It’s important to know if what you are getting out of your marketing efforts is a reflection of what you are putting into them and using the best tools to track your ROIs is the right way to understand your marketing campaign’s progress. An ROI (return on an investment) is the measure of how much revenue you generate compared to how much energy and funds you put out into advertising and marketing. You must know what you are spending your time and money on, why you are doing it, and what you are gaining in return. The metrics you use to track your ROIs can vary wildly depending on what type of campaign you’re running, whether it be SEO, PPC, Social Media, etc. Using the right tools to track your ROIs is vital to understanding the progress of your marketing campaign.

The higher the ROI, the better, but the definition of ROIs is different for every client. Are you seeking to get more clicks and sales on your E-commerce site or to get more customers to sign up for your Email Newsletter? Because this measure varies, it’s important to have methods to track the different types of engagements that occur and where they come from so that you can hone in the ones that are working and drop the ones that aren’t. Luckily, there are very powerful tools online now that you can track your conversions and click sources with. 

UTM CODES

If you’re using any tools to track your ROIs, you’ll need to know exactly which campaigns or ads your traffic is coming from, and UTM codes (Urchin Tracking Modules) can tell you very specific data. UTMs are codes that you add into your URLS through Google Analytics to track the source of the visit to an individual page. When you get a click on a URL containing a UTM code, Google Analytics is notified. Google Analytics will then be able to let you know which exact links were clicked and how many of those clicks ended up converting. Now, you’ll be able to keep track of the source of your visits and have a record of if they were from email campaigns, social media, PPC campaigns, or other URLs that link back to your site.

These codes make an address that once looked like this: 

https://example.com/ 

look like this: https://example.com/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onboarding

These codes do not change anything on your page. 

With these codes, you can track conversions using these 5 different types of sources and styles of data: 

 -Campaign Source (utm_source): the platform the traffic comes from, such as from a facebook ad or an email newsletter

-Campaign Medium (utm_medium): the medium that a visitor came from, such as from social media or a display ad 

– Campaign Name (utm_campaign): this identifies the traffic you get from the specific campaign that you are running 

– Campaign Content (utm_content): this will identify the ACTUAL link that was clicked, in case there are multiples of the same links

-Campaign Term (utm_term): Used for PPC ads, this tracks the specific paid keyword that the visit came from

You can add these codes to URLs manually, but using the Google Analytics Campaign URL Builder is more accurate. 

After adding these codes to the URLs that you want to track, you’ll be able to see the specific sources of traffic in your Google Analytics reports. These reports will clearly define your ROIs and let you know what campaigns are most successful. You’ll be able to increase your ad spend on campaigns that are working, or abandon investments that aren’t bringing in enough traffic or conversions.

FACEBOOK ADS PIXEL  

Facebook pixel is another type of code that you can place on your website to track your conversions from Facebook ads. After someone sees and clicks your facebook ad, their next action is recorded via the Pixel. These actions are called “Events.” The Pixel is able to collect data on 17 whole types of events that take place on your site, from adding an item to a cart, to purchasing, to creating a wishlist, and more. These metrics will be able to show you what campaigns and audiences you should increase your visibility and effort on. The Pixel can also show you which demographic is engaging with your site the most. Pixel is one of the best social media tools to track your ROIs.

In order to add the Pixel, simply go to Facebook Events, choose the hamburger menu and choose Pixels. Then, click the green “Create a Pixel” button. From here, you’ll need to add the code to your website which can be done manually or through a platform such as Google Tag Manager. Click here to read the complete instructions for adding the Pixel.

GOOGLE ANALYTICS GOALS

Within Google Analytics, there’s a tool you can use to monitor your conversions called the  “Goals” tool. 

Goals will track different types of conversions from these categories: 

-Revenue (example: a completed online purchase)

-Acquisition (example: a newsletter sign up or an account creation)

-Engagement (example: a video play or a shared social post)

-Inquiry (example: viewed a certain page or looked up a location)

You can even create Custom Goals. 

To begin using the Goals tool, once you have logged into your Google Analytics Account, click “Admin,” on the bottom left sidebar. You’ll then be redirected to three columns. Choose “Goals” on the far right. From here, you’ll be directed to “Goals Setup,” where you can choose a specific Goal or create a custom one.  

After creating your Goals, wait a few days and then click to Conversions > Goals> Overview. Here, Google Analytics will give you data on which and how many Goals were reached. You can also find out things like from which funnel the completed Goal came from (i.e. from what search engine), or on which page the Goal was completed. 

This tool is customizable and very thorough when it comes to learning how much your profits are and where they come from. 

It is important to note that your ROI metrics can be “Hard” or “Soft.” Hard ROIS are definite measures of conversions, such as when purchases are made or you score a new paying client. You may think that these are the only measures of return on investment for your business.  However, Soft ROIs are also important. A Soft ROI would be the duration of visit on a page or a video view. Soft ROIS don’t immediately impact your company financially, but they do set up the future of your ROI. Getting Soft ROIs can set you up for Hard ROIS in the future as your site continues to accumulate new visitors, views, and engagements. 

Tracking your online ROIs are incredibly important so that you know which actions that you’re taking are garnering sales for your business, and which campaigns aren’t. By using these tools, you’ll know how much money you’re making and how many hard and soft engagements you’re receiving. With this information, you can increase or decrease how and where you are spending your marketing dollars and energy. Contact us if you have any questions about the tools we mention or if you want to discuss your business’s needs.