The Importance of Non-Unique Conversions

Everyone’s after that unique click. It’s a simple, clear and easily trackable KPI for business owners and advertising firms that really makes it feel like digital advertising is moving the needle.

But, advertising isn’t that simple. Though it may feel good to look at all those brand new customers rolling in, a good advertising firm will help you drill down further to get the most out of every campaign.

Without digging deeper into your analytics, you’re only looking at the tip of the iceberg.

And we all know how that worked out for the Titanic.

Poor Leo…

If you look beyond the ‘click’, you’ll discover reams of data that will help you hone your online presence.  

Understanding non-unique conversions is the first step to drilling down into your data to create the better web presence.

Before we delve any further into non-unique conversions, let’s take a quick step back to see how digital advertising interactions are typically tracked.

The different types of ad interactions – drilling into your data

Users can interact with your ad in a variety of ways. Sometimes, that means they see your ad, click and make a purchase. That’s the simplest road to conversion from an ad but it’s hardly the only one.

Everyone tracks the see, click, buy crowd. But, a good advertising firm goes beyond that, breaking down ad interactions into two, broad categories:

• Post click or click through is when someone sees your ad, comes to your site, but leaves and then comes back later.
• Post view or view through is when someone sees your ad, but doesn’t click. Instead, they find their way to your site at a later time through other means, such as a web search or coming directly to your site.

Each of these categories of ad interaction then lead to two, broad categories of conversions (whether that means purchases or calls).

• Unique conversions: which are actions taken by first-time visitors to your site.
• Non-unique conversions: which represent return business, or visitors who’ve been to your site multiple times before taking an action.

Whether post click or post view, unique conversions are often the most coveted, as they represent new customers. However, tracking only unique visitors creates a very shallow perspective on how your advertising is actually performing.

The importance of non-unique conversions

By tracking how non-unique visitors are interacting with your site and what actions they are taking, you can get a deeper, more holistic view of your web presence.

Wading through all that data can reveal:

• How often buyers come back to interact with your site
• Points of friction on your website that are causing you to lose sales
• The impact of your full campaign, including retargeting ads
• How strong your relationships are with your customers

This understanding gives you the ability to refine your whole online presence, from advertising to specific web pages. 

The key to understanding an abandoned cart – an example

Perhaps the easiest way to show the importance of non-unique conversions is the very common abandoned cart scenario. 

Let’s say you run an ad campaign for an e-commerce website. Someone sees the ad, fills their cart up with goods, then at that crucial moment of click to purchase – they get cold feet and nuke the tab. Perhaps they want more information on the products they purchased, or maybe they want to shop around to see if they can get a better price – either way, they’ve left a cart full of goodies just waiting for that final click to make the purchase.

If they come back to hit that button, that’s a non-unique conversion and if you’re not collecting that data, you’ll never know why they came back. 

• Did they see your retargeting campaign? 
• Did they shop around only to discover that you have the best price?
• Did they just need some time to think it over before making a big purchase?

All of this information is invaluable because it can help you hone your retargeting campaigns, abandoned cart emails and more. It also allows you a backstage view to see if this scenario is playing itself out over and over again. 

From website tweaks to new ad campaigns, all this extra data gives you the ability to pivot your digital presence to create more conversions.

After all, that’s why you started advertising in the first place.

More data = smarter advertising 

At In Front Marketing, we’re big fans of data. 

We track every action on our client’s websites so they can understand how prospective customers are interacting. 

But more than that, we comb through that data to make sense of everything that’s going on,  then give you feedback not only on your advertising, but your digital presence as a whole.

For us, that means a lot of back end work for us so we can create a clearer view of how your advertising is performing.

For you, that means a better understanding of your advertising ROI and a clearer return on advertising spend.

Take a deeper look at your web presence with In Front Marketing.

Let’s Talk.

[email protected]

Dave Taylor       /  John McColman
(403) 891-9295 / (403) 861-9727

Suite 401 – 255 17 Ave SW
Calgary, AB, T2S 2T8

Search drives sales.

Whether it’s a search inspired by billboards, banner ads, podcast placements, if you don’t pop up on the search engine results page when your audience looks for you, your ad isn’t as effective as it COULD and SHOULD be.

The flip side is if your business runs well-placed ads, you can be there at every stage of the sales funnel, walking with a prospective client from initial want/need all the way to purchase. 

This ability to tie together the whole digital ecosystem of advertising makes search ads an integral part of any ongoing campaign. Done right, your campaign will excel, done poorly and the ad will cost more than it’s worth.

Search is essential

Every ad in the digital ecosystem – the whole advertising ecosystem – drives search. That’s because people navigate the internet with search – overwhelmingly, with Google (who owns around 87% of the market).  

That means most buyers’ journeys begin with a Google search. Looking for a product? Google. A service? Google. Want to know when you have a better chance at getting into your favourite restaurant on a Saturday? You guessed it: Google.

So, when someone sees your banner ad, a video on YouTube featuring your product, even a traditional billboard that grabs their attention on their morning commute you can bet their next step typing, texting or talking to Google. 

We see this every time we place an ad for a client. The audience may not click the first time they see it – or even the second time –  but when we follow that traffic long enough and we see the true value of banner ads laid out in search traffic. 

Suddenly, all those people we’ve targeted and re-targeted with ads are searching for that thing you sell.

But if you’re not there, those ad dollars spent essentially driving customers to search for you are much less effective. In fact, they may end up driving traffic to your competitor simply because they appear at the right time on the results page. 

The bottom line is, you have to be at the right place at the right time, i.e.: when someone searches.

Finding the right keywords

The power and problem with Google Ads lies in how flexible they are. Whatever search terms you want to appear for, Google gives you the chance to bid and make it happen. 

Choose the wrong keywords to bid on and it will get expensive fast – especially in a bidding war over big-ticket words. Done correctly, you can leverage every dollar you spend to outperform any high-dollar keyword. 

The first step to creating that high ROI campaign is to understand what your customers search for. This can include:

• Terms from your ad campaigns
• Branded words
• Competitors
• Information they need before making a purchase

You can try to guess what your client will be looking at based on your knowledge, but the best way to ensure you’re where you want to be is research. That means utilizing every piece of data you have access to in order to track and understand what your clients are looking for. So, when it finally comes time to secure your keywords, you can make data-based decisions you can be sure about.

Flexibility to stay within your budget

While Google Ads can get very expensive, very fast, they can be remarkably effective even on a tight budget.

With the proper plan in place, you can place hard lines around your ad spends, then track the ROI of each campaign to make sure each is effective. If you find one campaign isn’t making the return it needs to, you can change it quickly, without penalties.

Touchpoints throughout the funnel

One of the most powerful aspects of Google Ads is its ability to find your customer at the very end of the funnel – just before they make a purchase. But, that shouldn’t be your only goal when setting up a Google Ads campaign. 

Properly utilized, Google Ads are there with your customer on every step of the buyer’s journey, from the initial idea, through research to the final purchase.

If, for example, you own a furniture business, you may target young people who are moving out on their own with an ad for a coffee table. Your ideal client may see this ad two, three, even four times before deciding they need a coffee table.

Then they search, and you’re there. Now they’re browsing your selection of furniture, along with other stores, and you can see where they go, and what they seem to like. Now, you’re retargeting with the understanding they’re looking for a tasteful, but inexpensive coffee table. 

Each step of the way you’re there, so you can understand what they want, and offer it to them. Then, when they’re ready to purchase, and make that final search, they’ve already interacted with your website. They’re familiar with you, and how you work, making you the frictionless choice.

Optimizing your campaign – the IFM advantage

At In Front Marketing, we love Google Ads because we love data. 

The reams of data that come through Google Ads allows us to constantly tweak and optimize every keyword and KPI created. From the moment someone clicks on an ad, we can track their behaviours with a pixel, which helps us understand where they’re going, and what they want. Using this data we can optimize your Google Ads campaigns as well as your ads throughout the entire digital ecosystem.

And of course, because we believe you have a right to your own data, we share it all with you.

Then, once we can see there’s traction, we work with you to create goals and KPIs that will guide us through the process of further optimization.

So, if you have a superstar sales team boasting a high rate of conversion over the phone, we can make that first call a priority. If you’re a brick and mortar shop that just needs more foot traffic, we can build your campaign around that goal. Whatever your need, we can track and optimize KPIs to ensure your campaign does its job.

By understanding the process, and doing all the research and heavy lifting at the very beginning, we can work with you to create goals and optimize your campaigns constantly. So, whatever your advertising spend, audience or purpose, we can add lift with Google Ads. 

Like what you hear? Reach out, call us for a free no obligation discussion or just to chat. We look forward to hearing from you.

Dave Taylor – 403.891.9295 – [email protected]
John McColman – 403.861.9727 – [email protected] SEARCH