Yandex Metrica offline conversions: let Direct learn from sales

Yandex Metrica offline conversions are the main benefit of linking your CRM to Metrica: Yandex Direct starts learning from sales. Without this link, the counter sees only visits, clicks and form submissions. It doesn't know what happened next: whether the client was reached and whether they bought. That's why Direct's automated strategies chase cheap requests, and the budget goes to campaigns that bring many inquiries but few sales.

The “Yandex Metrica integration” section sends leads, payments and calls from the CRM to the counter. Direct sees the “lead” and “payment” goals and looks for people similar to those who actually pay. A marketer compares campaigns by cost per sale, not cost per click. The integration is included in the “CRM + Telephony + Automation” plan and higher at no extra cost, so you don't need a separate end-to-end analytics service.

Watch the two-minute video, and below you'll find the step-by-step setup.

Why businesses send CRM payments to Metrica

• Online school. There are plenty of webinar sign-ups, but few people buy the course. The “Payment added” goal shows Direct which people pay, and the ads stop chasing cheap sign-ups.
• Clinic, salon, car service. Some clients call, others write in the chat. The “Lead created” goal and the “Calls” report collect all inquiries in Metrica, not just submitted forms.
• Real estate. Deals are expensive and the sales cycle is long. A payment in the lead card shows which campaigns bring not just requests but deals.
• Online store. The counter doesn't see an order a manager placed over the phone as a purchase. Once connected, a payment in the CRM goes to Metrica as a conversion, that is, a counted target action.
• B2B sales. There are few requests, and decisions take a long time. The “Lead created” goal helps Direct learn from real leads from the CRM, not from random clicks.

Which offline conversions are sent to Metrica

A goal in Metrica is a client action you count as a result: a request or a payment. The account sends four events to the counter, and they are listed in the “Sent to Metrica” block:

• “Lead created” — every new lead in the project, a conversion to the “Lead created…” goal with the project number;
• “Visitor identification” — a lead recognized without a request;
• “Payment added” — a payment on the “Payments” tab of the lead card, that is, a sale;
• “Incoming call” — call details in Metrica's standard “Calls” report.

If one counter is connected to several projects, each project sends its own goals, with the project number in the name. For an event to be linked to a visit, the website must have the Metrica counter and the system code installed. You can't turn individual events on or off: all four are sent.

The same payments are also counted automatically in the account's reports, “Website analytics” and “Funnel analytics”. They show the return on every ad campaign: marketing ROI tracking without a separate service. Goals and calls are sent only to Yandex Metrica; the account doesn't send them to Google Analytics: the return on Google ads is calculated by “Website analytics” itself, from UTM tags, deals and payments.

How to connect Yandex Metrica to your CRM

1. 1
   Check the code on your website

   The site must have the Metrica counter and the system code. The code is checked in the “Website integration” section, where you also set up website leads to CRM.
2. 2
   Open the section

   “Settings” → “Integrations” → “Yandex Metrika”. Check the “Project” field: the counter is connected only to this project.
3. 3
   Copy the counter ID

   Click “How to connect” → “Open Metrica”. The ID is shown in the counter list next to the site name.
4. 4
   Paste the ID and click “Connect”

   The ID goes into the “Counter ID” field.
5. 5
   Allow access if Yandex opens

   Sign in as the counter owner with a regular client account. You enter the password only on the Yandex page. If you've granted access before, the counter connects right away.
6. 6
   Wait for the “Yandex Metrica connected” window

   The status changes to “Connected”, and the banner shows that goals and calls are being sent to the counter. Later, you can check that everything works with the “Check status” button.

How to optimize Yandex Direct for sales

1. Make sure managers keep up payment tracking in CRM and record payments on the “Payments” tab of the lead card: no payments in the CRM means no conversions.
2. A few days later, check in Metrica that the “Payment added…” goal is receiving conversions.
3. In Direct, choose this goal in a strategy with conversion optimization. Then the ads look for people similar to those who actually pay. If there are few payments so far, start with the “Lead created…” goal.

The goal is easy to find in the Metrica goal list by its name — “Payment added…” or “Lead created…” — and then select in Direct.

How to check that goals reached Metrica

1. 1
   Leave a test request

   On the website with the counter — a lead appears in the project.
2. 2
   Check the upload history

   In the Metrica counter settings, the data upload section shows when offline conversions arrived. They appear there earlier than in the reports.
3. 3
   Open the goal report

   In Metrica's standard reports, choose the “Lead created…” or “Payment added…” goal. Figures appear in the reports with a delay of several days.

Read also: Marketing ROI tracking: which ads pay off and which drain your budget, Payment tracking in CRM: record a payment and see the lead source, Yandex Direct CRM integration: the real cost of every lead