Actionable Analytics: Demand Conversion Tracking
Posted by Marty Weintraub on June 22nd 2007 in Analytics
Modern analytics are beautiful. Since the early 90’s Internet marketing folks from
Modern Analytics
Now with modern log analysis and page tagging tools like ClickTracks, Google Analytics, IndexTools, Unica Affinium NetInsight, and WebSide Story HBX Analytics we measure conversion absolutely. It’s a brave new world. As an SEM client, demand absolute conversion metrics from your search marketing firm or in-house staff or you’re likely throwing money away needlessly in the form of waste-percentage.
Measure Absolute Conversion.
Conversion tracking is a simple and unbelievably powerful reality. Using modern analytics now we associate all referral sources (sites, organic search, social communities, PPC, etc…) at the keyword level to behavior within content (funnels) against KPI (key performance indicators) like sales, information requests, file download, or any other defined goal. Because there are many other metrics to cross segment the data with like time on site, average page view count, entry page, exit page, bounce rate, etc…extremely powerful profiles provide serious insights regarding the effectiveness of content, traffic, user behavior, profit, and loss. Here is a screen capture of the Advanced Visitor Labeling cross-segmenting tool we use in ClickTracks:
Expect Actionable Analytics
The term “actionable” means that reading analytic reports actually provides insight regarding what to do next. Do your analytics reports justify your company’s expense in developing organic content, PPC, or time spent blogging? What’s the profit for each keyword, adgroup segmented by search engine? Are visitors referred from partner sites or paid links truly valuable? What are the results of landing page rotation testing in terms of profit or loss? Is organic traffic from direct brand search more or less engaged than reciprocal direct brand PPC traffic? Does fancy design, flash, or video matter to conversion? How does social media matter to our efforts?Legitimate SEM Consultants Use Modern Analytics
We empower our clients to expect actionable analytics and absolute conversion measurement. When we recommend pay per click or other paid marketing we do so with confidence in our ability to justify every dime spent and associate expenditures
with traditional metrics like profit.
When aimClear recommends content development to drive traffic from organic search and social communities our strategy is accompanied by a promise to report on the results. We encourage you to accept the same from your SEM firm and/or in-house Internet marketing team.
Resources:
Stepping Stones Of User Conversions: A Step-By-Step Guide |
Web Analytics and Measuring Success Overview | SEO RoundTable
Show-Me-The-Money Conversion Ratios | practical ecommerce
Top Ways To Use Web Analytics To Improve Your Blog or Website | ConversionRater
Using a Conversion Funnel | Bruce Clay Blog
June 23rd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Conversion tracking is essential to optimizing online ad spend. For low consideration items (shopping cart sales) a web analytics tool such as ClickTracks or Omniture will provide a wealth of knowledge. However, for high consideration items, the conversion tracking is lost when the phone is picked up.
ClickPath is the only technology that will allow companies to track the conversion down to the keyword level.
June 23rd, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Mike,
Thank you for your opinion about the product you represent and thanks for engaging. Saying that ClickPath is the “only” technology that closes the phone-call-conversion loop may be slightly hyperbolic.
I’d say mobile applications with clickable phone numbers in Treos and iPhones are pretty cool. Mobile app pages show up just fine in analytics and close the loop on conversion tracking perfectly well. In Spain over 25% of cell users utilize their mobile phone for search. While in the USA it’s only 19% that number is going to rise in a huge way.
Pay per call, while it has not grown as quickly as expected, has a cool conversion measuring component. Let’s not forget that some online products (even some that are “high consideration” :)) do not have any phone component whatsoever.
For non mobile calls there are “physical world” ways to track the effectiveness of non-clickable phone calls from an ads- like special verbiage, SMS “coupons” to show the store clerk for a discount, unique items for sale net-only, and of course your company’s convergence tracking product (blocks of dynamic phone numbers served in ads and integrated into your proprietary analytics)- It’s all good.
However, in the foreseeable future, more and more phones (even land lines and VOIP) will become clickable making it easier and easier for guys like me to track physical-phone conversion in whatever analytics environment I like. Data without my preferred cross-segmenting tool is less actionable. For instance I don’t see any tools in your analytics that rival CT’s advanced labeling feature.
Marty
June 24th, 2007 at 5:05 am
Hi Marty,
Thank you for the well thought out reply. Your comments regarding clickable numbers on mobile phones will make for some interesting discussions around the water cooler on Monday morning
I guess when it all comes down to it, you have to question the method in which Toll Free Numbers are being utilized to track conversions. When I say ClickPath is the “only” technology that will allow a company to track offline conversions down to the keyword level I am referring to the patent pending aspect of ClickPath’s technology - Dynamic Number Insertion. This is an intuitive algorithm that takes various things into account such as clicktrough rate and call volume to allow the departure from a 1:1 TFN to keyword ratio, and yet still allow individual keyword tracking.
There are some other solutioins out threre which are claiming to track down to the keyword level (including pay per call companies). But since it is uneconomical to have a 1:1 TFN to keyword ratio when tracking 60,000 keywords they track specific keywords that they have predetermined will be big performers and for the rest of the conversions, they track down to an adgroup. They pick what they think will be your highest performing keywords and assign those each a TFN and then create groups of 100 or so keywords and track each group. If you goal is to refine your PPC spend by eliminating garbage and discovering value keywords, this method isn’t going to work.
But to address the original topic of this tread - measuring absolute conversion down to the keyword level where it can actually begin to show you true ROI is a truly rewarding service to provide to anyone. ClickPath helps do this for companies which have a significant portion of phone driven business.
June 24th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Let us know news from the water cooler than.
Marty
June 26th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
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