Posts Tagged: marketing analytics

Analytics / Call Tracking / Features, Tips, & Announcements — No Comments
9
Oct 12

Google’s Impact on Call Tracking

Last week Mongoose Metrics attended the Search Marketing Expo in New York City, in which Jeff Culliton, one of our Business Development Managers, presented on the subject of Google’s recent privacy policy updates and the impact on phone call tracking and the changes in the resulting analytics. This presentation was so well received that we thought we’d share the highlights with you.

First, how did Google’s privacy policy change? Google combined the privacy properties for all of their entities including Google +, YouTube and  Picasa so that when a user logs into one account and accepts a discloser form, it then allows Google to track user behavior across all business entities.

By having users accept the unified policy, Google is able to paint an even more detailed profile for each individual user who utilizes Google as a search engine. With this super granular profile information Google can provide potential advertisers with the  most detailed demographic info and consequently serve up the most pertinent ad to you. Google made this update as a way to make searches more private but also to know the user better and therefore give an overall better user experience.

Second, there is a downside (for marketers that is). When a user is logged into a secure Google account, Google will no longer provide analytic platforms with the organic search terms that the user searched for but will provide the search terms for all pay-per-click campaigns. For marketers and analytical trackers, this provides less information about user behavior and lessens the ability to optimize campaigns for organic keyword performance.

Third, what is the direct impact on analytic companies? We are now stuck with the dreaded “unknown” keyword in which we are unable to correlate phone calls to. At the moment no one knows for sure what the total impact of these changes are, but, current estimates place the number of secure Google searches between 7%-14%.   This number will no doubt climb as consumer privacy concerns continue to mount and undoubtedly certain verticals will be impacted at higher rates than others.

The only thing that is for certain is that search engine optimization professionals are going to have to find new and creative ways to optimize campaigns and await the next change from the web master (a.k.a. Google)

Follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffculltion for more happenin’ tidbits.

 

 

 

Features, Tips, & Announcements / PPC / SEM / SEO — 1 Comment
3
Jul 12

How to Efficiently Drive Online Traffic and Effectively Measure Offline Phone Conversions

In today’s multi-channel world, people are searching online, visiting stores to test out the products, returning to the Internet to compare prices and then completing the purchases either online, in the store or over the phone.

With so much competition on the web, it can be a race to the top of the search engine lists page. Search engine optimization is important for businesses to rank organically over time, but what if you’re looking for immediate results? Generating a substantial amount of traffic through a search engine marketing (SEM), sometimes referred to as cost-per-click or pay-per-click, campaign may costs thousands of dollars in order to increase sales and in the end it may be clear as to how many thousands of potential consumers saw and clicked on the ad, but unclear as to how many of those potential customers followed through and converted offline via a phone call. Marketers must be prepared to measure the offline conversions in order to justify the spending. When marketers simply measure clicks alone, they don’t have a complete picture of the conversion value.

By utilizing SEM as well as a source or keyword level call tracking service, businesses will be able to efficiently drive online traffic and effectively measure the campaign that drove the call along with the sale that happened as a result.

Our new white paper, Your Guide to Driving Online Traffic and Measuring Offline Phone Conversions, was written in collaboration with Elite SEM, a New York based digital marketing agency. In this whitepaper we review how to leverage online advertising to its fullest by generating quality SEM and measuring offline phone conversion with the latest advances in phone call tracking.

For questions regarding this whitepaper please contact Pamela McGowan.

 

Features, Tips, & Announcements — No Comments
26
Jun 12

Myths of Phone Call Tracking: An employee has to keep track of different phone numbers and associate them to multiple campaigns

With a source or keyword level call tracking solution installed on your website, a dynamic phone number will be associated with each unique visitor. This unique phone number is essential so that when a visitor converts via an offline phone call, marketers will be able to associate the resulting offline phone conversion with the proper online source or campaign.

Some may wonder, “who keeps track of all the unique phone numbers and the individual calls?” Does the person accepting the phone calls need to keep track of each phone number and phone call in order to properly measure the ROI on each marketing campaign?

The Answer: Absolutely Not!

Here’s how it works:

When a visitor comes to the website and dials the unique phone number associated with their browsing session, the phone call seamlessly passes through a Mongoose Metrics server that connects the call to the location of your choice.

Once the call happens, the record is added to the Mongoose Metrics client dashboard. When the client logs into either their Mongoose Metrics account, or their chosen integrated partner website such as a bid management or analytics platform, they will be able to view the call detail report that incorporates all of the essential granular information including:

  • The persons caller ID
  • The date and time the call occurred
  • The tracking phone number that was dialed and destination number it was connected to
  • The keyword and source that drove the call
  • The phone number associated with the campaign

With all of this granular information included, the client is able to export the information from the dashboard into an excel document in order to aggregate all of the necessary information.

With the advancements in call tracking technology and third party integrations marketers have the tools to tie together a complete picture surrounding their marketing campaigns. Having clarity surrounding the marketing performance results in better spending decisions and ultimately higher returns on marketing dollars.

Analytics / Call Tracking / CRM / Integration / Mobile Marketing / Offline Advertising / PPC / Search Marketing / SEO / Social Media — No Comments
24
Oct 11

Smart Marketing Insights From eMetrics NYC

Last week Mongoose Metrics visited New York City to attend the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit. The show’s focus was to help marketers and web analytics professionals turn data into insight. The keynote speakers included people from Expedia, IBM, eBay, Nissan, eMarketer and more. Surely these folks know the importance of obtaining data to develop critical insights that help today’s businesses succeed. As a marketing director, those insights are what I’m after too.

So what did I learn at the eMetrics show? Below are just a handful of insights that I feel are worth sharing.emetrics logo

  • Research shows that transparency equals trust. We all know that today’s consumers trust each other more than marketers.
  • Of course we all want good, reliable customer and analytical data to make good business decisions. But decisions must be made nonetheless. Go to war with the data you have, not the data you wish you had.
  • When trying to see a holistic view of your online social data, combine mentions from all networks at least to record the data – even if you’re not entirely accurate on the sentiment.
  • Be aware of the audience you’re in. Marketing speak isn’t going to cut it. As marketers we have to listen. Over time that listening leads to learning. Monitor social & understand what your customers say. Use their language in your ads, keywords, etc.
  • Mobile isn’t the future. It’s now. Don’t wait to embrace mobile. Companies like eBay that rely largely on online commerce recognize this and are quickly developing solutions to serve today’s tech-savvy mobile consumer.

Feel free to share any additional insights from the show or else comment on the ideas I’ve mentioned.

 

 

 

Analytics / Call Tracking / CRM / Integration / Mobile Marketing / Offline Advertising / PPC / Search Marketing / SEO — No Comments
6
Oct 11

Conversion Rates are 41% Lower on Mobile – Boost Your Mobile Conversions With Mobile Call Tracking

There are more than 300 million mobile phones in the U.S. (a number close to our country’s entire population). At least 12% of their time is spent on mobile sites. Your prospects have an attention span of about 9 seconds. If you don’t capture their attention within that short amount of time, you risk losing the conversion. With mobile growth exploding, the demand for mobile phone conversion solutions is critical. Boost your mobile conversions with Mongoose Metrics’ Mobile Call Track Suite.

Mobile Call Tracking Drives Conversions

With one in seven searches happening via mobile, marketers can’t afford to ignore the growing demand for mobile conversion solutions. Combining call tracking features with mobile conversion optimization enables marketers to engage mobile visitors and drive mobile sales conversions.

Consider the example scenario below:

Sally is looking to purchase a new HP laptop computer. She does what 99% of people in the U.S. do when they’re researching new products – she searches Google. Sally opens her mobile browser and searches for “HP laptops on sale Cleveland, Ohio” This search takes her to a number of results, showing an array of HP laptops being offered at retailers throughout the Cleveland, Ohio region. She clicks on a search result for Bob’s Computers.

We know she is in the Options stage of the Buying Process, and we only have 9 seconds to get her attention. Using Mongoose’s Mobile Call Track technology, Bob’s Computers pushes a special mobile alert to Sally 5 seconds into her visit that says, “We have your laptop, touch to call us now.” Sally clicks the mobile alert and her mobile phone populates with the number for Bob’s Computers. Bob gets the sale and Sally gets her new HP laptop. Bob knows that he won the sale thanks to Mongoose technology because the conversion and phone call are recorded for easy tracking.

The Mongoose Metrics’ Mobile Call Track Suite offers several powerful features for customers that are serious about making mobile a part of their marketing strategy:

  • Right Time, Right Place action triggers- which rescue visitors before they abandon your mobile website.
  • Increase & Measure Conversions– Realize an immediate lift in mobile conversions of up to 30%– with ROI potential to increase overtime from 45 – 100%.
  • Seamless integration – Integrate with web analytics, bid management and CRM software for easy, consistent reporting.

With a growing number of searches being conducted via mobile phones, having statistics to understand the behavior of your customers is critical. The power to increase mobile conversions is yours. Start now by contacting us today!

Features, Tips, & Announcements — No Comments
31
Aug 11

Call Tracking 101: How to Integrate Call Tracking Into Your Marketing Campaigns

Marketing in the past relied heavily on the “spray and pray” mentality—if you could get your message in front of enough people, at least a few would be compelled to take action. With limiting reporting available to directly tie tactics to results, many campaigns were simply shots in the dark.

Today’s marketer has the technology available to report on prospect interactions and conversions from specific marketing activities, and use that data to evolve campaigns based on results.

What is call tracking?Most marketers now use web analytics to understand how leads interact with their brand online, but what happens when a prospect picks up the phone?

With more users browsing the web via mobile devices, companies are likely to receive more offline customer calls and conversions. And let’s not forget that some people simply prefer to call, especially when dealing with local businesses. With a call tracking solution, you can find out what marketing activities prompt these offline conversions.

Two Ways to Implement Call Tracking

There are two simple ways to incorporate call tracking into your marketing analytics: one-to-one and Javascript integrations. Following are details about both methods, including how they work and best practices.

One-to-One Integration

The Basics: The idea behind one-to-one integration is to assign unique call tracking numbers to specific marketing tactics, campaigns or activities. For example, if you are running a series of print advertisements across several publications, assign a unique call tracking number to each publication, and then integrate the number into the corresponding ads. As a call comes in, you’ll know which publication prompted the call.

How It Works: It’s automated. As calls are logged, your call tracking solution will record the conversion, associate it with the proper marketing activity, and keep this data on file for your team to review and analyze.

When To Use It: One-to-one integration is ideal for marketing activities that take place off your website, often more traditional tactics. Think of campaigns that engage leads when they are offline, such as:

  • Billboard and Print Advertisements
  • Television and Radio Advertisements or Placements
  • Mobile Messaging Campaigns
  • Promotional Fliers
  • Guerrilla Marketing Tactics

Javascript Integration

The Basics: A Javascript snippet, provided by your call tracking platform, is code integrated throughout your website, similar to analytics tracking code, that provides detailed reporting of visitor activity that leads to a phone call.

How It Works: This Javascript snippet captures site visitor information and displays a unique phone number to each visitor on your website. The number follows the user from page to page via a cookie that is automatically installed on his or her browser. Even if a visitor leaves the website, as long as the cookie hasn’t been cleared, he or she will see their same phone number upon return.

When a user picks up the phone to call, the call tracking solution associates the call with the corresponding visitor information gathered online. This information—including source, landing page and last page visited—is recorded and stored for your team to review and analyze.

When To Use It: Javascript integration is ideal for campaigns that drive audiences to your website, and those that require higher level of tracking detail. Because the code captures each lead’s historical data, and doesn’t have to be tied to specific campaigns, reports can give insight into the overall effectiveness of your marketing activities as a whole. Use Javascript integration to measure the results of the following marketing tactics, and more:

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Pay Per Click (PPC)
  • Online Advertisements
  • Link-Building Campaigns

Using data and reports from call tracking, you can determine which marketing campaigns, activities and messages resonate with your audience and generate more leads. When tied to a CRM, you can also determine the sales value and ROI of your efforts. With this information, you can make smarter decisions on how to invest your time and budgets.

What questions do you have about call tracking?

 

 

Analytics / Search Marketing — No Comments
12
May 11

Putting Performance Metrics into a Single Marketing Dashboard

What is a marketing dashboard?

According to Chief Marketer: “A marketing dashboard is a collection of what are believed to be the most critical diagnostic and predictive metrics, organized in a way to promote the recognition of patterns or performance.”

At a high level, a marketing dashboard will allow you to make connections between marketing information silos, such as: web analytics platforms, social media monitoring tools, call tracking solutions, email marketing tools, CRM software and more.

By combining the information from multiple tools into a single dashboard, you can:

• Gain a real-time, holistic view of marketing progress.

• Provide all decision makers with an easy-to-access hub to review and evaluate campaign performance.

• Identify sources of high-quality leads and customers to make more educated campaign updates and budget allocations.

• Simplify and save time generating customized progress reports.

Understand objectives and identify key metrics

To develop an effective marketing dashboard, it’s important to have a firm understanding of marketing, sales and organizational growth goals, which should be consistent from C-level executives on down.

“If the alignment amongst the senior management team isn’t tight with respect to the specific role of marketing, then neither are their expectations or definitions of success.” — ChiefMarketer.com.

Once objectives are determined, select the related metrics that decision makers in your organization agree will show success or failure for each aspect of your campaign. Think in terms of multi-dimensional interconnects — how metrics from various tools combine to show the true performance of marketing initiatives. For example, combine:

• Lead nurturing email campaigns (email platform) + sales data (CRM software).

• Social media traffic sources (web analytics) + online conversions (web analytics) + offline conversions (call tracking solution).

• PPC campaign, ad group and keyword bid information (marketing automation program) + online lead form submissions (web analytics) + offline call conversions (call tracking solutions) + sales conversions (CRM software).

Using open APIs, each tool should allow for data to be pulled on demand, structured in a specific format that you determine, and provided in a way that helps link imported data with the data from other silos.

With these rules in place, you’ll have a dashboard that is updated in real-time with the information most important to you, and one place to go for all campaign data.

According to MarketingProfs, “Marketing dashboards are an important tool for ensuring that marketing initiatives are on track. They help facilitate strategic decisions and recommend course adjustments, such as whether the marketing organization is on track to drive demand of products according to forecasts through higher-quality leads to sales, improved customer retention, or an increased marketing footprint.”

Is your organization using a marketing dashboard? How is it impacting your campaign performance?