October 8, 2021
The Ideal QA Process in Digital Advertising
As pixel-based tracking and funnel-based attribution models become more and more sophisticated, many marketers find themselves wondering – which on-site conversion actions should I track? While this might seem obvious at first, the need for mobile-specific conversion actions, micro-conversions, and path-specific conversions can quickly crowd the field of tracked conversions.
True insights can get lost in the crowd; make sure to track what is most important to your business. Image via Pixabay.
Your primary conversion goal should typically be the action that produces the most value for your business, with additional conversion actions reserved for evaluating the efficacy of certain marketing efforts or better understanding your audience. If you’re still confused about what you should track, read on for a quick guide to finding your ideal conversion.
Goal Setting
Understanding your marketing goals is key to tracking the best conversion actions. Are you looking to increase sales, or drive additional traffic to your website? What conversion type has been most profitable in the past? And which sees the highest number of conversions each month? Keep in mind that you will want to choose conversion types with enough monthly volume that you can use this data to improve account performance.
If, for example, most of your sales happen over the phone, then tracking call conversions probably makes the most sense. However, if you sell a high-priced product and you only complete a few phone sales each month, then you should also consider an intermediary goal with a higher conversion volume to allow you to make month-to-month adjustments. In this case, you could use an email list sign up as an indicator of a qualified, higher-funnel site visitor.
Once you have set a goal, the next step is to set up accurate tracking for the chosen conversion. Below are some examples of ways to set up conversion tracking for the various conversion types. You can set up multiple conversion types in AdWords to ensure that you’re tracking every action of value to your business.
Phone Calls
You can easily set up Calls from Ads tracking in AdWords by creating a call conversion type and enabling call extensions for ads in the Extensions tab.
You can also track how effectively your ads lead to incoming phone calls directly from the website. This is done by inserting a call conversion tracking code on all applicable webpages to generate a dynamic forwarding number to track each user that clicks an ad and calls from your website.
While AdWords call tracking will give you a good idea of incoming call volume from your ads, if call leads are your main conversion type, you should consider investing in a call tracking software. This software can allow you to track the quality of your call leads, from first call to final sale, to make sure they are in line with your performance goals.
Purchase/Order
The most common conversion type for ecommerce businesses is direct purchases on a website. You can track direct conversions by placing the conversion tracking code on the order success page that users reach after completing their purchase. You should also make sure to set up accurate revenue tracking in order to fully understand how marketing is contributing to your bottom line.
Forms/Downloads
If you have a long sales process, or sell a high-priced item, then you probably don’t expect customers to purchase directly from your website. Form leads and document downloads serve as an intermediate step – placing users into the purchase funnel and allowing you to begin the sales process. You can typically track this conversion type by placing the conversion tracking code on the thank you page that a user reaches after filling out a form and pressing submit, download, etc.
In some instances, converters might not reach a thank-you page after submitting their information. This frequently happens for conversion events such as webinar registration, when a user is taken immediately to a conferencing software hosted on a third-party site. In this case, you can set up on-click conversion tracking to record a conversion when the submit button is clicked.
Micro Conversions
Micro conversions are activities that users often engage in before converting. These are particularly helpful for identifying high-funnel visitors who are likely to convert with additional sales and remarketing efforts. Micro-conversions can also help you understand how visitors in different parts of the purchase funnel engage with your website.
A great use case is tracking micro conversions for mobile users. Many mobile visitors hesitate to complete a purchase or even a form-fill directly on their mobile devices. For this reason, you should add the option to add products to a wishlist or sign up for an email list. This will allow your visitors to make a purchase from their desktop at a later time, and it will allow you to continue to reach them through email. And tracking this micro conversion event allows you to see how likely your mobile visitors are to engage with your products and ultimately take a step further down the purchase funnel.
You have more options now than ever to track conversions. With just a small amount of setup effort, you can monitor calls, form leads, purchases and more. However, when you consider what conversion types to track, make sure to focus on your primary account goals, and the conversion actions that will most closely help you achieve them.
