Conversion Metrics

Many Per Click versus One Per Click

Google Adwords — with the new interface, as well as in reports, you can now evaluate conversion results according to Many Per Click or One Per Click.  Over the past couple weeks, the issue of which metric is most important has come up repeatedly.  Here we define the terms and clarify the usefulness of the metrics.

Cookies & Conversions

If you click on an Adwords ad, as long as you don’t lose your cookies for their normal life of 30 days, then Google associates any conversion triggers to that initial event (clicking on the ad).  If you convert several times during a 30-day period, are the marginal conversions and the data about the marginal conversions valuable to the advertiser?  It depends . . .

Many Per Click for Online Stores

For an online store, there is generally marginal revenue associated with each additional conversion.  So, for most online stores, many per click is the most important metric.  For online stores, it makes sense to tune the account for the conversion metric,  many per click.  If someone makes a purchase, and then returns to the store and makes another purchase, that is important information.  Of course, the most important information for online stores, revenue per order, is not yet captured by Adwords.

One Per Click for Attorneys

Advertisers, like Attorneys, who harvest leads, not sales, generally don’t benefit from additional conversions per click.  Once an attorney harvests the lead information for a visitor, it’s unlikely that additional conversions associated with that click will result in additional revenue opportunities for the Advertiser.  Accordingly, for advertisers like attorneys who define conversions as leads via an online form, then the One Per Click conversion metric is most meaningful.

Reporting Standards

Previously, our reports included conversion data based on One Per Click.  Effectively immediately, we will begin displaying data in the summary section of our reports (first table in our reports) based on that metric which is most meaningful for each respective Advertiser.  If the one per click and many per click results are significantly different, then we will mention those stats in our discussion and analysis.

The reporting standard for each client as it relates to conversion metrics is explained and documented in each client’s respective Road Map.

For questions about Road Maps, Conversion Metrics, and Reports, please phone Hanna in Denver at 720 377 8431.