Here at  #BingAdsNext in Redmond, Nishant Gupta is announcing the impending release of Universal Event Tracking, a subtle universal conversion tracking and remarketing pixel similar to Google AdWords’ Universal Tag. The value of the universal tags is clear: install once; no re-tagging for different purposes; manage goals to your heart’s content within the interface.

The tag is now generally available; Microsoft will begin piloting the remarketing component in December.

The new functionality is particularly important insofar as Microsoft doesn’t have a standalone analytics platform. Interestingly, though, this new tag has the effect of quietly transforming the Bing Ads platform into a skinny marketing analytics platform in its own right. Fewer features than major analytics packages, but doing more than just tracking basic goal conversions.

Once installed, the new tag allows advertisers to set up simple conversion goals or to track engagement metrics such as pages viewed per visit, bounce rates, and session duration. Perhaps most importantly, advertisers can track custom events such as a viewed video.

For those who enjoy iterating paid media accounts in an integrated way, such as right inside the Bing Ads platform, integrated analytics are a powerful asset. No need for cumbersome tagging, no need to look inside separate analytics platforms.

Conversion windows are customizable from 7 days to 90 days.

Assist clicks and cross-device attribution are creeping into the mix, as well.

The new tag looks super-simple to set up. It also integrates with all major tag managers.

In addition to tracking, the tag will allow for remarketing campaigns in both search and display.