> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.mediarithmics.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.mediarithmics.io/setup-and-monitor/collect-and-manage-your-data/collect-data-in-real-time/conversions.md).
# Conversions
Define a goal so the platform records when a user converts.
## Your goal
Record when a user converts, so you can measure and optimise the performance - the cost per action - of your marketing campaigns.
## Expected outcome
A goal that fires reliably at the moment of conversion, attached to the attribution model you want to use.
## What a goal is
On the platform you create a **goal** to define the trigger for **when a user should convert**. There are two ways to configure one, and the choice is a trade-off between simplicity and flexibility.
{% columns %}
{% column %}
### Trigger via pixel
Every user who sees the pixel on a page converts for that goal. The pixel goes on the confirmation page, or is loaded dynamically when the user converts - through a tag manager, or by including the pixel load in the site's logic.
**The simplest solution to configure.** Use it for non-recurrent conversion tracking.
{% endcolumn %}
{% column %}
### Trigger via query
A rule runs on the datamart data and generates a user conversion each time a user matches it.
**More flexible, longer and more complex to configure.**
{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}
Use the query option when:
* The tracking tags or pixels are already present on the website, including on the page where the conversion happens.
* The goal will be used repeatedly.
* The goal definition requires a complex rule that cannot be achieved by displaying a tag or a pixel.
{% hint style="info" %}
Query-based conversions are detected at **step 4** of the [processing pipeline](/setup-and-monitor/collect-and-manage-your-data/collect-data-in-real-time.md#the-processing-pipeline). Conversions relying on pixels skip that step, which is part of why they behave more predictably.
{% endhint %}
## Create a goal
{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Via pixel" %}
In the Navigator, under the **Campaigns** tab and the **Goals** sub-tab:
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Name the goal
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Select Trigger via Pixel
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Hand the generated HTML to your technical team
They integrate it on the confirmation page, or load it when the conversion happens.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Associate the attribution model
Do not skip this - it is what attributes the conversion to your marketing campaigns. Attaching an attribution model to a campaign goal is documented in the **Measurement & Attribution** section, under *Measure & optimize › Track your campaign › Goals and attribution*.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Save the goal
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Via query" %}
In the Navigator, under the **Campaigns** tab and the **Goals** sub-tab:
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Name the goal
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Select Trigger via Query
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Define the query
The query decides whether a user has converted. See [Query your datamart](/setup-and-monitor/operate-and-monitor/query-your-datamart.md) for the query languages available.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Associate the attribution model
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Save the goal
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
{% hint style="info" %}
If you have trouble defining the query for a goal, fall back to the pixel option or reach out to your account manager.
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}
## The `$conversion` event
A conversion appears in the data as the predefined event `$conversion`. It is either registered by the integrator, or created automatically by the platform when a goal is met. See [Standard events](/setup-and-monitor/collect-and-manage-your-data/design-your-data-model-and-schema/standard-events.md).
{% hint style="info" %}
For e-commerce, `$transaction_confirmed` is what feeds conversion amounts and funnel analytics. A goal and a transaction event answer different questions - a goal marks that an objective was met and can be attributed to a campaign, while `$transaction_confirmed` carries the products and amounts.
{% endhint %}
## Verify
* A test conversion produces a `$conversion` event on the user's timeline.
* The conversion is attributed to the expected campaign, given the attribution model you selected.
* Pixel-based goals fire exactly once per conversion - check that the pixel is not loaded twice on the confirmation page.
## Related pages
{% hint style="info" %}
Attaching an attribution model to a campaign goal, and reading the attributed conversions it produces, is documented in the **Measurement & Attribution** section, under *Measure & optimize › Track your campaign › Goals and attribution*.
{% endhint %}
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