10.24.07
Effective Tracking - Maintaining competitive advantage
One of the beautiful aspects of advertising online is the ability to track at a very granular level. Because it is so easy to track online advertising, it is easy to over look something very obvious.
I’m sure you’ve seen this on many sites you’ve visited and you may have not even thought twice to select the proper choice from the drop down menu. It’s perfectly fine to ask your customers where they saw your ad, but not in the online environment. This information is not only available to your customers but it’s also available to your competitors.
There are many free software packages available which will record unique tracking links by campaign. If you have a lower budget use Google Analytics. If budget isn’t an issue, Omniture Site Catalyst is the best solution.
Here another mistake many advertisers make
This code was on the confirmation page an advertiser’s site. As you can see the code is very well commented. From the code any one can tell that this company is advertising on Quigo, LinkConnector, Net Traction, Oridian and ShopAtHome. Now, even if the code wasn’t commented, a savvy marketer would immediately be able to identify each tracking pixel. Hiding the tracking pixels doesn’t take much effort. One quick way of accomplishing this is placing all the tracking pixels in a Javascript file. A better way of keeping your advertising sources anonymous is to only display that pixel code when appropriate. This can be accomplished with a few lines of programming.
In a competitive environment, it’s essential that you keep a competitive advantage. If you learn from other people’s mistakes, you don’t have time to make your own.
LinkConnector Net Traction online advertising online environment Oridian Quigo ShopAtHome
