: How to detect conversions in a configuration with a simple Paypal Buy button? I have a simple flow with a Paypal button: Website example.com ===> Paypal interface ===>

@Murphy175

I finally found a solution. It works with Google Analytics, I haven't found for Facebook yet.


On your website, inside the Paypal button code <form>...</form>, add a field <input type="hidden" name="custom" value="(userid)"> where the userid is set with Javascript, taken from Google Analytics cookie, such as document.cookie's _ga.
This custom field will be passed to Paypal when the user clicks "BUY", and will be passed to IPN PHP code that runs after each successful payement. It can be retrieved in the IPN PHP code with $_POST['custom'].
In the Paypal IPN PHP code, you can send a request to GoogleAnalytics to manually trigger a pageview of a virtual page named example.comthisisapurchase. Something like this works:

$data = array('v' => 1, 'tid' => 'UA-xxxxxxx-x', 'cid' => $_POST['custom'], 't' => 'pageview', 'dh' => 'www.example.com', 'dp' => 'thisisapurchase', 'dt' => 'thisisapurchase');
$options = array('http' => array('method' => 'POST', 'content' => http_build_query($data)));
$context = stream_context_create($options);
$result = file_get_contents('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', false, $context);

In Google Analytics, create a "Goal" with destination = example.comthisisapurchase


Then the visitor who visited the website, and who did a purchase (he visited a virtual page named example.comthisisapurchase) will be seen as one unique visitor in Google Analytics.

Then you can reliably know from which source he comes from (referral, affiliate, etc.)

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