In today’s business environment, conversion tracking is becoming increasingly popular. It is not enough to generate customer leads. You want to convert leads into sales. When measuring the success of pay per click advertising, a great amount of focus goes toward return on investment, generated revenue, and sales/leads conversions to determine which advertisements produce the most revenue for your business. Pay per click advertising can help drive traffic to your business, but you need to be able to track your success. The following are some important areas to consider when setting up conversion tracking.
Landing Page Layout
You cannot track conversion without providing an action for the customer to take (an action you deem a conversion). The landing page that the pay per click ad leads to is one of the most important factors in creating a successful ad. While the ad encourages a potential customer to visit your web site, it is the landing page that encourages potential leads to take the desired action once they arrive at the landing page. A common practice is to place a form, number, link to the contact us form, product the visitor wants, promotion, or some other means for the visitor to connect with your web site and its products or services.
Conversion Page
Equally as important as having a landing page that connects with the customer is having a page that entices the client to engage in your product or service. The best way to track conversion is through actions such as making a purchase, filling out a contact form, signing up for your company’s newsletter, or any other interaction that serves as a lead or sale on your web site.
Utilizing Analytics
In order to determine which conversions came from your pay per click advertisements, you need to have the tools in place to track the source. There are several analytics packages available that can assist you in identifying the source of the conversions you receive. Google AdWords allows pay per click advertisers to track conversion through its online platform. The tracking script is placed on the page that signifies a conversion. Through the Google AdWords platform, you can track the ads and keywords that provide the highest return on your advertising. This will allow you to refine your campaigns and utilize your strongest advertisements. Analytics services outside of the AdWords including Google Analytics, Hitslink, Index Tools, Omniture, and other packages, can also provide you with the tools to determine how you can get the most bang for your buck.
The key is to formulate a plan and then put your plan into action. In order to develop a successful advertising campaign, you have to be able to track conversion.
Erica Scharringhausen is a Pay Per Click Account Manager for The