How to track Click-to-WhatsApp Ad conversations and measure performance

Updated January 30, 2026 · 2 minute read

For high-growth performance marketers, the Click-to-WhatsApp (CTWA) ad is one of the most powerful lead generation tools. However, without proper tracking, a flood of incoming chats is just noise.

Tracking CTWA performance involves a combination of settings in Meta Ads Manager and using ZEPIC's unique features, such as Auto-Tagging and Unified Reporting.

This process transforms an anonymous click into a trackable, measurable customer journey.

In doing this, you can confidently reallocate budget to the CTWA ads that generate the highest-quality, most convertible leads, and here’s how to track that on ZEPIC…

Your business goal: connecting ad spend to sales outcomes

Effective CTWA tracking eliminates common marketing pain points:

Attribution blind spot: Instantly identifies the exact ad, ad set, or campaign that initiated the chat, eliminating manual agent questioning.
Prioritization failure: Ensures high-intent, paid leads are immediately flagged and prioritized over organic support queries in the shared inbox.
Inaccurate ROAS: Provides the granular data needed to measure Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) based on actual conversation outcomes, not just clicks.

Step-by-step guide: Setting up attribution

This process requires configuration in two platforms: Meta Ads Manager and ZEPIC.

Step 1: Set the tracking payload in the Meta Ads manager

You must ensure every ad sends a unique, machine-readable signal to ZEPIC.

When creating your CTWA ad, go to the Message Template or Deep Link configuration.
Essential Action: Customize the Pre-filled Message with a unique identifier for that ad (e.g., I saw the Summer Sale ad. Ref: SUM24_AD01).
The text Ref: SUM24_AD01 can be the unique payload that ZEPIC will use for tracking.

Step 2: The Auto-Tagging rule in ZEPIC works by default

This rule automatically categorizes the lead the second the first message arrives.

Once the message comes through it will be tagged CTWA. For your sales team, you will need to manually add the specific tag for tracking this, like CTWA_SUM24_AD01, and optionally, assign it to a team member via notes (e.g., "Sales Closers").
Agents must apply outcome tags upon completion (e.g., Converted_Sale, Lead_Qualified, or Not_Qualified).
The conversation's Status (Open, Closed, Pending) should also be updated to keep track of the conversation easily.

Measuring Performance and Optimizing Campaigns

Use ZEPIC's Analytics Dashboard and Team Inbox filters to extract the ROI data you need.

Metric/Insight	How to measure in ZEPIC	Why it matters
CTWA Conversation Rate	Filter all chats by the CTWA tag. Compare total chats started vs. total chats tagged Converted_Sale.	Measures ad quality to see if you are driving actual buyers, or just window shoppers
Cost Per Qualified Lead (CPQL)	Compare the campaign spend (from Meta) against the number of leads tagged Lead_Qualified in ZEPIC.	Pinpoints the most cost-effective ad creatives and audiences for lead generation.
Agent Response Time	Monitor the average first-response time for conversations with the CTWA tag in the Team Inbox reports.	Fast replies are critical for high-intent leads; this measures agent efficiency on your most valuable traffic.
Drop-Off Points	Review chat transcripts for leads tagged Not_Qualified to see where the conversation stalled.	Helps you optimize the bot flow or agent script to prevent future abandonment.

Would you like to review how to set up user permissions for agents who only handle CTWA leads?