PPC Reporting in an Age of Imprecise Data Tim Jensen M&T Bank @timothyjjensen Thursday, Nov. 9

Why is PPC reporting getting messier? Cookie deprecation iOS/browser privacy features Thresholding & modeled data

Why don’t Google Ads conversion numbers match my CRM?

Why doesn’t Meta Ads match Google Analytics?

Why doesn’t Shopify revenue match ad platform totals?

Accept that your data isn’t perfect and never will be

But your client or boss still cares about seeing hard numbers

Platform conversion tracking nuances Modeled conversions View-through conversions Attribution setting variances

View platform-tracked data as directional and show results in context of longer term trends

Establishing Reporting Expectations

Identify Significant Timeframes Sales cycles: could be days, months, or even years Seasonality: ecommerce behaves differently in November than lead gen Volume of data: $10K/month spend accrues data more slowly than $100K/month Daily or weekly data may contain anomalies that are ironed out in monthly or quarterly data

Set expectations for reporting cadence If daily/weekly reports are desired, discuss the impact of data significance & delays. Allow for at least 5 days into the new month to begin prepping monthly numbers to fully allow for conversion delays (possibly longer depending on the business)

Highlight trends “Google conversions increased 20% while CPA remained stable. This growth contributed to the overall uptick in sales last month.” “Conversions dropped 15% in November. Based on a similar decrease seen last year in the same timeframe, this drop is likely due to seasonality.”

Be cautious about real-time dashboards Dashboards can encourage clients/stakeholders to focus on short-term data that lacks significance and accuracy. Data in dashboards generally lacks context, while a carefully crafted report can “tell a story” to point stakeholders to proper KPIs. Conversion reporting can be delayed multiple days, particularly when offline conversions and/or Enhanced Conversions are in play.

Be clear about the source of truth Specify the source for data in each portion of your reporting (where you use ad platform metrics vs. GA vs. CRM) to help alleviate questions from stakeholders double- checking against their own metrics.

Adapting to tracking issues Prepare a plan in advance to adjust your reporting when tracking breaks on your site. While a central “source of truth” is important for consistency, having multiple sources allows for backup options. Understand how platforms tend to vary in relation to each other for adding context in reports. Remember to note the timing & causes of data anomalies for future reference

Conversion Tracking

Beware of duplicating conversions User views ad on Facebook Searches for product & clicks Google ad Clicks Snapchat retargeting ad & converts All 3 platforms take credit for the same conversion! When reporting on cross-channel initiatives, use another source of truth such as GA4 or your CRM to track final conversion totals.

Set up Enhanced Conversions Enhanced Conversions in Google utilize data from form fields to connect conversions to individuals. Protect against tracking loss from GCLID parameters being stripped by using first party data instead. With Enhanced Conversions for Leads, upload data for users who completed additional steps (MQL, SQL, completed sale, etc.) to match against users tracked as completing the initial lead form.

Capture UTM parameters Use a standardized system for UTM tracking and pass to your CRM, automation platform, commerce platform, etc. to attribute to leads or sales on the backend. UTMs are less likely to be stripped out via iOS/browser privacy protection measures than user-level parameters such as Salesforce IDs.

Incorporate various conversion stages While the “ROI metrics” matter at the end of the day, highlighting higher level conversions can help to show how each channel is contributing. You can also show conversion rate for each step to identify pain points and areas for optimization in your reports. Viewed blog article 1 Downloaded a whitepaper 2 Took a demo call 3 Started a free trial 4 Became a paying customer 5

Think about multichannel attribution Identify where channels fit in the “funnel” and show contribution to later conversions where possible. GA4’s Attribution reports can be helpful here.

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Showing Results Beyond Platform Conversions

Coupon codes Set up unique coupon codes by channel/campaign to tie back the number of sales or account opens. These can be connected to a unique landing page or appended via URL parameters to be pulled into a field during the checkout or account open process.

Incrementality Geographic Holdout vs. control regions Measure conversion lift to determine what % of conversions are influenced by paid media channels Audience splits Divide audience into separate “buckets” to show ads to some and not others. Time period Measure how much conversions drop when paid media channels are off. Be sure to think about seasonality!

Integrate outside data (CRM, CDP, etc.) What is the average return from a new customer? What is the average value of an initial lead? Associate these values with leads tracked to approximate ROI/ROAS (and help drive value based bidding)

Showing value beyond trackable conversions Brand Lift testing available in multiple ad platforms (Google/YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook) to measure factors such as awareness, consideration, & purchase intent Search Lift (currently in beta but available via Google rep): See if people are more likely to be searching for your company after being exposed to ads

Showing value beyond trackable conversions Correlate the overall impact on sales/leads/account opens to when you increased PPC spend, implemented a new channel, or tested a new targeting tactic. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 March April May June Paid search launch

Use blended metrics to track overall marketing efficiency across platforms Total Revenue Total Marketing Spend Total Marketing Spend Total Conversions Blended CPA/ROAS

Takeaways Consider platform data as directional & report on longer term trends Identify a “source of truth” outside of ad platform data for consistency in reporting (analytics platform, CRM) Use offline conversion import and Enhanced Conversions for more accuracy Incorporate measures such as incrementality and brand lift tests to show value beyond direct platform numbers Focus on crafting a story with a report vs. sharing dashboards with no context

About Me Paid media marketer @ M&T Bank Spent 12 years in the agency world prior to moving in-house Contributor to industry sites such as Search Engine Land & Search Engine Journal Connect with me at linkedin.com/in/timothyjjensen