What advertising campaign reporting software do you use?

[Jodi]

Hi guys. I thought I'd ask the experts over here ...

I'm going to be starting a major online advertising campaign for a client and I know I need to find a good reporting software in order to track how their campaigns are doing.

Previous clients of mine have already had affiliate programs in place with software that we could modify to track various advertising buys. But these folks don't have anything set up and won't be starting up an affiliate program any time soon (nor is it really on the agenda).

I want to keep track of their ROI so I can advise them accordingly as it's obviously pretty important to know how their advertising is doing in any given location and at any given time.

What program or programs do you guys use for this sort of thing? What would you recommend and why?

Any suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

All the best,

--Jodi

[ihelpyou]

Some people like Clicktracks,.. I didn't but some do. Some people like summary.net as well.

[Jodi]

Thanks for the info, Doug. What didn't you like about Clicktracks? What was it you were looking for that it didn't provide?

--Jodi

[ihelpyou]

Just not enough info for me is all. They state that as a fact anyway so it was not a surprise to me. I wish to find one that is all inclusive but it seems those are not to be found for some damn reason. :)

For instance, I wanted to see robots separated out for a report as well, but they purposely leave that info out of it.

[Webmaster T]

Originally posted by ihelpyou
For instance, I wanted to see robots separated out for a report as well, but they purposely leave that info out of it. Agreed Doug, it is pretty hard to find something that does everything you want. I looked at a few packages and now I'm rolling my own for the site I'm taking live next week. I want to be able to isolate users on the site and look for patterns in the way they use the site. Where the sales process broke down is a favorite. Keywords used in the search feature including the page they were on when they searched. I believe that data is important in identifying problems and strengths and identifying new content, products, needs etc.

[Jodi]

Webmaster T, is that a program you're intending on offering to others (for a fee, of course) ? If this is the case, would you private message me and let me know some details? I'd love to hear about it. :)

--Jodi

[Fredwat]

I am using GoToast. I have a significant budget and needed to get my expenses under control.

There are two parts to GoToast that they charge separately. One is for managing bids on PPC and the other is for monitoring ROI.

The ROI program is painful to set-up, particularly when you already have existing campaigns. You have to go back to all of your campaigns and insert tracking codes.

They have two ways to track ROI. One is by PPC search engines. This includes most of the popular PPC engines. You can track individual keywords. This has been very revealing and I found out I was wasting most of my money on what I thought was the most profitabe words.

The other part of the service is to monitor your ROI through "campaiigns". For example I advertise with numerous sites on a PPC basis or monthly flat fee and I can track sales and ROI.

The bid manager part of GoToast is a real time saver since I can adjust all of my bids from one software. Depending on the package you purchase they send you daily notices (2x, 6x, 12x per day) on your currenty positions.

They charge a monthly charge, which has more then paided for itself in money and time saved.

I'm not an expert on these services so you need to shop around.

Fred

[Jodi]

Thanks very much, Fred. I'll have to check that out!

All the best,

--Jodi

[Mel66]

Has anyone used Did-It's Maestro service? I am trying to decide between them and GoToast. We use AdWords and Overture, and with 1,500 keywords, it's become a nightmare. But our budget for a service like this is limited. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Melissa