GET A HANDLE ON THE ACCOUNT WITH THE RIGHT METRICS

Metrics are the real measure of the success of any account. These are not opinions or subjective suppositions; they are stone cold facts that do not lie.

The metrics will offer an idea as to which direction the account is heading in; either positive or negative. They also suggest areas where action to be taken to rectify a bad trend or improve on what is already doing quite well.

All account managers are aware that there’s a bushel basket of metrics to think about and look at. There are some that have a far better than average ability to be solid measures of progress.

The conversion rate is the old war horse of online advertising. It has a strong connection with cost per acquisition and that spells cash. The account manager should be aware of a given account’s foundation rate for conversion.

Other figures such as the cost per acquisition will move in the same rhythm as the conversion rate. The base data gives an idea of what conversion rate is, assuming that nothing has played a marked difference on the figures.

However, if there is a noticeable change, either over time, or suddenly, to the conversion rate, there may be problems starting to surface that may need correction.

Such remedial action should of course check on surface or technical items before going deep into issues that are affecting what is affecting performance. Those corrections can be used to assure good returns elsewhere.

Click Through Rates (CTRs), if they are positive and the figures are rising, can jumpstart growth by elevating the traffic flow to the landing pages on the website.

A robust CTR will also reduce the cost incurred per click. Once again, an idea of what the minimum CTR is will help judge either progress or problems.

Impression share, the percentage of those impressions registered in relation to the total auctions possible, can send a warning that might be remedied by adding additional money to the campaign or reviewing very carefully CTR to see if any improvements actually done there.

An extremely important metric to review is cost per acquisition. This is a major signal regarding if the account is doing what it’s supposed to be doing.

Cost per acquisition numbers that are not consistent with account objectives suggest there are problems that have an adverse impact on revenue generated by volume.

That broadcasts the need for additional optimization to make the figures come back in line with what is anticipated. It can mean starting with a campaign review to sort out what ads are hitting the target and which are falling short.

Ad groups and the separate ads themselves are reviewed and it is determined if work has to be done on keywords or the bids.

The decision could even be to momentarily stop using the ads or putting a brake on the keywords. Review and refine is continued until costs better reflect what they are meant to be.

Metrics that indicate segments ought not to be ignored. Taking a look at the figures realized in relation to what was expected within the types of device, for example, can help grow the performance of the mobile devices themselves.

There is no doubt that temptation exists to become enamoured with metrics. This can lead to a very serious paralysis by analysis. Metrics serve a very strong purpose, but at the same time incremental metric watching can delay decisions that are needed.

A worst-case scenario is when too many separate databases are collected and decisive action is bogged down in trying to figure out what all of them are saying.

It makes better sense to identify and use a select group of metrics such as the above. These can provide a very clear snapshot of how the account or accounts are progressing. They can also type the account manager to what fine-tuning or corrections are necessary.

All this having been said, it is extremely important for the account manager to get into the habit of routine inspection of metrics.

He or she will determine the time lapse, whether or not the inspection should be daily, or some other interval of time.

No campaign should simply be allowed to run wild and an unnoticed. Within the time parameters of any effort, the inspections can allow for needed repairs along the way.

Thank You

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