Understanding Conversion Data

A conversion can be any action a website owner desires that a user performs on their site. Common examples include making an online purchase, signing up for a newsletter or RSS feed, requesting more information, or simply viewing a particular page on the site, like the 'contact us' page.

Key Conversion Data Terms

Conversion page

The web page where you confirm that a conversion has occurred. This might contain something like 'Thankyou for your purchase.'

Conversion rate

The number of conversions divided by the number of ad clicks. This gives you information about which landing pages are generating the most conversions.

Conversion type

Allows you to specify different types of conversion (e.g. signup, page view) in order to generate specific data for each.

Cost per conversion

The total cost divided by the total number of conversions. Placing a $ value on the conversion allows you to accurately calculate the return on investment (ROI).

How is Conversion Data Generated?

• In a PPC ad campaign the advertiser can monitor how many click-throughs (from which particular ads, to which particular destination URLs) have resulted in a conversion
• This is done simply by adding some HTML code to the conversion page that allows for the data to be reported back to the search engine, or advertising provider
• Useful data can also be collected about what sort of search activity precedes the conversion
• Cookies can be generated to stay in a computer for 30 days so you can monitor when a customer has responded to your PPC ad but not converted until a subsequent return to your site later in the month

Congratulations!

This is the last set of SEM tips. If you've read all 10, then you're well on your way to becoming a Search Marketing guru. There are always new developments in the SEM world, and there's always more to learn. If you're interested in the latest news, you might want to check out our Search Engine Marketing blog.

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