Install the Pinterest tag on Shopify and verify that events are firing

This tutorial is for Shopify stores that want to install the Pinterest tag cleanly, then check that the Page Visit, Add to Cart and Checkout events are reaching Ads Manager. It draws on the videos we have devoted to the subject and on what we see on the accounts we manage. By the end, you will know how to read the event history, use the Pinterest Tag Helper and understand why the Conversions objective stays greyed out when something is missing.

Why this step matters

The Pinterest tag is the piece of code that connects your store to the ad account. We sum it up this way in our video on the Conversions objective: if Pinterest knows how many visits, add-to-carts and purchases your site produces, it can optimize; if it does not know, it cannot optimize anything at all. Campaign objective, reading results, budget: everything depends on this starting point.

Our 2021 video on installing through an app insists on the consequence of a badly placed tag: you receive bad data and misread it, until you conclude that Pinterest is not profitable for you when it is the measurement that is wrong. On the accounts we manage, this is the first thing we check before touching a campaign, and it is often where the explanation for a "Pinterest test that did not work" lies.

Since 2022, installation on Shopify goes through the Pinterest app published by Pinterest itself. We show it in the video below: once the app is connected, the tag is in place and the product catalog is synced, without touching the theme code. In a more recent conversation with Alexandre, from Pinterest, the point is confirmed for the Conversions API: on Shopify, the app installs it directly. The interface has changed since filming; the logic has not. What gets skipped most often are the checks that every one of our videos repeats: Tag Helper, add-to-cart simulation, sale simulation, comparison with the store's figures.

Install the Pinterest tag on Shopify with the official app (2022)

1. 1

   Check that the account is a Business account and claim the website

   Open Pinterest and check that the Ads menu is present at the top of the page. As our video on the other platforms points out, a personal account converts to a business account from the account settings.

   Then claim your domain: Settings, then Claim, then Websites. On Shopify, the Pinterest app usually takes care of this when you connect; otherwise, the HTML tag provided by Pinterest goes into the head section of the theme.liquid file, as we do in our video on manual installation. To be clear, claiming is not enough: it proves the site belongs to you, it installs nothing.

2. 2

   Install the Pinterest app from the Shopify App Store

   From the Shopify admin, open Apps and search for "Pinterest". Install the app published by Pinterest, not a third-party app. The main video shows it: you click Add app while logged in to the store.

3. 3

   Connect the Pinterest account and authorize access

   Before clicking the connect button, log in to the right Pinterest account in the same browser. One detail matters here: you need both windows open, Shopify and Pinterest, on the account you want to link. Click Connect Pinterest account, then Authorize access in the window that opens.

   Back in the app, as the video shows, the tag is installed and the catalog synced. In the current version of the app, the settings page also shows the status of conversion tracking, which covers the tag and the Conversions API: check that it is active, and that the selected ad account is the one you are going to run your campaigns on.

4. 4

   Install the Pinterest Tag Helper and verify the Page Visit event

   Install the Pinterest Tag Helper extension on Chrome, then open your store in a new tab. We show it in the main video: the extension detects right away whether the tag is present. You should see your tag ID and a pagevisit event as early as the home page.

   Two things to check: the ID, which must be the one displayed under Ads, then Conversions; and the number of tags, because two IDs, or the same one twice, signal a double installation to remove.

5. 5

   Verify the Add to Cart event with a simulation

   On a product page, add an item to the cart with the extension open. We do this in each of our installation videos: an add-to-cart simulation is enough to make the event appear. You should see an addtocart event with, in its parameters, the value, the currency and the quantity.

   These parameters matter: our video on manual installation explains that an event with hard-coded values sends wrong amounts as soon as the price changes. The app passes these variables on its own.

6. 6

   Verify the Checkout event with a test order

   This is the event a campaign with the Conversions objective optimizes on. In the main video, we recommend running a sale simulation if you can. On Shopify, there are two ways to place an order without taking any money: Shopify Payments test mode, under Settings, then Payments, or a 100% discount code reserved for your own use. Go all the way to the confirmation page with the extension open, and check that a checkout event appears with the order's value and currency. Then cancel the test order in Shopify.

7. 7

   Read the event history in Ads Manager

   Open Pinterest, then Ads, then Conversions. We walk through this screen in our video on the Conversions objective. Look first at the date and time of the most recent event: they must match your tests. One trap to know about: the time displayed is in UTC, not your local time.

   Then click Event history. You should see your three event types with consistent volumes: many visits, fewer add-to-carts, even fewer checkouts. On the account shown on screen in that video, the add-to-carts and purchases of the last few days are compared with the store's figures. On the accounts we manage, a gap of a few units is normal; a gap of an order of magnitude signals a problem.

   If the Conversions API is active, this screen separates events received through the tag and through the API. Alexandre, from Pinterest, explains it to us: Pinterest deduplicates, and a purchase seen by both counts once. On our accounts, the API generally reports more than the tag alone.

8. 8

   Check automatic Enhanced match

   Still under Ads, then Conversions, check that automatic Enhanced match is turned on. It is the first thing we look at in our video on the greyed-out objective. Alexandre gives the principle: when a visitor refuses cookies, Pinterest can still match the purchase to a profile from the information passed along, within the attribution window. On Shopify, the app turns it on by default in principle; check rather than assume.

9. 9

   Wait 48 to 72 hours before drawing conclusions about the Conversions objective

   If the Conversions objective appears greyed out when you create a campaign, it is not a failure. We explain it in the video below: Pinterest waits until it has seen a complete purchase path, visit, add-to-cart, checkout, in sufficient numbers. The usual benchmarks: at least two or three add-to-carts and two or three purchases visible in the event history, then a 48 to 72 hour wait.

   Why the Conversions objective stays greyed out and how to unlock it (2022)

   If your store has no traffic yet, your test orders serve this purpose too. As a last resort, the video mentions a traffic campaign to generate the first events, while making clear that we do not recommend it at the start. On the accounts we manage, waiting is almost always enough; otherwise, an earlier check was skipped.

What usually goes wrong

• The tag is installed twice. An old manual installation or a third-party app stays in place when the official app is connected: every event goes out in duplicate. The rule, set from our very first videos: one method only, the app first.
• The purchase event fires everywhere. In our video on Wix and PrestaShop, we show what happens when the checkout code is placed on every page instead of the confirmation page alone: Pinterest detects a sale on every visit. On Shopify, this case comes back as soon as you add code by hand.
• The base code is there, but not the events. This is the scenario described in our video on manual installation: the base code follows visitors, but without the event codes, no add-to-cart and no purchase gets through.
• The purchase is not reported, or stops being reported. A script left in a location Shopify has retired, a changed theme, an app reconnected to another account. It is best to come back a few days after installation to compare Pinterest's counters with the store's; we repeat this check every time the theme changes.
• Concluding too quickly that the objective is blocked. The events are there, but only for a few hours. Allow 48 to 72 hours, and check the UTC time before believing an event is missing.
• Pinterest traffic is under-measured, and the tag gets the blame. Alexandre explains to us that some users leave Pinterest's in-app browser, and that purchases made on another device escape last-click. The tag works; it is attribution that has its limits.

On WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Wix or through Google Tag Manager

We devoted a whole video to these platforms. The principle stays the same: a single base code, events verified in the Tag Helper and in the history.

WooCommerce. There is a free Pinterest extension for WooCommerce, developed with Pinterest. We recommend it: it installs the tag and syncs the catalog, like the Shopify app.

PrestaShop. No free official extension. Our video mentions a paid module dedicated to the Pinterest tag and a multi-platform pixel management module. Failing that, base code in the theme header and event codes page by page, with the dynamic variables from the Pinterest documentation.

Wix. From the site settings, Custom code section, paste the base code on all pages, in the header, and give it a clear name. The purchase code, on the other hand, goes only on the order confirmation page.

Google Tag Manager. This is the method we prefer for anything that is not Shopify or WooCommerce, as long as a GTM container already exists: a Pinterest template is available in the GTM gallery, including for the server side. The setup resembles Meta's, with a few subtleties.