In Google’s official blog, they are introducing a new way to attract more advertising dollars and convince those advertisers that they are getting their money’s worth when they advertise through Google.com. As consumers jump from device-to-device several times a day, Google wants their advertisers to know that they can track, to a reasonable percentage, of just on what device the consumer originally saw the advertisement versus the device they use to actually make the purchase. Google calls this a “conversion,” and marketers want to see a more “complete and accurate picture of how their online advertising drives (these) conversions.”
Consumers can make a purchase a multitude of ways – via in-store purchases, phone call, app downloads, website sales, or they may make a purchase after consulting several devices. For instance, a consumer may look at an advertisement for a new purse on their smartphone while riding the bus to work, read about it, and then get to work and order it via their desktop computer, or run to the store at lunchtime and pick up the purse. Advertisers want to know if that online advertisement that the consumer originally saw on their smartphone actually drove the final purchase of the product, so they know whether those online advertisements are worth their advertising dollars.
This is where Google claims they got them covered – by introducing what Google calls, “Estimated Total Conversions,” for search ads on Google.com. Rather than using resources for in-house analysis, as some “sophisticated advertisers” can afford, Google brings this level of analysis to everybody, as they describe it:
Estimated Total Conversions will provide you with a holistic view of all of the conversions driven by your Google search advertising that can be used to make important decisions like how much to bid and how to assign budget across your various marketing channels. For the last few years, many sophisticated advertisers have been using their own analysis to get to these insights. Today, we are beginning to bring this level of insight and measurement to all advertisers.
This new, estimated cross-device conversion, started rolling out globally to all AdWords advertisers. The advertiser will need AdWords conversion tracking and a sufficient number of transactions or conversions in order to achieve a reliable estimate. Google states:
When advertisers in the travel industry use AdWords estimated cross-device conversions, they are able to measure 8% more conversions, on average, than they did before. In addition, they can now measure 33% more conversions that originated on a mobile phone and later converted on different device. This helps them attribute all those sales — from customers who searched for flights and hotels on their mobile phones and then made a purchase from another device — to the right ad.
Google estimates that more than 40 million calls to businesses each month are a direct result of Google ads and the caller is trying to find the physical location of the store to make a purchase…me, I just “Google” their location. We can understand that advertisers want to spend their money where they can get the most “bang for their buck,” and Google is always happy to assist them.
Let us know in the comments or on Google+ if you are a cross-platform shopper and if the advertisements you see on your smartphone drive you to make a purchase on a desktop, laptop, on the phone, or directly in a store.