How To Measure Offline Conversions To Optimize Your Paid Search Activity And Improve ROAS
In today’s world, people often shop both online and in stores. They’re going on a treasure hunt, looking for the best deals and products. In the US, while 43% of people shop online, 27% still prefer to go to physical stores to find what they want.
To ensure your online ads are part of this adventure, you need to know how they lead to people buying things in stores.
This article will show you ways to measure this and improve your results. By understanding how your online ads connect with people’s offline shopping habits, you can make the most of your advertising money.
Understanding Offline Conversions
Offline conversions are actions taken by customers that happen outside of the digital world. This can include things like:
Buying things in a store: People might see your ad online and then go to your store to make a purchase.
Calling your business: Someone might see your ad and want to learn more, so they call your company.
Signing up for something: People might see your ad and decide to sign up for a newsletter, event, or membership.
Measuring offline conversions can be tricky. Connecting an online ad with an offline action is not always easy. For example, if someone sees your ad on their phone while they’re in a store, it might be hard to prove that the ad made them decide to buy something.
However, measuring offline conversions is very important. It helps you understand how your online ads are working. Knowing how many people are buying things in stores or calling your business after seeing your ads lets you see if your advertising is paying off.
Here, a PPC marketing agency can help you improve your ads and get a better return on your investment.
Methods For Measuring Offline Conversions
To effectively measure offline conversions and optimize your paid search campaigns, you can employ several strategies:
Call Tracking
- Purpose: Track phone calls generated by your online ads to understand customer inquiries and potential conversions.
- Tools: Utilize call tracking software to capture incoming calls, attribute them to specific campaigns or keywords, and provide detailed call analytics.
- Benefits: Identify high-value keywords and ad creatives, measure call conversion rates, and gain insights into customer behavior.
CRM Integration
- Purpose: Link online clicks to offline sales data stored in your customer relationship management system.
- Process: Assign unique identifiers (like GCLID) to online clicks and match them with corresponding offline sales records based on customer information.
- Benefits: Correlate online ad exposure with in-store purchases, analyze customer journeys, and identify high-converting customer segments. 74% of companies utilizing CRM systems say that it gives them improved access to customer data, while 47% say, that it improves customer retention.
Customer Surveys
- Purpose: Gather qualitative data directly from customers to understand their decision-making process and the role of your ads in their offline purchases.
- Methods: Conduct surveys via email, in-store, or online to ask customers about their shopping experiences, ad exposure, and the factors that influenced their purchase decisions.
- Benefits: Gain valuable insights into customer behavior, identify areas for improvement, and measure the impact of your campaigns on brand awareness and customer satisfaction.
Store Visit Tracking
- Purpose: Measure the number of store visits driven by your online ads to understand the impact of your campaigns on foot traffic.
- Tools: Utilize location-based data, such as Wi-Fi analytics or beacon technology, to track store visits from visitors who have previously clicked on your ads.
- Benefits: Assess the effectiveness of your ads in driving in-store traffic, optimize your campaigns for local reach, and measure the return on investment of your offline marketing efforts.
Third-Party Data Providers
- Purpose: Leverage external data sources to enrich your offline conversion data and gain a broader understanding of customer behavior.
- Data Sources: Consider using data providers that offer demographic information, purchase history, or foot traffic data.
- Benefits: Enhance your targeting capabilities, identify high-potential customer segments, and measure the impact of your campaigns on market share.
By combining these methods, you can create a comprehensive measurement strategy to track offline conversions, optimize your paid search campaigns, and improve your overall ROI.
Optimizing Paid Search Activity With Offline Conversion Data
Once you have data on your offline conversions, you can use it to improve your paid search campaigns:
- Bid adjustments: You can adjust your bids for different keywords or ad groups based on how well they lead to offline conversions. This means you can spend more on ads that are bringing in more customers.
- Keyword optimization: You can identify keywords that are more likely to lead to offline conversions. This can help you refine your keyword targeting strategy and spend your money on the right words.
- Ad creative optimization: You can create ad copy and visuals that are more likely to appeal to people who are likely to buy things in stores. You can also test different ad variations to see which ones work best.
- Audience targeting: You can refine your audience targeting to reach people who are more likely to convert offline. You can also use your offline conversion data to create “lookalike” audiences, which are groups of people who are similar to your existing customers.
Analyzing and Reporting on Offline Conversions
To get the most out of your offline conversion data, you need to analyze it carefully and report on your findings. Here are some key areas to focus on:
Key Metrics
Offline conversion rate: This is the percentage of people who see your ads and ultimately make an offline purchase. It’s a crucial metric for understanding the effectiveness of your campaigns in driving in-store sales.
Offline conversion value: This metric measures the average value of each offline conversion. It helps you assess the profitability of your in-store sales generated by online advertising.
ROAS based on offline conversions: This calculates the return on ad spend specifically for offline conversions. By comparing the revenue generated from offline sales to the cost of your ads, you can determine the overall efficiency of your campaigns.
Data Visualization
- Dashboards and reports: Create visually appealing dashboards and reports to track your offline conversion performance over time. This can help you identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement.
- Key performance indicators (KPIs): Focus on key metrics that are most relevant to your business goals. This will help you stay focused and make data-driven decisions.
Attribution Modeling
- Credit allocation: Determine how to allocate credit for offline conversions across different touchpoints in the customer journey. This is crucial for understanding the true impact of each marketing channel.
- Attribution models: Consider using various attribution models, such as:
- Last click: Assigns credit to the last interaction before a conversion.
- First click: Assigns credit to the first interaction in the customer journey.
- Linear: Assigns equal credit to all interactions.
- Custom models: Develop custom models based on your specific business needs and data.
By carefully analyzing and reporting on these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into the effectiveness of your paid search campaigns in driving offline conversions and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy.
Conclusion
Measuring offline conversions is no longer an optional task; it’s necessary for businesses looking to maximize their ROI.
By implementing the strategies outlined in this article, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ journey, optimize your paid search campaigns, and drive more in-store sales.
Don’t wait any longer. Start tracking your offline conversions today and reap the rewards.
Author bio
Name: Lily Archer
Lily Archer is a dynamic individual, seamlessly balancing her responsibilities as an executive assistant to the CEO of [A] Growth. While also indulging in her passion for travel and discovery. With a keen eye for detail and a thirst for new experiences, Lily brings a unique perspective to everything she does. Her dedication and enthusiasm make her a valuable asset in any endeavor.