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Microsoft Ads UET conversion tracking: what 502 sites send

By the Fireshift team · Updated 2026-11-07

When does a UET event become a conversion?

When a goal matches it. The UET tag logs page loads and the custom events your site sends, and conversion goals pick which of those count (Microsoft Learn: UET). A custom event goal matches on action, category, label or value (EventGoal), and the match ignores case (create a goal). A goal on category "click" picks up every event with that category.

Microsoft can also suggest goals for you. Simplified setup detects button clicks, purchases, checkouts and subscriptions, and a goal added from the Recommendations tab is included in "Conversions" and in automated bidding by default (same page). So an event you send for reporting can end up steering bids.

What do sites send UET events on?

We read every UET template tag with a custom event and every uetq.push('event', ...) in Custom HTML: 502 of the 765 sites (65.6%) had one or more, 2,785 events in all (2,539 template, 246 Custom HTML). The median site sends 3, the top 10% send 12 or more.

430 of the 502 are B2B SaaS. Among them, 124 (28.8%) send a UET event on a click and 59 (13.7%) on a page load.

Which event names cause trouble?

• Engagement events. 42 sites send UET events on a timer, scroll depth, element visibility or video trigger. Examples we saw: action 60 in category Page Timer, read_blog_post, pricing_page_visit. Fine for audiences. As goals, they count readers.
• A Google Ads label as the action. 39 sites (7.8%) send 167 UET events whose action is a Google Ads conversion ID and label, in the form 123456789/AbCdEfGh. A goal has to match that string, and a new label in Google Ads breaks it with no error.
• A GTM variable as the action. 37 sites (7.4%) fill the action with a variable, so every event the trigger lets through reaches Microsoft under its own name. A broad "contains" goal on those can count far more than leads.

Is the UET tag loaded twice?

Microsoft says one UET tag on every page covers all goals (Microsoft Learn). Of the 680 sites where we could read UET at all, 63 (9.3%) load 2 or more different UET tag IDs, and 60 (8.8%) have the same ID in 2 or more live base tags: two containers, or the template plus a Custom HTML copy. If both run on one page, Microsoft gets two page loads for one visit. A second ID is fine when it belongs to a second account you use. Otherwise remove it.

How do I check my own setup in 10 minutes?

1. List every UET tag in GTM: tags of type Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking, plus a search for uetq and bat.bing.com in Custom HTML. Note each tag ID and each event action. A Form Submission trigger without Check Validation fires on failed submits too (Tag Manager Help).
2. In DevTools, Network, filter on bat.bing.com. Click "Book a demo" without sending the form, then load your pricing page and a blog post. Custom events carry ea (action), ec (category), el (label) and ev (value) (UET Tag Helper docs). Write down every one that fires before a lead exists.
3. Or use UET Tag Helper for Edge or Chrome. Its badge shows how many UET requests the page sent, and its Events tab lists page loads and custom events (same page).
4. In Microsoft Ads, Conversions, Conversion goals, open each goal and compare its action, category and label rules with your list. Any goal that matches a click, timer or page-load event: narrow it, or clear Include in "Conversions" so bidding ignores it (ConversionGoal).

Running ads to the EEA, UK or Switzerland? Microsoft wants a consent signal on UET there (Microsoft Advertising blog). The asc parameter on each request shows denied or granted (UET consent mode). Consent Mode check for Google tags.

Is it the same problem as in Google Ads?

Usually the same trigger. 448 sites send both UET events and Google Ads conversions. 124 of them send UET on a click, and 75 of those count a click in Google Ads too (5 Nov study). 61 send UET on a page load, and 48 of those do the same in Google Ads. Many teams import Google Ads campaigns into Microsoft Ads, so one wrong trigger often skews both. Fix it once in GTM: click conversions, page-load conversions, and the same check for LinkedIn.

What can't we see from outside?

• Your goals. Which events a goal matches, destination URL goals, count type, and whether a goal is in "Conversions". Every number here counts events sent, not conversions recorded.
• Consent. UET can read consent from a CMP or TCF on its own (Microsoft Learn), and a static read can't see that, so we give no consent number.
• Anything else hidden: 178 of the 680 readable sites had a UET base tag but no event we could read. Server-side tags, containers past the first 6, and Google Ads primary or secondary status for the cross-check above.
• The sample: our 1,727-site study, built from lists, not random.

Published 7 Nov 2026. Data: docs/research/uet-2026-11-07.json (tools/research/uet_scan.py, uet_analyze.py); base = the 765 study sites with Microsoft Ads UET (study scanned 5 Nov 2026, UET read 7 Nov). Triggers sorted with engine/score.py, same rules as the Google Ads study. Recheck: tools/research/uet_recheck.py. Method.

FAQ

Should a Microsoft Ads conversion goal count a demo button click?

Not as a goal included in "Conversions": the click counts people who never send the form. Send the event on form success or the thank-you page, and keep click events for audiences.

Does the free Fireshift scan check UET?

Not the events yet. It reads Google Ads and GA4 from the same public containers, so on the 75 of 124 sites above it shows the Google Ads side of that click.