At Efficient Frontier, we recently updated our platform to include our first cross channel reporting capabilities inclusive of both search and display. The report gives marketers a quick view of all conversions on their website and insights into what advertising channels are driving those conversions. Additionally, our cross channel report shows how many of the attributed conversions were preceded by events from other paid channels.
Many advertisers continue to have display and search teams working separately and often use different tracking and optimization systems. As a result, conversions with overlapping events (ex. a search click preceded by a display click) are typically double counted. That is, each channel (search and display) will independently take credit for such conversions. Lacking the visibility into how each advertising channel is influencing the other, advertisers over-estimate advertising efficacy and may over-pay for placements and terms. Let’s examine a site retargeting scenario to illustrate the challenge.
When you are retargeting visitors to the advertiser’s site you are inevitably reaching visitors that came to the site through paid search clicks. This means users who have come through paid search clicks and then viewed a retargeted display ad and then converted will be double counted if the advertiser is not using the same tracking systems across these channels or not using the right attribution model.
We typically see 30-40% of all conversions arriving from a display impression, or click, are preceded with a paid search click. This overlap is significant enough that marketers need to pay close attention to attribution. However, double counting conversions is just one problem. The other issue is that advertisers are not getting the proper visibility into how one advertising channel is influencing the other.
In our campaigns, we have seen that up to 10-15% of conversions that had a prior display impression had the last event as a paid search click. And when we looked further into the path to conversion data, it is interesting to see that many of these users see multiple banner ads and, within minutes of seeing the last banner ad, visited their favorite search engine and searched and clicked on a search ad prior to conversion. Clearly display influenced the search, although that ad will rarely be given credit. Looking at the issue in reverse, we see that 20-30% of conversions that had a prior display impression or click had a paid search click prior to the display event. In essence, this 20-30% overlap consists of users that came to the advertiser’s site through a paid search click and then saw a re-targeted banner ad prior to converting.
What this data shows is that there is significant cross channel influence between search and display. The key for advertisers is to have both a centralized tracking system to ensure they can obtain cross channel insights and an optimization platform that can activate this data in display and search buying. Only with centralized tracking can different conversion attribution models be tested, making cross channel optimization possible.
The cross channel report is a new addition to our optimization platform. The vision for Efficient Frontier is to optimize media spend not just based on the direct conversions but also account for the indirect conversions. We deliver strong results by providing the right data, partnering on the right attribution model and optimizing across search and display campaigns.
Many advertisers continue to have display and search teams working separately and often use different tracking and optimization systems. As a result, conversions with overlapping events (ex. a search click preceded by a display click) are typically double counted. That is, each channel (search and display) will independently take credit for such conversions. Lacking the visibility into how each advertising channel is influencing the other, advertisers over-estimate advertising efficacy and may over-pay for placements and terms. Let’s examine a site retargeting scenario to illustrate the challenge.
When you are retargeting visitors to the advertiser’s site you are inevitably reaching visitors that came to the site through paid search clicks. This means users who have come through paid search clicks and then viewed a retargeted display ad and then converted will be double counted if the advertiser is not using the same tracking systems across these channels or not using the right attribution model.
We typically see 30-40% of all conversions arriving from a display impression, or click, are preceded with a paid search click. This overlap is significant enough that marketers need to pay close attention to attribution. However, double counting conversions is just one problem. The other issue is that advertisers are not getting the proper visibility into how one advertising channel is influencing the other.
In our campaigns, we have seen that up to 10-15% of conversions that had a prior display impression had the last event as a paid search click. And when we looked further into the path to conversion data, it is interesting to see that many of these users see multiple banner ads and, within minutes of seeing the last banner ad, visited their favorite search engine and searched and clicked on a search ad prior to conversion. Clearly display influenced the search, although that ad will rarely be given credit. Looking at the issue in reverse, we see that 20-30% of conversions that had a prior display impression or click had a paid search click prior to the display event. In essence, this 20-30% overlap consists of users that came to the advertiser’s site through a paid search click and then saw a re-targeted banner ad prior to converting.
What this data shows is that there is significant cross channel influence between search and display. The key for advertisers is to have both a centralized tracking system to ensure they can obtain cross channel insights and an optimization platform that can activate this data in display and search buying. Only with centralized tracking can different conversion attribution models be tested, making cross channel optimization possible.
The cross channel report is a new addition to our optimization platform. The vision for Efficient Frontier is to optimize media spend not just based on the direct conversions but also account for the indirect conversions. We deliver strong results by providing the right data, partnering on the right attribution model and optimizing across search and display campaigns.
Suman Basetty
Director, Product Management
