What You'll Set Up
This tutorial walks through a complete ClickMagick setup in the order that avoids rework: your tracking domain first, then the tracking code, ad accounts, conversion events, conversion syncing and finally your reports. By the end, every click from your ads should be tied to the opt-ins and sales it produces, and those conversions should flow back to the ad platforms.
Step 1: Start Your Trial and Pick the Right Plan
Start the 14-day free trial on the plan you expect to use, so you test the features you'll pay for. Starter covers one site and 10,000 visitors a month. Standard adds click-fraud protection, phone and offline tracking and advanced attribution. If you're unsure, compare the limits in our ClickMagick pricing guide.
Step 2: Set Up Your Custom Tracking Domain
This is the step that makes ClickMagick's tracking first-party. Instead of loading from ClickMagick's domain, your tracking runs on a subdomain of your own site, for example track.yourdomain.com. Browsers then treat its cookies as your site's own, which is why ClickMagick says its tracking isn't blocked by iOS.
- In ClickMagick, open the custom domain settings and enter the subdomain you want to use.
- ClickMagick shows you a DNS record (typically a CNAME) to add.
- Log in to wherever your domain's DNS is managed (Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap and so on) and add that record.
- Wait for it to verify. That's often minutes, but DNS changes can take longer.
Step 3: Install the Tracking Code on Every Page
ClickMagick gives you a tracking script to place on every page of your site or funnel, usually in the site-wide header. Where it goes depends on your platform:
| Platform | Where to paste the code |
|---|---|
| WordPress | Your theme's header settings or a header/footer code plugin |
| ClickFunnels / GoHighLevel | Funnel or site settings, in the head tracking code area |
| Shopify | Use ClickMagick's Shopify integration instructions; checkout tracking works differently from your theme |
| Kajabi | Site settings, in the header code area |
| Custom HTML site | Inside the <head> of every page template |
After installing, visit your site from a fresh browser and check that the visit appears in ClickMagick. If it doesn't, the code is either missing from that page or blocked by a caching or optimization plugin that rewrites scripts.
Step 4: Connect Your Ad Accounts
Connect each ad platform you use. ClickMagick has native integrations for Facebook/Meta, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, LinkedIn, X and ChatGPT Ads. Once connected, ClickMagick pulls your ad costs every hour, which is what makes cost, ROAS and profit appear next to your conversions.
- Use an account with admin access to the ad account, or the connection may fail.
- On Starter you can connect one ad account per platform. Standard allows five, and Pro has no limit.
- Add or check the URL parameters in your ads so each click carries its campaign, ad set and ad details. Our UTM parameters guide includes ready-to-use Meta and Google templates.
Step 5: Set Up Conversion Tracking
Next, tell ClickMagick what counts as a conversion. Most advertisers track at least two events: a lead (opt-in or form fill) and a sale.
Tracking opt-ins and leads
The simplest method is to fire a conversion on your thank-you or confirmation page. If your form tool integrates with ClickMagick, you can send leads directly instead.
Tracking sales
Use a direct integration with your checkout where one exists (for example Shopify, WooCommerce, ClickFunnels, GoHighLevel or Kajabi). Integrations are more reliable than thank-you-page pixels because they report the actual order value, refunds and upsells. For affiliate offers, where the sale happens on someone else's site, use postbacks or dynamic affiliate links. See tracking for affiliate marketers.
Tracking phone and offline sales (Standard and Pro)
If you close deals on calls, connect your call tracking or CRM so offline sales are matched back to the original click.
Step 6: Turn On Audience Optimization
Audience Optimization sends your conversions back to the ad platforms in real time, similar to the Facebook Conversions API. This is often where the payoff is. Ad algorithms optimize toward whatever conversions they can see, so feeding them more complete data helps them find more buyers.
- Choose which events to send to each platform (for example, Lead and Purchase).
- Match the event names to the ones your campaigns optimize for.
- If you also run the platform's own pixel, make sure events aren't counted twice. ClickMagick's docs explain how it handles deduplication for each platform.
Step 7: Create Tracking Links for Non-Ad Traffic
For traffic that doesn't come from a connected ad platform, such as email newsletters, YouTube descriptions, podcasts, influencer posts or solo ads, create ClickMagick tracking links. You can group them, rotate them between pages and split-test destinations. Solo-ad buyers should follow our dedicated ClickMagick solo ads tutorial.
Step 8: Test Everything, Then Read Your First Reports
Before you trust the numbers, run one end-to-end test:
- Click one of your live ads or tracking links from a private browser window.
- Opt in and, if possible, complete a test purchase you can refund.
- Confirm the click, lead and sale appear in ClickMagick, attributed to the right campaign and ad.
- Check the ad platform's events manager to confirm the conversion arrived from ClickMagick.
Then start with these reports:
| Report | What it answers |
|---|---|
| Campaign / ad stats | Which ads produce leads and sales, and at what ROAS? |
| UTM Performance | How do sources, mediums and campaigns compare? |
| Conversion Velocity | How long after a click do sales arrive? Don't kill ads too early. |
| Lifetime Value | What are customers from each source worth over time? |
| Funnel Steps | Where do visitors drop out of your funnel? |
Give it a few days of data before making big changes, and compare ClickMagick's numbers with your actual sales records. Our guide to marketing attribution explains why different tools will never match perfectly.
Troubleshooting Common Setup Problems
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking domain won't verify | DNS record wrong or not propagated | Recheck the record type and value; check proxy settings if on Cloudflare |
| Visits not showing | Code missing or altered by a caching/optimization plugin | Confirm the script on each page; exclude it from script optimization |
| Sales not attributed | Checkout on a different domain without integration | Use the platform integration or postback instead of a thank-you pixel |
| Costs missing | Ad account not connected or missing permissions | Reconnect with admin access |
| Conversions doubled in Ads Manager | Pixel and server events not deduplicated | Follow ClickMagick's deduplication settings for that platform |
Still deciding whether ClickMagick is the right tool? Read our full ClickMagick review, or explore more setup guides on the Click Tracking Guide homepage.