How to Track Ticket Sales on 3rd Party Platforms

In this article, you'll learn why PixelFlow cannot directly track ticket purchases on 3rd party platforms like Eventbrite or Ticketmaster, discover what you can track instead, and explore the best practices for measuring the effectiveness of your ticket sales campaigns.

If you're selling tickets through external platforms like Eventbrite, Ticketmaster, Universe, or Dice, you might be wondering how to track conversions for your Facebook ad campaigns. This guide explains the technical limitations of tracking 3rd party platforms and shows you the most effective ways to measure your ticket sales funnel.

Understanding the Critical Limitation

PixelFlow can only track events that occur on your own domain, ie. the website where you've installed the PixelFlow script. This is a fundamental technical constraint that applies to all server-side tracking solutions.

Why External Platform Tracking Doesn't Work

When a user clicks a button on your website and is redirected to an external ticketing platform, here's what happens:

1. User visits your website (yourwebsite.com) where PixelFlow is installed ✅

2. User clicks "Buy Tickets" button that links to eventbrite.com/your-event

3. User lands on eventbrite.com (external domain where PixelFlow is NOT installed) ❌

4. User completes ticket purchase on eventbrite.com (cannot be tracked by PixelFlow) ❌

The PixelFlow script cannot execute on external domains because:

• You don't control the external platform's website code

• You cannot install or modify tracking scripts on their servers

• The external platform operates on a completely different domain

• Cross-domain tracking would require their explicit integration support

What You Can Track with PixelFlow

While you cannot track the actual purchase on external platforms, you can track important steps in your ticket sales funnel that occur on your own website.

Method 1: Track Button Clicks to External Platforms

You can track when users click the "Buy Tickets" button that sends them to the external platform. This gives you data on how many people showed intent to purchase tickets.

To track button clicks, add a PixelFlow class to your ticket purchase button:

1. Identify the button or link that sends users to your ticketing platform

2. Add the appropriate PixelFlow class based on the event you want to track

3. Recommended events for ticket purchases:

   • action-btn-buy-004-pf for InitiateCheckout event

   • action-btn-lead-011-pf for Lead event

Example button setup:

<a href="https://eventbrite.com/your-event" class="action-btn-buy-004-pf">
  Buy Tickets
</a>

For detailed instructions on adding classes to buttons, see your platform-specific guide:

• How to track elements on Framer

• How to track elements on Webflow

• How to track elements on Squarespace

• How to track elements on WordPress

Or review the general guide: How to Track Website Elements via Classes

Method 2: Track Visits to Your Ticket Information Page

If you have a dedicated page on your website that provides ticket information before sending users to the external platform, you can track visits to that page using Event URLs.

This approach works well when your user flow is:

1. User sees your ad or promotional content

2. User clicks and lands on yourwebsite.com/tickets (your domain)

3. User reads ticket information and clicks "Buy Now" to go to external platform

To set up Event URL tracking:

1. Log in to your PixelFlow dashboard

2. Navigate to the Event URLs section

3. Click "Add Event URL"

4. Enter your ticket information page URL: yourwebsite.com/tickets

5. Select an appropriate event (ViewContent or InitiateCheckout)

6. Save your configuration

Learn more about Event URL setup: How to Track Events using Event URLs

Method 3: Track Return to Confirmation Page (If Supported)

Some ticketing platforms allow you to configure a custom redirect URL that sends purchasers back to your website after completing their transaction. If your platform supports this feature, you can track actual conversions.

How this works:

1. User completes ticket purchase on the external platform

2. Platform redirects user to yourwebsite.com/ticket-confirmation (your domain)

3. PixelFlow tracks the visit to this confirmation page as a Purchase event

If your platform does support custom redirects, follow the same process as tracking calendar bookings:

1. Create a unique confirmation page on your domain (e.g., yourwebsite.com/ticket-purchase-confirmed)

2. Configure your ticketing platform to redirect to this page after purchase

3. Set up an Event URL in PixelFlow for this confirmation page with a Purchase event

4. Implement Event Blocking Rules to prevent duplicate events from page refreshes

For step-by-step instructions on this approach, see: How to Track Calendars & Call Bookings (the same principles apply to any post-conversion redirect)

Comparison: Tracking Scenarios for Ticket Sales

Tracking Limitations You Should Understand

Limitation 1: No Access to Purchase Data

When users complete purchases on external platforms, you cannot capture:

• Actual purchase conversion events

• Transaction value or revenue

• Number of tickets purchased

• Buyer contact information (email, phone)

• Product details (ticket type, event name)

This means your Facebook Ads Manager will not show actual ticket sales, only the intent signals you track (button clicks or page views).

Limitation 2: Cannot Calculate True ROAS

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) requires knowing your actual revenue from ticket sales. Since PixelFlow cannot track purchases on external platforms, you cannot automatically calculate ROAS within Meta Ads Manager.

Workaround: You'll need to manually reconcile your data:

1. Track InitiateCheckout events in PixelFlow (button clicks to external platform)

2. Download actual sales data from your ticketing platform

3. Compare the number of clicks to the number of actual purchases

4. Calculate conversion rate: (Purchases ÷ InitiateCheckout events) × 100

5. Calculate ROAS manually: (Ticket Revenue ÷ Ad Spend)

Limitation 3: Event Match Quality Will Be Lower

When tracking button clicks instead of actual purchases, you cannot capture buyer information like email addresses or phone numbers. This results in lower Event Match Quality scores in Meta Events Manager.

Why this matters: Lower match quality means Meta has less data to attribute conversions to specific ads and audiences, potentially reducing your campaign effectiveness.

What you can do: If you collect email addresses or contact information on your own website (through a newsletter signup or registration form before sending users to buy tickets), track those form submissions as Lead events to improve your data quality.

Learn more: How to Track Events for Form Submissions

Limitation 4: Domain Validation Prevents External URLs

If you attempt to add an Event URL for an external ticketing platform, PixelFlow will reject it with an error message.

Example error scenario:

• Your website domain: yourwebsite.com

• You try to add Event URL: eventbrite.com/your-event

• Error: "The provided url does not belong to the selected site"

This validation exists because Event URLs only work for pages on your own domain where PixelFlow can fire events.

Alternative Solutions and Best Practices

Option 1: Use the Ticketing Platform's Native Tracking

Major ticketing platforms offer their own Facebook Pixel integration that tracks purchases directly on their platform:

• Eventbrite: Allows you to add your Facebook Pixel ID in their tracking settings, which will fire Purchase events when tickets are sold

• Ticketmaster: Offers pixel tracking integration for promotional accounts (contact your account manager)

• Universe: Supports Facebook Pixel integration in event settings

• Dice: Provides tracking pixel options for event organizers

How to set this up:

1. Get your Facebook Pixel ID from your Meta Business Manager (found in Events Manager)

2. Log in to your ticketing platform account

3. Navigate to your event settings or marketing/analytics section

4. Find the "Tracking Pixels" or "Facebook Pixel" integration option

5. Enter your Facebook Pixel ID and save

6. Configure which events to track (Page View, ViewContent, Purchase)

For platform-specific instructions:

• Eventbrite: Add a Meta Pixel to your event | Eventbrite Help Center

• Ticketmaster: Contact your account manager or search their help center for "Facebook Pixel" setup

Option 2: Host Tickets on Your Own Website

If tracking and data ownership are critical for your business, consider using a ticketing solution that integrates directly with your website:

• WooCommerce with event ticketing plugins (for WordPress)

• Shopify with event apps (for eCommerce platforms)

• Custom ticketing checkout on your domain

When tickets are sold on your own domain, PixelFlow can track the complete funnel including actual purchases, revenue, and buyer information.

Option 3: Use UTM Parameters for Attribution

Even if you can't track conversions directly, you can use UTM parameters to understand which traffic sources and campaigns drive the most ticket interest.

Example setup:

https://eventbrite.com/your-event?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=summer-concert-2025

Then in your ticketing platform's analytics, you can see how many ticket sales came from visitors with your UTM parameters, helping you understand which Facebook campaigns are most effective.

Recommended Tracking Setup for External Ticket Sales

For the best results when selling tickets through external platforms, implement this multi-layered tracking approach:

Step-by-Step: Track Ticket Sales with Button Click Method

This is the most straightforward approach for tracking intent when using external ticketing platforms.

Prerequisites

• PixelFlow installed on your website

• A button or link on your website that directs to your external ticketing page

• Ability to add CSS classes to elements on your website (available on all major platforms)

Step 1: Identify Your Ticket Purchase Button

Locate the button or link on your website that sends visitors to your ticketing platform. This might be:

• A "Buy Tickets" button on your event page

• A "Get Tickets" link in your navigation

• A call-to-action button in your hero section

Step 2: Add the PixelFlow Class

Add the InitiateCheckout event class to your button:

Class to add: action-btn-buy-004-pf

This tells PixelFlow to fire an InitiateCheckout event whenever someone clicks this button.

How to add the class varies by platform:

• Webflow: Select the button element, find the class field in the right panel, add action-btn-buy-004-pf

• Framer: Select the button, scroll to the Code Override section, add the class in Custom Attributes

• Squarespace: Edit the button block, go to Design tab, add the class in the Advanced section

• WordPress: Edit the button in your page builder, find Additional CSS Classes field, add the class

For detailed platform-specific instructions, see How to Track Website Elements via Classes

Step 3: Update Your PixelFlow Script

After adding the class, you need to update your PixelFlow script to include the new tracking configuration:

1. Log in to your PixelFlow dashboard

2. Navigate to your Sites section

3. Select your website

4. Copy the updated script code

5. Replace the old script in your website's code with the new version

6. Publish or save your website changes

Step 4: Test the Button Click Tracking

After updating your script, test to ensure events are firing correctly:

1. Visit your website in a browser

2. Navigate to the page with your ticket purchase button

3. Click the "Buy Tickets" button

4. Note that you'll be redirected to the external platform (this is expected)

5. Log in to your PixelFlow dashboard

6. Check the Events Log section

7. Verify that an InitiateCheckout event was recorded with the correct timestamp

8. Within 20-30 minutes, check Meta Events Manager to confirm the event appears there

For comprehensive testing guidance: How to Test and Verify Your PixelFlow CAPI Setup

Verify Your Setup

After configuring your ticket sales tracking, verify everything is working correctly:

1. Check button click tracking:

   • Click your "Buy Tickets" button and verify InitiateCheckout events appear in your PixelFlow Events Log

2. Verify Event URLs (if applicable):

   • Visit your ticket information page and confirm the event fires in your Events Log

3. Check Meta Events Manager:

   • Wait 20-30 minutes after test actions

   • Verify events appear in your Meta Events Manager with correct event names

4. Test the complete flow:

   • Follow the full user journey from your website to the ticketing platform

   • Ensure the redirect to the external platform works correctly

   • Complete a test ticket purchase if possible

5. Verify platform-native tracking (if configured):

   • Use Meta Pixel Helper browser extension on your ticketing platform page

   • Confirm your Facebook Pixel is loading on the external platform

   • Check that Purchase events appear in Meta Events Manager after test purchases

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Button Click Events Not Firing

Symptom: You click the "Buy Tickets" button but no InitiateCheckout event appears in your Events Log.

Possible Causes & Solutions:

• Class not added correctly: Double-check that you added action-btn-buy-004-pf exactly as written, with no extra spaces or typos

• Script not updated: Make sure you regenerated and replaced your PixelFlow script after adding the class

• Wrong element selected: Ensure you added the class to the actual clickable button/link element, not a wrapper div

• Script not loaded: Use browser developer tools to verify the PixelFlow script is loading on your page

• Ad blockers: Disable browser ad blockers and privacy extensions during testing as they may block tracking

Events Firing Multiple Times

Symptom: Single button clicks generate multiple events in your Events Log.

Possible Causes & Solutions:

• Multiple scripts installed: Check if you have both PixelFlow and a standalone Facebook Pixel running. Remove duplicate tracking to prevent double-firing

• Class added to multiple elements: Verify you haven't accidentally added the same class to multiple buttons or nested elements

• Event bubbling: If your button is inside a clickable container, both might fire events. Ensure the class is only on the specific element you want to track

Learn more about preventing duplicates: Why are Some of my Events Duplicated?

Cannot Add External URL as Event URL

Symptom: You try to add eventbrite.com/your-event as an Event URL and receive an error: "The provided url does not belong to the selected site"

Solution: This is expected behavior. Event URLs only work for pages on your own domain. Instead:

• Track a page on your domain that visitors see before going to the external platform

• Use button click tracking (class-based) to track when users click links to external platforms

• Set up the ticketing platform's native Facebook Pixel integration to track purchases on their domain

Low Event Match Quality Scores

Symptom: Your Event Match Quality score is below 6.0/10 in Meta Events Manager.

Cause: Button click events don't capture user information like email addresses or phone numbers, resulting in lower match quality.

Solutions:

• Add lead capture forms on your website to collect email addresses before users go to buy tickets, then track those form submissions

• Ensure you're using the platform's native pixel integration on the ticketing site, which can capture purchase data

• Consider implementing a newsletter signup or event registration form to gather user information

Learn more: How are Event Match Quality Scores Calculated?

Can't See Purchase Events in Meta

Symptom: You're tracking button clicks, but no actual Purchase events show up in Meta Events Manager even though tickets are selling.

Cause: PixelFlow cannot track purchases on external platforms. You need the platform's native pixel integration.

Solution:

1. Get your Facebook Pixel ID from Meta Events Manager

2. Log in to your ticketing platform account

3. Navigate to tracking or marketing settings

4. Add your Facebook Pixel ID to their integration

5. Enable Purchase event tracking

6. Test by completing a ticket purchase and checking Meta Events Manager after 20-30 minutes

Best Practices for Ticket Sales Tracking

What's Next

Once you've set up ticket sales tracking, you can:

• Learn about How to Track Events for Form Submissions to capture leads before ticket purchases

• Explore How to Track Calendars & Call Bookings for similar redirect-based tracking scenarios

• Understand How to Track Website Elements via Classes for comprehensive button and element tracking

• Review How to Track Events for an overview of all tracking methods

• Optimize your campaigns based on How are Event Match Quality Scores Calculated?

Getting Help

If you're experiencing issues with ticket sales tracking or need help configuring your setup:

• Check your PixelFlow Events Log to verify button click events are being captured

• Verify your ticketing platform supports Facebook Pixel integration and that you've configured it correctly

• Use the Meta Pixel Helper browser extension to confirm pixels are firing on both your website and the ticketing platform

• Book a free setup call with our team to get personalized help configuring your ticket sales tracking

• Contact support with your website URL, ticketing platform URL, screenshots of your configuration, and specific issues you're encountering