The title says it all on this one; Microsoft has finally added conversions to its search query reporting.  This was one of the very glaring features absent from Microsoft adCenter (ahem still no CPA column for Campaigns).  The feature appears to have been added August 2nd mid day, so use August 3rd, 2011 going forward for search query reports from Microsoft.  Unlike intelligent Google technology, which adjusts its CPA columns in search query reports for historical data that did not have conversion tracking installed, Microsoft just rolled this out very quietly and with no fanfare.  So, if you run an all time search query report hoping to see the conversion data, it isn’t going to be there!  So, don’t try that.

If you are a beginning search marketer and are wondering why this is significant, it is very convenient to be able to see which of your actual search queries (the actual phrases people searched on) are or are not leading to your conversions.  Thus, you can optimize your negative keyword lists, and add new keywords for increased efficiency.  If you wanted to track your adCenter search queries and conversions before, you needed a 3rd party tracking system, or at the very least, some Google Analytics hacking.  I personally find the latter to be a cumbersome approach when search marketing, so I am very pleased Microsoft has rolled this new feature out.