And Why They Never Will
Why don’t the numbers from adCenter and my web analytics match? It’s a common question. The underlying assumption, and anxiety, is that if the numbers don’t match, one of them must be wrong. After all, 2+2=4 no matter who’s reporting the results. That’s true as long as you’re comparing apples to apples.
In practice, you’re likely comparing
apples to persimmons.
The first thing to do is relax, peel a banana, and recognize that the web is a jungle of fuzzy metrics. Each web analytics provider deals with numerous, aggregated metrics that may be defined differently than their competitors’. The metrics themselves are also dependent upon the collection methodology. In practice, you’re likely comparing apples to persimmons.
A rule of thumb — never compare the absolute numbers from one web analytics product against another. Instead, look for trends that mirror or contradict each other and further examine the underlying definitions.
There are several reasons why data reported from adCenter — or any search engine, for that matter — won’t tally with your web analytics, whatever analytics you’re using.
- Missing or improperly configured tracking URLs
- Missing landing page tags
- Clicks versus cookies
- Broadly matched search keywords
- Invalid clicks
- Recency
- Redirects
Tracking URLs
Tracking parameters, also known as name-value pairs, pass data about your adCenter campaign to your web analytics. They typically follow a syntax such as:
http://www.example.com/landingpage.html?source=adCenter
If your destination URL doesn’t include a parameter to identify the referrer as an adCenter campaign, your web analytics will likely log it as an organic referral from Live Search rather than a paid ad from adCenter. The URL can also be incorrectly coded. Coding errors become more likely as the URL gets longer. Given the number of dynamic values adCenter allows you to append to a destination URL, URLs can get very long indeed.
Your adCenter report will attribute the click to the appropriate campaign even if the tracking parameters are miscoded. Your web analytics, however, won’t.
PPC landing pages seem
to sprout like mushrooms
after a heavy rain.
Landing Page Tags
Most web analytic products use page tags to collect data. The tag is a snippet of JavaScript that fires on page load and sends data to remote collection servers connected by the Internet. It may seem self-evident but without the snippet of code, no data is collected. On large web sites it’s difficult to ensure that all pages are properly tagged. That’s especially true of PPC landing pages that seem to sprout like mushrooms after a heavy rain. Both URL parameters and page tag need to be functioning properly in order to properly attribute the referral.
Clicks vs. Cookies
When discussing tracking URLs I briefly mentioned that adCenter reports on clicks. Your web analytics, however, depends upon cookies. A cookie placed on the visitors’ web browser is typically the only way for analytics products to remember a visitor from one page to the next. But cookies can be problematic. Some visitors will set their browsers to reject cookies. Or the JavaScript that sets the cookie may never fire. Most analytic providers recommend placing the JavaScript tag at the very bottom of the page. If the visitor quickly navigates away from the page the script may never load. As well, other JavaScript on the page may trigger an error which can stop the JavaScript engine from executing additional script lower on the page. Your analytics tag may become the victim of collateral damage.
Broad Match
When you’re broadly matching keywords to search phrases, there can be a lot of latitude between the keyword you’re bidding on and the query phrase entered by the searcher. So, adCenter would record credit the click to the keyword in your campaign but your analytics might credit the actual query phrase. You can pass additional data as a parameter in your destination URL to help remove the ambiguity. The following dynamic values are available within adCenter.
QueryString: The actual search phrase entered by the searcher.
OrderItemID: The keyword ID.
Keyword: The keyword as it appears in your campaign.
MatchType: The type of match that triggered your ad (exact, phrase, broad, content).
AdID: The ad ID.
In all cases the syntax is Name={Value}. To continue our first example:
http://www.example.com/landingpage.html?Query={QueryString}&Keyword={Keyword}&KeywordID={OrderItemID}
Invalid Clicks
Microsoft protects you against invalid activity by monitoring your campaign and removing suspicious clicks from your reports and your bill. Your web analytics, however, blithely record all activity to the landing page, whether suspicious or not.
Search engine data for the current day
should always be addressed gingerly.
Recency
Web analytics data is relatively static. Once recorded, there’s not a lot of adjustment required. Traffic figures from adCenter may need to be adjusted for suspicious activity or invalid clicks. It may take several hours before the data resolves. Search engine data for the current day should always be addressed gingerly.
Redirects
Many advertisers use a third party to track their display and search ads. The destination URL leads to the third party site such as DoubleClick, Efficient Frontier, Atlas, etc. The click is registered and then redirected to the landing page on the advertiser’s site. A poorly configured destination URL can result in a failed redirect and a lost prospect. It’s similar to the tracking URL issue mentioned earlier but with additional complexity.
Regards Charles
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