PPC Reporting in an Age of Imprecise Data

Transcript

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

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

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

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4. Why doesn’t Meta Ads match Google Analytics?
   

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5. Why doesn’t Shopify revenue match ad platform totals?
   

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

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7. But your client or boss still cares about seeing hard numbers
   

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

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

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10. Establishing Reporting
    Expectations
    

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11. 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
    

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12. 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)
    

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13. 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.”
    

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14. 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.
    

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15. 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.
    

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16. 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
    

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17. Conversion Tracking
    

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18. 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.
    

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19. 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.
    

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20. 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.
    

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21. 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
    

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22. 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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24. Showing Results Beyond
    Platform Conversions
    

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25. 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.
    

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26. 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!
    

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27. 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)
    

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28. 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
    

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29. 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
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    March April May June
    Paid search launch
    

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

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31. 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
    

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32. 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
    

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