The Ecomm Analyst

Yes, most e-commerce attribution tools can track Microsoft Ads, because the channel sends ordinary clicks with a click ID and UTM parameters, and any first-party pixel can read those. The real difference between tools is whether they pull your Microsoft spend and campaign structure in through a native integration, so you get ROAS and CAC at the campaign level, or whether Microsoft only appears as a traffic source you have to match to spend by hand. Check that before you assume the channel is covered.

How does Microsoft Ads tracking work?

Microsoft Advertising uses the UET tag on your site for its own conversion reporting, and auto-tagging appends a click identifier, MSCLKID, to your landing page URLs. Your attribution tool’s pixel reads the landing URL, the click ID, and any UTMs you add, then ties that visit to a later order. That part is not complicated. The two places it usually breaks are inconsistent UTMs and campaigns that were imported from Google Ads with Google’s tracking settings still attached.

Why do imported Google campaigns cause problems?

Because most brands launch Microsoft Ads by importing their Google account, and the import can copy tracking templates and final URL suffixes that label the traffic as Google. If your UTMs say utm_source=google on Microsoft clicks, your attribution tool will credit those orders to Google, and Microsoft will look like it drove nothing. After any import, open a few Microsoft ads, click through, and check what lands in the URL. Then set a Microsoft-specific suffix at the account level. My general UTM conventions are in how to structure UTM parameters for Shopify.

Why does Microsoft’s own conversion count differ from my attribution tool?

For the same reasons every platform’s number differs. Microsoft counts conversions it can connect to its own clicks within its conversion window, regardless of what else the customer touched. If that customer also clicked a Google Shopping ad and opened an email, both Google and Microsoft can claim the order. An independent tool assigns the order once and splits or allocates credit according to the model you pick. Neither is lying. They answer different questions. I went through the pattern in why Meta and Google both claim credit for the same sale, and the same logic applies here.

Is Microsoft Ads usually undercounted or overcounted?

In the accounts I have seen, it is more often ignored than miscounted. Brands spend a small fraction of their Google budget there, nobody looks at it closely, and it gets lumped into search. When it is tracked cleanly, branded and shopping campaigns often hold up well, partly because the audience overlaps less with Google than people assume. That makes it worth isolating in your reporting, even at small spend, so you can see whether it deserves more.

Which attribution tools support it natively?

Check each vendor’s integrations page rather than assuming, because support for Microsoft is less universal than for Meta and Google. ThoughtMetric lists Bing Ads among its native ad integrations, alongside Meta, Google, Pinterest, and TikTok, so Microsoft spend and campaign data flow in next to the rest of your paid channels. (Disclosure: ThoughtMetric sponsors this site.) If a tool you are evaluating does not list it, ask whether Microsoft can be added as a custom channel with spend, which still gives you a usable ROAS line.

Do I need the UET tag if I have an attribution tool?

Yes, keep it. Your attribution tool is for deciding where to spend. The UET tag feeds Microsoft’s bidding and audience features, and its smart bidding strategies need conversion data to work. Removing it to make the numbers agree would hurt performance without fixing anything. Just make sure the UET purchase event fires once per order, with revenue, and not on page reloads of the thank-you page.

What should I check first?

Run one test click on a Microsoft ad from a phone and one from a desktop, complete a test order or two if your store allows it, and confirm the order shows up in your attribution tool under Microsoft, not Google and not direct. Then compare a week of Microsoft-attributed revenue against Microsoft’s own report. Expect them to differ, but by a margin you can explain. If your attribution tool shows almost nothing while Microsoft reports steady conversions, the problem is almost always the URL, not the channel.

Quick answers

• Just imported your Google account? Check tracking templates and URL suffixes before anything else.
• Want campaign-level ROAS for Microsoft? Use a tool with a native integration, such as ThoughtMetric (our sponsor).
• Tool has no native integration? Add Microsoft as a custom channel with spend.
• Thinking of removing the UET tag? Do not. Bidding depends on it.
• Microsoft barely shows up in your attribution tool? Test a click and read the landing URL.