Adwords is a fantastic tool to track the performance of your paid advertising campaigns, but it can sometimes be difficult for B2B companies to truly track the performance of their campaigns with regards to sales; often, a click on an Adwords advertisement doesn’t end with an online sale, but starts a process where the customer is finally converted offline.
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There was never a decisive way to track an offline sales path all the way back to the initial online interaction. Now, Google has introduced a way to close that loop within Adwords; the system now includes an offline conversion tracking mechanism.
With offline conversion tracking, Adwords provides a unique ID, called “GCLID”, for every click that comes to your website or targeted page from an Adwords ad. That ID should be included with any other lead information captured from that click; you’ll need it to complete the offline tracking process. When that user has converted in the offline world, such as by signing a contract or completing a purchase over the phone, you import that GCLID, along with the type of conversion and date achieved, back into Adwords. This process allows you more insight into what type of traffic is being driven – and converted – by your Adwords campaign.
The Adwords support page for offline conversion tracking offers the following example for using the system:
You design, build, and sell custom boardroom tables. You use AdWords to drive prospective customers to your website, where they then can submit their contact information and request a sales call. If a lead results from a click on an AdWords ad, the lead’s contact information will also include a GCLID.
Once a week, your salespeople review that week’s sales and send you the prospects (and associated GCLIDs) that converted into customers, along with the date and time of each sale. You then compile that data into a five-column spreadsheet and upload it into your AdWords account. Within a few hours you’ll be able to see which keywords and queries are contributing not just to new lead submissions, but, more importantly, to actual sales.
It’s no coincidence that Adwords chose a B2B transaction to highlight the system; these types of services require a great deal of customization and incorporate a longer sales cycle than a B2C or ecommerce transaction. While digital marketing and paid advertisement are important lead generation tactics for these companies, it has been difficult to tie closed sales to a digital asset, making for an ambiguous measurement system. With offline conversion tracking, companies can see what keywords and other campaign details drive the best conversions, and make informed decisions based upon this crucial factor.
Adwords is constantly adding and adjusting features to its system, making it a challenge to stay up to date on the most effective ways of using the system. That’s where inSegment comes in; as an Adwords certified partner, all of our PPC team members are trained and experienced in using the system. If you want to increase your lead generation and sales using online tactics, let us help you create and execute the most effective strategy today.
