Search Marketing Insights (Search Analytics)
Current Considerations for Future Tracking
By: Pat Stroh, VP Analysis and Decision Support, IMPAQT
While there is a widespread recognition that online tracking is important for the operation of optimized marketing campaigns, I believe there is a widespread lack of understanding about how online tracking impacts actual campaign analysis and management. First and foremost, it is important to recognize if and how conversions are tracked BACK to actual clicks (from Search Ads, etc.). The reason why this is so important is that it is very difficult to understand the impact of bid changes, ad copy tests, etc. if the conversions are not attributed to the actual management activities. Imagine a situation where conversions occur days after the initial click (e.g., loan applications). If you don’t synchronize that conversion with the click management tactics, you will often be mislead about the success or failure of your campaigns. So, as a foundation of an Online Search Campaign, it is very important to establish the link between the conversion and the click-date. This can be complicated, because the tracking codes must be “sticky” throughout the conversion process. And there are other complications, such as cookie length, “conversion attribution to which click?” questions (e.g., the first click or the last click?), and whether “intermediate conversions” such as the online application itself can actually predict a lagged conversion days later. Without a firm understanding of that process, however, it is very difficult to make informed decisions regarding your online campaigns.
