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Get with the program(matic): the results at the end of the digital tunnel

In the Get with the Program(matic) series we have covered all aspects of retargeting from the basic to specialised. All of this new knowledge, tips and tricks are great but if you can’t see that it works, what’s the point?
 
Understanding how to report on your successes and learn from things that haven’t worked is imperative. When choosing which technology to work with, reporting should be a big part of the decision making process. Does the support team have the knowledge to be able to give you sound advice on reporting methods? Are those reports in-depth and easy to understand? Are reports readily available? These are some of the important questions to ask the people you work with.
First thing’s first, what does success look like to you?
This will depend on so many things. What’s the purpose of the campaign? How are other businesses measuring their success? Does the reporting make sense when you look at the rest of your marketing reports?
It’s important to be able to work with your vendor on goals and reporting metrics so you can shape your reports to pull the most relevant and easy to read data. Being upfront with your technology provider with what you’re expecting from each campaign and ensuring that the metrics are in a language that makes sense to you and your business will make overall reporting a smooth process.
Different types of businesses will have completely different priorities when it comes to reporting. For example, a clothing retailer is more likely to look at ROI (return on investment) or the amount of money spent per sale while an insurance agency will have very different consideration cycle and is more likely to look at CPL (cost per lead).
Secondly, what does the reporting jargon mean?
We covered off some ad tech talk in the initial Get with the program(matic): the meaning behind the jargon article but reporting is a different beast and comes with its own set of acronyms and buzzwords. An online advertising campaign is usually measured with one or more of the below metrics:
  • CTR = Click Through Rate – The number of times an ad is clicked divided by the number of impressions shown
  • CPA = Cost Per Acquisition – The total spend divided by the total number of conversions
  • CPL = Cost Per Lead – The total spend of the campaign divided by the number of leads
  • CPC = Cost Per Click – An advertiser only pays when a customer clicks on an ad
  • CPM = Cost Per Mille – Cost per one thousand ad impressions served
  • ROI = Return On Investment – The total spend of the campaign divided by the total dollar value of all conversions
The metrics you use will depend on the type of business you have. A top line way to measure your campaign’s success is did it do what is was meant to? Did you create brand awareness, or more conversions?
What about attribution?
Attribution measures the impact of each marketing interaction with a customer action. That could be an ad driving the customer to the website, previously having bought from that brand, downloading an application etc.
There are two ways people talk about retargeting attribution:
  • VTC = View Through Conversions – a conversion that measures customers who were shown an ad, did not click on the ad but converted at a later time anyway
  • CTC = Click Through Conversion – a conversion that results from a user clicking an ad and then converting as a direct result
There is no steadfast rule about how to measure attribution but I recommend a combination of CTC and VTC. Each industry’s combination will vary according to the consideration/sales cycle. You may never be able to measure everything perfectly, but never stop trying. 90 per cent of marketers consider attribution important or critical to success, so try and use multiple models and keep refining them.
 
Attribution is one of the toughest topics in digital advertising at the moment. No one has the perfect formula and it’s unknown ground. The process of setting an attribution model should come from the top and have everyone’s buy in.
Ease of reporting
We have all been in the last minute situation of pulling together a presentation the night before, and having access to reports and data at those times is imperative. When looking to work with any technology, it is important to know that you can access your data in an easy to understand format when and where you need it.
The industry looks at Google Analytics as the standard in easy reporting. A user can login and access their data immediately. The AdRoll self-service dashboard offers similar reporting features and gives advertisers access their information in a myriad of formats with the click of a button.
That brings us to the end of the Get With The Program(matic) series. I hope I’ve helped bring clarity to what can be perceived to be a highly technical part of the marketing mix. For further information about any of the AdRoll products or the industry in general get in contact with a member of our Delight team.
If you want to learn more about attribution and reporting methods check out our Custom Attribution Model whitepaper.
  • Ben Sharp is the managing director of AdRoll in Australia and New Zealand.
  • This article was produced as part of content partnership between AdRoll and StopPress—read more stories here.  

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