What are Offline Conversions, and How Can You Track Them?

Please note: the above image is AI-generated.

Tracking phone calls as offline conversions is an important part of understanding how your digital marketing efforts lead to real business results. Many businesses receive leads and close sales over the phone, yet those actions are often left out of standard online reporting. In this guide, you will learn how to track offline conversions effectively so you can measure their impact, improve campaign performance, and make better marketing decisions based on complete data.

What are Offline Conversions?

Offline conversions are sales or valuable actions that happen after someone interacts with your online marketing but completes the next step outside of your website or digital platform. This could be a phone call, a visit to your physical store, or a conversation with a sales rep.

What does that look like in real life?

Imagine someone clicks on a Facebook ad, fills out a contact form, and then talks to your team. A few days later, they make a purchase during an in-person meeting. The sale didn’t happen online, but it started there. That makes it an offline conversion. 

Strategies to Track Offline Conversions

If you want to track conversions that happen offline, here are several effective strategies. These methods help connect your online and offline channels so you can better evaluate performance and improve campaign outcomes.

1. Call Tracking

Assign unique numbers to different campaigns to track where incoming calls are coming from. This method allows you to match touchpoints to specific ad campaigns, helping you understand which efforts are generating quality leads. Phone tracking also provides valuable insights into call duration and outcomes, especially when integrated with your customer relationship management system.

Tip: Use dynamic number insertion to automatically show different numbers based on how someone found your website.

2. CRM Integration

Connect your CRM system to your ad platforms. When a lead fills out a form or clicks on an ad, that info is captured in your CRM. Once your sales team closes the deal, you can push that conversion data back into platforms like Google Ads or Meta Ads.

Benefits:

Tracking phone calls as offline conversions is an important part of understanding how your digital marketing efforts lead to real business results. Many businesses receive leads and close sales over the phone, yet those actions are often left out of standard online reporting. In this guide, you will learn how to track offline conversions effectively so you can measure their impact, improve campaign performance, and make better marketing decisions based on complete data.

What are Offline Conversions?

Offline conversions are sales or valuable actions that happen after someone interacts with your online marketing but completes the next step outside of your website or digital platform. This could be a phone call, a visit to your physical store, or a conversation with a sales rep.

What does that look like in real life?

Imagine someone clicks on a Facebook ad, fills out a contact form, and then talks to your team. A few days later, they make a purchase during an in-person meeting. The sale didn’t happen online, but it started there. That makes it an offline conversion. 

Strategies to Track Offline Conversions

If you want to track conversions that happen offline, here are several effective strategies. These methods help connect your online and offline channels so you can better evaluate performance and improve campaign outcomes.

1. Call Tracking

Assign unique numbers to different campaigns to track where incoming calls are coming from. This method allows you to match touchpoints to specific ad campaigns, helping you understand which efforts are generating quality leads. Phone tracking also provides valuable insights into call duration and outcomes, especially when integrated with your customer relationship management system.

Tip: Use dynamic number insertion to automatically show different numbers based on how someone found your website.

2. CRM Integration

Connect your CRM system to your ad platforms. When a lead fills out a form or clicks on an ad, that info is captured in your CRM. Once your sales team closes the deal, you can push that conversion data back into platforms like Google Ads or Meta Ads.

Benefits:

these actions need to be tracked just like clicks and form submissions. Otherwise, you’re only seeing part of the impact.

1. It Helps You See What’s Working

Online reports often show metrics like impressions, clicks, or form submissions. But if the final sale happens offline, those reports won’t tell the full story. By tracking offline conversions, you get a clearer view of which ads or campaigns are bringing in paying customers.

2. It Improves How You Measure Return on Investment

If you're investing in paid ads, you want to know which ones lead to actual business. Offline conversion tracking helps connect the dots so you can see which campaigns are profitable and which ones might need adjustments.

3. It Supports Better Campaign Optimization

When you send offline conversion data back into platforms like Google Ads or Meta Ads, you help their algorithms learn from real outcomes. This helps your ads get shown to people who are more likely to become customers.

4. It Aligns Marketing and Sales

With offline tracking in place, your sales team and marketing team can work from the same data. Everyone has a better understanding of how leads are moving through the funnel and what’s needed to close deals.

5. It Gives You the Full Picture of the Customer Journey

Most buyers don’t convert right away. They might click on an ad, do some research, and then call your office a few days later. Offline tracking helps you follow that journey and make smarter decisions based on real behavior.

6. It’s Especially Valuable for Longer Sales Cycles

If your product or service takes time to consider, you may not see an immediate online conversion. Offline tracking allows you to measure success even when decisions happen over days or weeks.

How Does Offline Conversion Tracking Work?

Offline conversion tracking works by connecting an online interaction, like clicking an ad or filling out a form, to a business result that happens offline. This could be a phone call, an in-person visit, or a deal closed by your sales team. It gives you a way to measure the full value of your digital marketing, even when the final step doesn’t happen on your website.

User Clicks on Your Ad

When someone clicks your ad on platforms like Google or Meta, a unique tracking ID is generated. For example, Google uses a GCLID (Google Click Identifier). This ID helps identify which campaign or ad triggered the click.

User Takes an Online Action

After the click, the user might submit a lead form, download a brochure, or request a call. Their information, along with the tracking ID, is saved in your CRM or lead management system.

Conversion Happens Offline

Later, the user completes a valuable action that occurs outside the digital space. This might be a phone call with a sales rep, an in-store purchase, or a signed agreement after a consultation.

Conversion Is Recorded in Your System

Once your team confirms that the lead has converted, you log the outcome in your CRM. The key is to keep the original tracking ID, conversion date, and any additional details such as revenue amount.

Data Is Uploaded Back Into the Ad Platform

Using tools provided by platforms like Google Ads, you upload the offline conversion data. The system uses the tracking ID to match the conversion back to the original click.

Campaign Data Is Updated

Once the match is made, your campaign reports are updated to include the offline conversion. This allows you to see which ads are not only generating leads but also producing real business outcomes.

Purpose of Offline Conversion Tracking

The purpose of offline conversion tracking is to measure the real impact of your digital marketing efforts when the final customer action happens outside your website. Many businesses generate leads online, but the actual sales or high-value interactions happen later through phone calls, meetings, or in-store visits. Without tracking these offline actions, it's difficult to understand what’s driving actual results.

Understand True Campaign Performance

Click-through rates and form submissions only tell part of the story. Offline conversion tracking helps you identify which ads are generating qualified leads that turn into paying customers. This allows you to focus your budget and resources on strategies that actually produce revenue.

Improve return on ad spend by linking offline sales to specific campaigns or keywords, and you gain insight into where your budget is delivering the most value. This makes it easier to justify your marketing spend and cut back on campaigns that are not producing meaningful outcomes.

Optimize Campaigns With Better Data

When you send offline conversion data back to platforms like Google Ads, their algorithms can use that information to improve targeting. This helps attract more people who are likely to follow the same conversion path and become customers.

Align Marketing and Sales Goals

Offline tracking helps both teams work from the same information. Marketing understands which channels are bringing in quality leads, while sales can better qualify and follow up. This supports a more efficient and focused sales process.

Complete the Customer Journey

Customers rarely make decisions based on one interaction. Offline tracking connects all parts of the journey, from the first ad click to the final offline action. This gives you a complete view of how prospects move through your funnel and where improvements can be made.

Benefits of Offline Conversion Tracking

Offline conversion tracking offers several important benefits for businesses that handle leads, appointments, or sales outside their website. It gives you a more accurate picture of how your online marketing is contributing to real business outcomes.

Gain Visibility Into Actual Results

Not all valuable actions happen online. Offline tracking helps you connect digital campaigns with phone calls, in-person visits, or closed deals. This way, you're measuring what truly matters, not just clicks or form submissions.

Improve Campaign ROI

By linking offline results to specific ads or keywords, you can see which parts of your campaigns are driving the most revenue. This allows you to invest in what works and reduce wasted spending on underperforming channels.

Strengthen Decision-Making With Complete Data

When you track both online and offline activity, you get a full view of the customer journey. This helps you make more informed decisions about where to focus your time, budget, and messaging.

Improve Ad Targeting and Performance

Uploading offline conversion data into platforms like Google Ads or Meta Ads gives their algorithms better signals. These platforms can then serve your ads to users who are more likely to become paying customers.

Align Sales and Marketing Teams

With offline conversion tracking, your marketing team knows which leads are turning into sales. Your sales team, in turn, understands which campaigns are bringing in quality leads. This helps both teams work toward shared goals using the same data.

Support Long or Complex Sales Cycles

For industries with longer decision-making processes, like B2B, real estate, or professional services, offline tracking ensures you’re capturing delayed conversions that still started from a digital interaction.

What is Offline Conversion Import?

Offline conversion import is the process of sending data about customer actions that happened offline back into your advertising platform. These actions could include phone sales, in-person meetings, or any conversions that take place after someone interacts with your online ad.

This process helps link those offline outcomes to the original digital engagement, like an ad click or form submission. As a result, you get a more complete view of your campaign performance.

Why Offline Conversion Import Matters

Most digital ad platforms, such as Google Ads or Meta Ads, track online conversions automatically. But if the customer completes the final step offline, that conversion will not show up in your reports unless you import it.

By using offline conversion import, you can:

• Measure which ads lead to actual sales or valuable actions
• Improve return on investment by focusing on campaigns that drive real results
• Train ad platforms to target higher-quality leads based on completed conversions

How Offline Conversion Import Works

Here is a simple overview of how the process typically works:

1. A user clicks on your ad and takes an online action, such as filling out a contact form
2. Your system captures a unique identifier, like a Google Click ID (GCLID), and stores it with the lead's information
3. The lead later converts offline, such as by purchasing over the phone or signing a contract
4. Your sales team or CRM records the conversion and includes the original click ID
5. You upload this data back into your ad platform, either manually or through a system integration
6. The platform matches the offline conversion to the original ad click and updates your campaign reports

Benefits of Using Offline Conversion Import

• See the true impact of your ads beyond website activity
• Identify which campaigns are bringing in high-value leads
• Help ad platforms optimize targeting using real conversion data
• Align your sales and marketing teams with accurate performance tracking

How to Set Up Offline Conversion Tracking in Google Ads

Offline conversion tracking in Google Ads lets you connect actions that happen away from your website, such as phone sales or signed agreements, back to your online ad clicks. This allows you to measure what truly drives business results and adjust your campaigns based on actual performance.

Step 1: Turn On Auto-Tagging in Google Ads

Auto-tagging adds a unique Google Click Identifier, or GCLID, to every ad click. This ID is necessary for matching offline conversions to specific ad interactions.

To enable auto-tagging:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account
2. Click the gear icon in the top right and choose Account Settings
3. Under the Tracking section, check the box for auto-tagging
4. Save your changes

Please note: the above image is AI-generated.

Step 2: Capture the GCLID When a Lead Fills Out a Form

After a user clicks your ad and fills out a form, you need to save the GCLID along with their lead information. This usually requires a hidden field in your form and a bit of tracking code.

You can:

• Add a hidden field labeled GCLID to your form
• Use JavaScript to detect the GCLID from the URL and store it in the form
• Save the GCLID in your CRM, database, or lead tracking system

This step is critical for matching the future conversion back to the original click.

Please note: the above image is AI-generated.

Step 3: Record the Offline Conversion in Your CRM or Database

When the lead later makes a purchase, schedules a service, or completes another valuable action offline, record it in your system. You will need the following information:

• The original GCLID from when the person clicked the ad
• The name of the conversion event, which should match the name in Google Ads
• The date and time the conversion occurred
• The value of the conversion, if available

Please note: the above image is AI-generated.

Step 4: Create a Conversion Action in Google Ads

1. Sign in to Google Ads
2. Click Tools and Settings
3. Under the Measurement section, choose Conversions
4. Click New Conversion Action
5. Select Import and choose Other Data Sources or CRMs
6. Choose Offline
7. Enter the details such as the conversion name, category, and whether it has a value
8. Save the conversion action

This sets up a place for your offline data to be received and processed.

Please note: the above image is AI-generated.

Step 5: Upload Your Offline Conversion Data

You can upload your offline conversions manually or automatically.

Manual Upload

• Prepare a spreadsheet with columns for GCLID, conversion time, conversion name, and value
• Go to Tools and Settings in Google Ads
• Choose Conversions, then click Uploads
• Upload your file and confirm that your data is accepted

Automated Upload

If you use a CRM that integrates with Google Ads, you can set up an automated connection using Google's API. This reduces manual work and helps keep your reporting accurate.

Please note: the above image is AI-generated.

Step 6: Review Your Results

Once your offline conversions are uploaded and matched, you will see them in your campaign reports. This gives you insight into which ads are generating true business outcomes and allows you to optimize based on complete data.

How to Track Each Conversion Type Offline

Tracking offline conversions gives you a clearer picture of how your digital marketing is driving real business outcomes. While online tools can track form fills and clicks, many important actions—like phone calls, in-person sales, and signed contracts—happen outside of your website. Below is a breakdown of how to track each major type of offline conversion effectively.

Phone Calls

What to Track

Incoming calls from prospects who first interacted with your online ads or website.

How to Track

• Use call tracking software that assigns unique phone numbers to each ad, campaign, or landing page
• Capture details such as call duration, caller ID, call source, and call outcome
• Integrate your call tracking tool with your CRM or Google Ads to associate the call with the original campaign

Tools You Can Use

CallRail, Google Forwarding Numbers, CallTrackingMetrics

In-Person Visits or Purchases

What to Track

Walk-in traffic or purchases at physical locations after someone engages with your online ads.

How to Track

• Use coupon codes or digital offers that must be shown at the time of purchase
• Ask customers how they heard about you and record the answers in your CRM
• Track visits using in-store Wi-Fi logins or QR codes that connect to your campaigns

Tools You Can Use

Google Ads Store Visit Tracking, QR code platforms, and POS system integrations

Sales Closed by a Sales Team

What to Track

Deals that are closed offline after a lead comes in through your website or ad campaigns.

How to Track

• Capture the original ad click ID, such as Google’s GCLID, at the time of lead submission
• Store the lead details and click ID in your CRM
• When the deal closes, upload the conversion information into Google Ads or another platform using the matching ID

Tools You Can Use

Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Google Ads, and Offline Conversion Import

Appointments or Consultations

What to Track

Bookings or consultations made after an online interaction, but confirmed offline.

How to Track

• Use scheduling tools that can be linked with your marketing platform
• Track which campaign or ad led to the booking using unique URLs or tracking IDs
• Record the appointment outcome in your CRM to measure conversion quality

Tools You Can Use

Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, CRM integrations

Contact Our Team; We Can Help Track Conversions!

Whether your leads are coming in through phone calls, form submissions, or in-person visits, we can help you build a tracking system that connects every interaction to real results. Our team at WSI will work with you to identify the right tools, improve your reporting accuracy, and uncover which campaigns are truly driving growth. Let’s make sure every conversion counts.

Learn more about the art of offline conversions and how you can persuade your customers to complete your call-to-action! Speak to an expert today!