Conversion tracking in SEM and its effects greatly benefit a brand and its marketing efforts online. Once they track SEM results which include conversion tracking, they’re likely to find which of their products or efforts gain more engagement than others. This also means learning which areas have low performance value.

But why is that important? What can conversion tracking in SEM do for a brand’s reputation and ROI? This article discusses what conversion tracking is and why it’s a necessary tool for engagement.

What is Conversion Tracking

Tracking the conversion within your brand’s ads, website, or social media shows which areas have more engagement and which areas do not. An example would be posting an ad on Facebook and Instagram. Both applications will have different numbers of engagements. There, you can see which advertisement is more suited for which application.

There are many ways to continue conversion tracking in SEM. Some use the website itself and track the actions of purchasing a product, visiting the web page, or signing up for events hosted by the brand itself.

It also applies to the success rate of the keywords used within the content. This helps employees optimise SEM campaigns and improve the quality for higher engagement or ranking.

Why is Conversion Tracking Important for SEM Success?

The motivation behind conversion tracking in SEM is to Improve SEM ROI. The truth is that analysing the data presented by conversion tracking merely guides you to the best possible outcomes of your marketing efforts. 

Let’s say campaign A has better engagement than campaign B, it’s only natural that campaign B is optimised or discussed to make more effective marketing ads. Another example is when a singular campaign does better on one platform rather than the other.  It helps a brand understand where its current campaigns generate the most impact and where to place these types of campaigns.

It doesn’t just stop there, conversion tracking also helps identify the best keywords for better ranking on search engines. By using specific keywords that generate more engagement with users, ranking to the top page will be less difficult.

The best out of all of this is that every decision is backed up by the data received from the conversion tracking. It’s not a mere assumption. Instead, you find yourself understanding more about the types of users that are attracted to your product and where to find them. 

Using conversion tracking on your own brand’s website is also effective. This helps developers and marketing teams further upgrade the website for an overall high-quality user experience. Functioning landing pages, marketing analysis, and better marketing budget management are in store for those using conversion tracking in SEM.

• Optimises campaigns for better ROI.
• Identifies high-performing keywords and ad copy.
• Improves landing page effectiveness.
• Makes data-driven decisions.Cost-efficient decisions based on user behaviour.

Types of Conversions in SEM

There is more than one type of SEM conversion available for use by your marketing team. Two major types of conversions can greatly benefit the brand: Macro and Micro conversions. Conversion tracking in SEM values all types of engagement that any user has. However, there are a few that are more valuable than the rest.

The types of conversion tracking in SEM are divided into two groups: macro conversions and micro conversions. Macro conversions are the major goals of a website. This includes purchasing, signing up, contacting customer service, or free trials. Anything that involves direct communication with the customer is considered a macro conversion. Here are some examples of Macro Conversions:

• Purchasing of products
• Signing up for an account
• Contacting customer service
• Inquiring
• Using free trials

Meanwhile, micro conversions are like key performance indicators. They’re small interactions with users such as subscriptions, clicking emails, downloading, watching videos, or adding items to a shopping cart. These micro conversions are identified as steps towards macro conversions. With that said, here are some types of micro-conversions in SEM.

• Number of viewers in a video
• Subscribing or following the brand
• Clicking in sent emails from marketing
• Downloading free content
• Browsing through catalogues and adding to the cart

5 Popular Conversion Tracking Tools

Conversion tracking in SEM is only possible with the right set of tools that guide the marketing team in their decision-making. There are many paid and free conversion tracking tools that startup brands can use. However, the more notable ones that most businesses use during their startup years are listed below.

Google Analytics Conversion Tracking

Google Ads Conversion Tracking uses analytics to help marketing teams learn which of their campaigns has become a catalyst for the brand’s reputation. Those who use Google Analytics for conversion tracking in SEM can see the number of visitors from their site, which pages are mostly liked and viewed, how many products within the website have been purchased, people who signed up, and how many times the brand’s app or account has been downloaded or followed.

Another upside of Google Analytics is its expansive nature. Marketing teams can track 30 campaigns simultaneously while using a single account.

Facebook Pixel

Conversion tracking with Facebook Pixel is a convenient tool to analyse whether your ads are effective. You can find the conversions conveniently placed inside the Facebook Ads or Facebook Events Manager. 

Facebook Pixel has three methods for conversion tracking. These methods are standard events, custom events, and custom conversions. These methods have different ways of tracking the conversion of your advertisements. 

Yahoo Search Marketing and Conversion Tracking

Yahoo Search Marketing and Conversion Tracking has two types of ways to track conversions: standard match and advanced match. They have an offer called a local match option that targets only local online advertisements that are also within the area. 

The two types of Yahoo Search Marketing and Conversion Tracking may look similar from an outsider’s perspective. However, there is a significant difference between the two. Standard match in YSM covers your keywords and their variations and commonly misspelt words. For example, the words “pet food” could be misspelt as “pet foos” instead. A standard match in YSM still shows your content in the “pet foos” search option.

Meanwhile, advanced matching includes that and its related keywords. Advanced match will trigger your advertisements even if they are on landing pages, titles, and descriptions.

In terms of convenience, Yahoo Search Marketing and Conversion Tracking have a wide variety of methods to analyse your data. However, it does prefer standard matching rather than advanced matching unless paid for.

Microsoft adCenter Conversion Tracking (BingAds)

In terms of conversion tracking in SEM the Microsoft adCenter Conversion Tracking, also known as BingAds, is a great way to expand your conversion tracking. The reason could come from BingAds’ ability to expand text ads.

Advertisers shouldn’t undermine BingAds' ability to assess the average click-through rate, cost per click, and cost per action that applies to your brand’s advertisement. Most businesses that use BingAds cover products, services, careers, finances, legal items, and more.

MarketingCloudFX

MarketingCloudFX is a popular paid conversion tracking in SEM. It’s effective, collaborative, and a great assistant in understanding the data it receives. MarketingCloudFX is the assistant for small to medium-sized businesses for them to optimise their ROI and increase conversions within their business’s social media or website.

An interesting feature of MarketingCloudFX is being able to see the data it has recorded through a video format with the VisitorRecorderFX.

Conclusion

Conversion tracking in SEM is an important step in expanding a brand’s reach and reputation. In order to gain more users for a business, one must take logical steps to increase advertisements. Maximising ROI with social media, websites, email campaigns, and more is a great step toward achieving promotional value. However, without understanding which of these campaigns has proven more effective, you will likely lose more money than you earned.

Consider using conversion trackers in order to create a cost-effective option for your brand to increase its engagement. Especially since the right tools, tips, and tricks can ensure the quality performance of your marketing team in the long run.