By: Will Bolles
Since its inception, the tracking associated with digital advertising has been its biggest differentiator. However, for so long, we were only able to track “clicks” or “impressions” – a digital metric with very little “real world” meaning. With conversion tracking, you can get away from digital metrics and start judging successful campaign by business metrics such as e-commerce sales or lead gen.
As we have discussed in the past, one of the most important components of executing a digital campaign is identifying the client’s primary KPI. If the advertiser is interested in tracking a user action on their site, conversion tracking will be used to help measure those actions. There are many different on-site actions an advertiser can track, but as their consultant, it is up to you to determine what key action will best drive results for the advertiser. For example, they may want to track contest entries, form fills, traffic to a specific page of the site, or e-commerce sales. Using conversion pixels we are able to track if the digital campaign is helping to drive those on-site actions. The conversion pixel (provided through Basis DSP) should be placed on the “thank you” page or the final page of the conversion/on-site action. Once a user gets to that “thank you” or final page of the user action, a conversion can be tracked in the DSP against the digital campaign. There are two types of conversions that a user can accomplish:
- Click Through Conversion (CTC): User sees the ad, clicks on the ad, goes to advertiser’s site, and completes the user action/conversion.
- View Through Conversion (VTC): User sees the ad, does NOT click on the ad, still goes to the advertiser’s site (via search or direct URL), and completes the user action/conversion.
These two pieces, CTC and VTC, make up the total number of user actions/conversions that are attributed to the campaign.
Before agreeing to a goal of conversions, it is essential to set proper expectations. Find out if the advertiser knows how many conversions they are wanting to see with the campaign. If the user action/conversion to be tracked already exists on their website, find out how many conversions the advertiser is seeing on their end prior to the start of the campaign. If they don’t have this information, have a discussion about what a conversion means to the business. Does the conversion translate into revenue for the advertiser? How many conversions would they need to see to make the campaign a success? These conversations allow you set and reset expectations (if necessary), provide the buyer with a benchmark for success that will help with optimizations once the campaign is live, and help you to secure a renewal at the end of the campaign.
Prior to campaign launch, also be sure to walk through the logistics of the conversion:
- Does the click through URL bring the user to a page that makes it easy to complete the conversion?
- Is the conversion easy to find on the site if the user does not click on the ad and get taken directly to it?
- Is the conversion easy to accomplish? Not too time consuming? Doesn’t ask for super personal information?
- Does the creative ask for the conversion?
Conversion Tracking FAQs
Can you track conversions on mobile devices?
Yes! Conversions can be tracked on mobile devices when mobile browser inventory is included in the media plan. Another way to ensure your conversions are being tracked from a mobile device (especially from mobile app inventory) is to enable cross-device tracking on your campaign. Enabling Cross Device allows you to track conversions that take place in a device different from that in which the ad was served. For example, a user may see an advertiser’s ad on their mobile device and then later on convert on their desktop. If the user can be identified on both devices, the conversion will count towards your digital campaign.
What is a “good” conversion rate/number?
There is not an “industry standard,” “good,” or “average” conversion number as this is relative to the advertiser and the desired conversion. A website form for a Credit Union may only see 3-4 conversions a month, where as a contest for free groceries for a year may see hundreds. The numbers are vastly different, but still may be a successful campaign result for the advertiser. Expectation setting is important with any campaign, but especially conversion campaigns. It is important to find out from the advertiser what their expectations are for the on-site conversion and also what they have experienced in the past with the on-site user action. If they don’t have this information, have a discussion about what a conversion means to the business. Does it translate to dollars? How many would they need to make the campaign a success? In addition, it is your job to help them determine if the conversion is easy to find on the site, easy to accomplish, and if the creative asks for the conversion and clicks to a place that makes it easy to complete. All of these pieces are key to setting up a successful conversion campaign and will ensure the path to conversion is clear. With a clear path to conversion, the campaign can do its job to drive as many conversions as realistically possible for that advertiser.
Reach out to your Centro contact to get help setting up a user action/conversion campaign! female wrestling http://www.otc-certified-store.com/stop-smoking-medicine-europe.html https://zp-pdl.com/emergency-payday-loans.php