While advertising is never a bad idea, it can easily be wasted if the proper tracking measures are not taken. Through the use of online advertising, a wide range of different techniques can be used in order to track the effectiveness of ads.
By far the most effective method is by tracking what are called Conversions.
A potential customer would click on an advertisement (found on Google.com or on another website through the content network) and end up on www.YourSite.com. The visitor would then browse through the website and find a contact form (which if you don’t have, get one!). They fill out the contact form and click ‘Submit’. The act of clicking ‘Submit’ on the contact form acts as a Conversion. The visitor has now taken the next step in becoming a paying customer.
Many businesses have a preconception that websites are notorious for being poor in providing sufficient tracking data. The tools are available, but they need to be integrated effectively and monitored on a frequent basis.
If you have links from other websites, or are running multiple ads, you can add a tracking code to the end of the incoming link. For instance :
- If you have an incoming link directed to : http://www.YourSite.com/ProductPage?ID=456, it may direct the visitor to the correct page, but this will not benefit tracking at all.
- Use the following URL instead : http://www.YourSite.com/ProductPage?utm_source=SiteA&utm_medium=BannerAd&utm_campaign=ProductShowcase
Some services such as Google Analytics and Google AdWords provide tracking services which when setup, can track a range of different conversions, from when a visitor lands on a specific page, to when a visitor downloads a file, and more.
Another tracking service available for both online and traditional advertisers is Call Tracking. What this service does, is generate a unique 1-800 phone number for each targeted ad, which are used by the potential customer in order to call the advertiser. Each time a number is called, it acts as a conversion. This is very effective at determining which method of advertising is more effective and which ad is the most appealing to visitors.
Beginning in December, Glacier-Digital will begin offering this service to all of its SEO & SEM clients. Please contact us for more information.
If you plan on rolling out an online advertising campaign, be it large or small, be certain that the proper tools are in place to track your return on investment. While the ads might do the job otherwise, you’ll never truly know.
