Have you ever tried to read a township, range, and section legal description for real property? Or find one on a map? At first glance, these are vexing to say the least. They must have been created for surveyors, or maybe lawyers, but not for layman.
However, there is an insider’s trick to reading one: read it backwards. Here’s an example: The NW 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of Section 5, T3N, R11E. To locate this property on a map, it is far easier to start on the right side, at the range, and then work backward to the left, through the township, section and so on, until you arrive at the parcel you are seeking.
Start with the end result from online ads
We can use a similar approach to understand search engine advertising. Most advertisers notice or ask about the user-facing elements from PPC, such as keywords or ads. To understand online advertising faster, and to avoid getting bogged down in details, a business owner should focus first and mostly on the desired outcome.
For most advertisers, the desired outcome from website traffic is either a lead or a purchase. Some sites have business categories that need both. Leads and purchases can come in online or through incoming phone calls. These desired actions from websites are generally known as conversions.
A quick heads up: one assumption I’m making here is that you have conversion tracking correctly set up on your website. If not, make sure you have this done as a first step. Reliable conversion tracking is key to the whole process.
At this point, we’ll outline purchases and leads, and use bullet points for easier reading.
Online purchases, reservations, etc (a.k.a. ecommerce)
Online leads: contact forms or incoming calls
Article 1 in a series of 3
This is part 1 of a 3 part blog series on conversions. The next two will dive into other topics related to creating and counting leads and purchases from websites. If you have a recent experience with this topic, please share it with us.
The post Need to Understand Metrics from Search Ads? Read them Backward first appeared on TopSide Media.]]>