For advertisers, it is important to focus on increasing conversations, not just clicks. A problem in measurement with programmatic advertising has been ongoing, and advertisers are beginning to change their optimization ways. Most advertisers today use programmatic to get a more accurate tracking on people. Not only can they track the people who click on their ads, but they can also measure the behavior of the users through geofencing, which is a tool that can actually tell the business who is walking in their door after clicking on their ad.

Clicks Aren't Giving You The Most Information

Clicks are the most common measurement method for advertisers to use to track their website visits. Around 56% consider it their most important source of information. Although website visits are crucial information, what advertisers are really after is increasing sales. Not all clicks will lead to a sale. Customers may click on an ad accidentally, which will not increase sales or conversation. Research showed that the time a user spent on a website directly correlated with sales. Advertisers are enabling “time on site” which is creating strategies to drive user traffic to spend more time on the websites.All of this information is beneficial to advertisers if they use it correctly. Programmatic isn’t doing as well as it could be because advertisers are not focusing on what matters. All of the focus on clicks and increased website traffic instead of user activity is not giving advertisers the most beneficial information.

The Research Behind It

The director of optimization and insight at Infectious Media, Rachael Morris, has conducted research on the measurement problems of programmatic advertising, and how it is holding the industry back. With programmatic today, advertisers can offer real-time insight to campaigns which brands can benefit from.Many advertisers have gone the easy route and have not done much to generate conversations. Today it is important to stand out and make sure your advertisements don’t blend in with the thousands of others just like it. New methods can offer your business insight into your customers. Where they come from, how they found out about your business, and if they clicked on your ad. All of this information can drive sales, which is every business’s ideal end result. One thing to keep in mind when it comes to kickstarting your programmatic campaign is having a clear goal in mind. If your goal internally is to increase sales make sure that is spoken to with your advertising team. In most cases, optimizing towards increased web traffic is different than optimizing to increase sales.If you need help measuring or kicking off any programmatic campaign, contact the team at Red Shark Digital! We can help you identify problem areas in your targeting, as well as aid in ensuring your campaigns are optimized properly!