So you have decided to run an online ad campaign, and of course you did some upfront thinking about the the type of campaign you are running, what success looks like, and how you will measure it. Now it’s time to take a deep dive into the type of campaign you are running. The two main campaign types are lead generation and brand campaigns, and in this post we will cover how to approach measuring the success of an online lead gen campaign.
What Is Lead Gen?
The purpose of a lead generation campaign is pretty straightforward – to drive leads. There are two main things to consider about those leads though: the type of lead you want to drive (which may be different based on your business or the type of campaign you are running) and how much you are willing to pay for that lead (Cost Per Lead or CPL).
Lead Types
If could be that you simply want someone to fill out a form for someone to contact them about your product or service, or you may want them to sign up for a demo, download a white paper or research study (after giving you their information of course), or call your business directly.
In each of those cases you need to ensure you have the appropriate tracking set-up to record that those leads are being properly captured and attributed to campaign.
In the case of a user filling out a form online, you can set up Universal Analytics (and most other analytics platforms) to do this by recording how many times the “Thank You” page that a user sees after filling out form is viewed. The logic is that the only time someone should see this page is after they have filled out a form, so one view equals one form fill. For tracking phone calls, you need to use a call tracking solution, like DialogTech’s SourceTrak, that serves up a unique number to each visitor of the site which is then tied back to your ad campaign. In this case, each phone call from one of those unique numbers equals one lead.
Cost Per Lead (CPL)
The initial success of your campaign can be quickly gauged by looking at your CPL. Everyone’s CPL is different based on the product or service they sell and what their margins look like, so it is a number you need to determine for yourself. Once you have that number, though, you need to be using it to determine the initial success of your campaign. As an example, if you are aiming for a $100 CPL, you have spent $1000 in one week of your ad campaign, and have driven 10 new leads (or more), then you are on the right track. Conversely, if you have spent $1000 and have only driven 5 new leads, then you need to look at optimizing or changing your campaign. This can be done by changing who you are targeting, your creative, the messaging/layout of your landing page, and a whole host of others. The key here is to modify, test, and repeat until you get to the desired result.
Success
I mentioned using CPL to look at “initial success” because it only tells one side of the story: how much the lead costs. It doesn’t tell the other side, the quality of the lead. If the CPL is great but the lead quality is terrible, then the campaign is not a success. Being able to quickly verify the quality of a lead is the only way to close the loop on whether the campaign is a full success. If the lead quality is poor you need to then look at where your ads are being placed, who you are targeting, and if your creative is clear in its messaging. The ultimate measure of success for a lead gen campaign is driving leads at or below your CPL which are high quality and convert into sales. Optimize toward that success metric and you will always be happy with your lead gen campaigns and their results.
