS users choose not to be tracked. The end result? More high-quality customers at the lowest cost possible.

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