In-house tracking tools.Because some companies are unable to find tracking tools that
provide the information they need, they create their own tracking tools in-house. If you
have the capabilities to create in-house tracking tools, you can have tools that provide only
the specific information you need.
Tracking using a spreadsheet.Before there were PPC campaigns and the tracking tools
that go along with them, web-site owners would track their online advertising using a
spreadsheet, developed to include all of the different categories that needed to be tracked.
Today, there are still some web-site owners who prefer to track their PPC campaigns (and
their other online advertising campaigns) using the “old-fashioned” spreadsheet. It’s one
of the least expensive ways to track your PPC campaigns, but it’s also one of the most
time-consuming. Should you decide that a tracking spreadsheet is the way to go, you
may want to consider include columns for:
Keywords
Headlines
Ad Copy
Click Through Ratio (CTR)
Keyword Cost
Sales Indicators (to show which keywords resulted in sales)
Information Requests Harvested
Information Requests Resulting in SalesNo matter what method you decide to use to track your PPC campaigns, you’ll need a way to dif-
ferentiate one keyword ad from another. Some PPC providers require that this be done by inserting
a snippet of tracking code on your web site. This code then catalyzes the tracking process so that
when someone clicks through your PPC ad, you can track whether the click-through results in a
conversion.Following is an example of what the tracking code for your PPC campaign might look like if you’re
running a Google AdWords campaign. This specific code is intended as an example only. If you try
to use this code to track your web site, you’ll find that it won’t work because this code was designed
only as an example by the Google AdWords team.<!-- Google Code for Purchase Conversion Page -->
<script language=”JavaScript” type=”text/javascript”>
<!--
var google_conversion_id = 1234567890;
var google_conversion_language = “en_US”;
var google_conversion_format = “1”;
var google_conversion_color = “666666”;
if (1) {
var google_conversion_value = 1;
}
var google_conversion_label = “Purchase”;141
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