To set up a TikTok pixel on your Shopify store, you need a TikTok Ads account, a pixel created in TikTok Events Manager, and Shopify's TikTok app to connect the two. Once it is running, the pixel tells TikTok what people do on your store after they see or click your ads, so TikTok can measure your campaigns and show your ads to people more likely to buy.
This guide walks through each step, from the ads account to testing the events.
Key takeaways
- The TikTok pixel records what visitors do on your store and links it to your TikTok ads.
- You need a TikTok Ads account first. Use your business's legal name when you set it up.
- On Shopify, connect the pixel through the TikTok app instead of pasting code into your theme.
- Track the shopping events that matter: view content, add to cart, checkout and purchase.
- Check your events with Test Events in TikTok Events Manager before you spend on ads.
What the TikTok Pixel Is
The TikTok pixel is a small piece of code on your website that records what visitors do and sends those events to TikTok.
It records page views, product views, add-to-carts, checkouts and purchases, and connects them to the TikTok ads people saw or clicked. That tells you which ads lead to sales and what people do on your store after they arrive. TikTok also uses the data to show your ads to people who are more likely to act, and to build audiences of past visitors you can advertise to again.
Create a TikTok Ads Account for Pixel Setup
Before you can set up the TikTok pixel, you need a TikTok Ads account.
- Go to the TikTok for Business sign-up page and create a login.
- Create an advertiser account for your business.
- Enter your business's legal name. If it does not match your company's registered name, TikTok may not approve the account.
- Add billing details when you are ready to run ads.
Generate and Install TikTok Pixel Code on Your Website
On Shopify, the simplest way to create and install the pixel is through Shopify's TikTok app.
- In your Shopify admin, install the TikTok app from the Shopify App Store.
- Connect your TikTok for Business account and choose your ad account.
- During setup, create a new pixel or select one you already have.
- Finish the setup. The app adds the pixel to your store and sends the standard shopping events for you.
You can also create the pixel first in TikTok Ads Manager:
- Open TikTok Ads Manager, go to Tools, then Events.
- Under Web events, choose Set up web events.
- Name the pixel. Keep it under 128 characters; the store name is usually enough.
- Choose how to connect it. For Shopify, choose the partner integration and then connect it through the TikTok app as above.
Avoid pasting the pixel code into your theme by hand. Theme code does not run on Shopify's checkout, so you miss checkout and purchase events, and if the app also sends the pixel you get every event twice. If you sell on a site that is not Shopify, TikTok's manual setup gives you the base code to put in the site's header.
TikTok also has an Events API, which sends events from a server rather than the visitor's browser, like other server-side tracking, so ad blockers and browser privacy settings cannot stop them. TikTok recommends using it alongside the pixel. If you send the same event both ways, give both copies the same event ID so TikTok counts it once.
Set Up Custom Conversions for Tracking Specific Actions
Decide which actions on your store count as success, and make sure each one is sent as an event.
For most stores, those are purchases, then the steps before a purchase: product views, add-to-carts and checkouts. If you collect emails, a sign-up is worth tracking too. Your campaigns can then optimize for the event you care about most, usually purchases.
Utilize Pixel Events for Detailed Tracking and Optimization
TikTok has a set of standard events for each step of the shopping journey. The ones most stores use:
- Search
- Click button
- View content
- Add to cart
- Initiate checkout
- Add payment info
- Purchase (older setups call it CompletePayment)
- Subscribe
Shopify's TikTok app sends the main shopping events for you. For other actions, such as clicks on a particular button, use TikTok's Event Builder in Events Manager or an app that sends custom events.
Send the order value and currency with purchase events. That lets TikTok report return on ad spend and optimize for higher-value orders.
Test Your Pixel to Ensure Proper Functionality
Test the pixel before you run ads, so you know the events arrive.
- In TikTok Events Manager, open your pixel and choose Test Events. Enter your store's address, browse in the window it opens, and watch the events appear.
- Install the TikTok Pixel Helper extension for Chrome. It shows which events fire on each page. Turn off ad blockers while you test.
- Place a test order and check that the purchase event arrives with the right value.
- Check the Diagnostics tab in Events Manager for problems TikTok has found.
Events sent through the Events API do not show in Pixel Helper, so use Test Events for those.
Integrate TikTok Pixel in Your Marketing Campaigns
Once events arrive, use them in your campaigns. Our TikTok pixel integration guide goes further into campaign setup.
Match the event to the campaign's goal. A sales campaign should optimize for purchases. A campaign to grow your list should optimize for sign-ups. If your store has few purchases so far, optimizing for add-to-cart can give TikTok enough data to learn from, then you can switch to purchases later.
You can also integrate the pixel with the rest of your marketing: the same events feed your audiences, your reports and the other ad platforms you use.
Optimize Pixel Settings for Enhanced Performance
Good event data lets you do three things with your TikTok ads.
- Retarget past visitors: build custom audiences of people who viewed products or added to cart and did not buy. See remarketing vs retargeting for how this fits with email.
- Reach new people like your buyers: build lookalike audiences from purchasers.
- See which ads work: compare purchases and return on ad spend by ad, and make more of the videos that sell.
Monitor Pixel Data and Make Informed Marketing Decisions
Check your pixel data every week or so.
In Events Manager, check that each event is still arriving and look at Diagnostics. In Ads Manager, compare campaigns by purchases and cost per purchase, not just clicks. Expect TikTok's numbers to differ a little from Shopify's, because each counts visits and attributes sales in its own way. Here is how to handle the mismatch.
If you advertise on several platforms, managing a pixel for each one takes time. MultiPixels installs Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat and GA4 pixels on a Shopify store without editing theme code. Install MultiPixels on your Shopify store to run several tracking pixels at once.
