Digital advertising campaigns have many advantages over traditional media for the digital marketer and for the digital advertising platform. Very precise targeting (geographic, demographic, etc.), measurement of campaign results (impressions, clicks, conversions, sales) on a granular real-time level, and the possibility of adapting the campaign much faster than in traditional media are the central highlights of the digital marketing revolution. Digital advertisers and digital advertising platforms can effectively use trial and error methods to improve performance over time. The basis for most of this is the ability to gather information (i.e. data points about the surfer and his or her behavior from a variety of sources) and combine them. This is what tracking in digital advertising is all about.
1. What Is Conversion Tracking?
Platforms such as Google and Facebook have the ability to collect vast amounts of data about the surfing habits of the internet users. These advertising financed platforms utilize the data in order to optimize the placement of ads in front of the internet surfers, in order to maximize the revenue of their own advertising platform.
A digital marketer, on the other hand, will often not be able to access the same amount of data. Nevertheless, he or she will receive information on the number of impressions and clicks that his or her ads have generated. The marketer may even be told more detailed information about the location of the surfers or the demographic profiles. However, in order to evaluate the return on investment (how much money was made minus how much money was spent on the ad) the digital marketer needs to find out if the clicks that his website received from the ads actually led to more revenue. To accomplish this, the digital marketer must use conversion tracking.
A conversion is an action performed by an Internet user. Depending on the needs of the company, the events that trigger conversions may be calls, forms, visited pages, purchases, clicks on specific buttons, application downloads, newsletter subscriptions, etc. Conversion data are valuable because they allow us to understand the efficiency of communication actions, to calculate an ROI, and to have all the necessary elements to make the right decisions and to better distribute communication expenses.
2. Different Conversion Tracking Options
To achieve a precise and detailed tracking of conversions, it is necessary to install different tags (javascripts) – more specifically, a different tag (javascript) for each platform on the marketer’s website. Tools such as the Google tag manager allow the user to only make that insertion once for the javascript of the Google tag manager and then add additional scripts in the backend of the Google tag manager application.
In order to increase independence and flexibility, Adplorer has developed its own tracking script. Similar to the Google tag manager, the script must only be installed once on the client’s website (it can actually even be installed via the Google tag manager).
The script is executed in the browser of the surfer each time a surfer reaches a website on which the script is placed. It then reads the URL of the webpage including UTM parameters and sends it to the Adplorer server which will also capture the DateTime of each request, the IP address, and additional information submitted by the browser of the surfer, such as browser-type and operating system. If set up to do so, the script also exchanges the telephone number on the website against a call-tracking number in order to measure calls triggered through the website.
Calls made to the tracking call number are automatically redirected to the original number and the DateTime, along with information about the call, is stored.
Furthermore, Adplorer can integrate directly with the CRM systems of its clients in order to see individual sales made for the client.
Adplorer then combines all these data points in its attribution routines, which can vary depending on the degree of information that is available, but generally speaking, uses last click attribution.
The campaign performance reports provided by Adplorer present all conversions in a clear and comprehensive manner.
3. Conversion Tracking and Local Campaigns
Many agencies that manage local campaigns do not offer conversion tracking to their clients, because tracking is often complicated to set up, it takes a lot of time, and they have to check and recheck it regularly to make sure it is working properly. In such a situation, Adplorer can create a mirror site (reverse proxy) of the client’s website without access to the website itself. The tracking script is then installed in this mirroring site.
For multi-locations businesses, such as franchises or cooperatives, it is often a little bit easier to set up tracking, as the headquarters typically have access to the websites of the locations. The tracking script can then be set up in a one time project for all locations and only be activated once the location requires the data.
Conclusion
When you set up digital advertising campaigns, you must not neglect conversion tracking. It is a major asset of digital advertising! It is necessary to set up simple and effective conversion tracking solutions with relevant triggers. The return on investment can then be accurately evaluated and strategic decisions can be made.
Adplorer helps local agencies and multi-location businesses create successful digital advertising local campaigns with concrete and measurable results for continuous improvement of performance and customer satisfaction at the highest level.
If you would like to know more about conversion tracking, contact us!