Marin Software’s Multi-Conversion Tracking Helps Fine Tune Keyword Bidding

Jan 30, 2009 at 8:39pm ET by Greg Sterling

Marin Software has introduced a new tool that the company says is unique in the industry. It’s called “Multi-Conversion Tracker.”

It enables search marketers to define various kinds of actions or “conversions” (e.g., newsletter sign up, e-commerce transactions, e-mail capture, etc.). That process then enables SEMs to determine the relative performance of keywords and ad copy in terms of those defined conversions. They can then refine and fine tune their keyword bids accordingly.

Here’s how the company explains various use cases:

The new feature, now available to all Marin Software users, lets marketers define and measure their own conversion metrics. For example, an e-commerce marketer may want to separately track store locator visits, newsletter registrations, or purchases from different product categories. Lead generation/performance marketers can value conversions from different clients separately, and bid on the total bounties received. For the first time, marketers can get an accurate view of which keywords lead to which types of conversion events.

While SEM has had trouble tracking “conversions” beyond fairly high level metrics, historically, this tool allows for new levels of bidding precision by expanding the range of actions that can be measured and factored into the bidding calculus.

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, and writes a personal blog Screenwerk, examining the broader world of media and advertising. He also posts at a Local Mobile Search, which is focused on the mobile Internet.

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3 COMMENTS ON Marin Software’s Multi-Conversion Tracking Helps Fine Tune Keyword Bidding

searchquant, February 1st, 2009 at 12:23 pm ET:

Greg,

Both Omniture SearchCenter and Efficient Frontier productized the ability to track different conversion events and optimize to the aggregate value years ago; the former in a self-service interface and the latter as part of its full-service offering.

The only unique thing Marin’s doing right now is month-to-month contracts and pants-around-ankles pricing. . .

ChannelAdvisor, February 3rd, 2009 at 10:26 am ET:

Hi Greg,

In addition to Omniture and eFrontier, ChannelAdvisor’s SearchAdvisor has been tracking Multiple Events for about 3 years. Marin should do a little poking around before they announce something that’s ‘unique in the industry.’

Find out more about SearchAdvisor here: http://channeladvisor.com/search/

esvgabe, February 3rd, 2009 at 1:00 pm ET:

Greg,

As the others have mentioned, any serious SEM platform has this feature included. To add to the list of providers already mentioned in previous comments, eSearchVision has had this available since our inception 5 years ago. We offer no limit the number of conversion events (both offline and online).

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