The Limitations of Click-Through Rates

CTR is a useful metric for understanding how compelling your headlines and visuals are. However, it doesn’t tell you what happens after someone clicks on your Outbrain ad. Do they engage with your content? Do they convert into leads? Do they eventually become paying customers? A high CTR might be exciting, but if it doesn’t translate into tangible business results, it’s just vanity.

Why CTR Isn’t Enough

• Doesn’t Reflect Engagement: A click doesn’t equal reading, watching, or interacting with your content.
• Ignores Downstream Impact: CTR doesn’t account for leads generated, sales completed, or brand awareness increased.
• Lacks Context: It doesn’t tell you how Outbrain contributes to the overall customer journey.

Unlocking Deeper Insights with Google Analytics

Google Analytics is your secret weapon for measuring the true ROI of your Outbrain campaigns. By properly configuring Google Analytics and tracking key events and conversions, you can gain a much clearer picture of how Outbrain is contributing to your business goals.

Setting Up UTM Parameters

UTM parameters are essential for tracking your Outbrain traffic within Google Analytics. These are tags you add to the end of your URLs that provide information about the source, medium, campaign, and content of your traffic. Consistent and accurate UTM tagging allows you to segment your Outbrain traffic from other sources and analyze its performance independently.

Example UTM Parameter:

https://www.example.com/blog-post?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=summer_sale&utm_content=image_ad_v1

Breakdown:

• utm_source=outbrain: Identifies the source as Outbrain.
• utm_medium=cpc: Specifies that the traffic came from a cost-per-click campaign.
• utm_campaign=summer_sale: Names the specific campaign (e.g., a summer sale promotion).
• utm_content=image_ad_v1: Differentiates between different ad creatives within the same campaign.

Tracking Key Conversions

Define what constitutes a valuable conversion for your business. This could include:

• Form Submissions: Tracking users who fill out contact forms, subscribe to newsletters, or request demos.
• E-commerce Transactions: Monitoring purchases and revenue generated from Outbrain traffic.
• Content Downloads: Measuring downloads of whitepapers, ebooks, or other valuable resources.
• Time on Site: Tracking users who spend a significant amount of time on your website, indicating engagement.
• Pageviews: Measuring the number of pages viewed by users who arrived via Outbrain.

Set up goals and events in Google Analytics to track these conversions. This will allow you to attribute specific actions to your Outbrain campaigns and calculate their ROI.

Analyzing User Behavior

Go beyond basic conversion tracking and analyze how users behave on your website after clicking on your Outbrain ads. Are they navigating to other pages? Are they engaging with your content? Are they abandoning their shopping carts? Understanding user behavior can help you optimize your landing pages, content, and overall user experience to improve conversion rates.

Custom Attribution Models: Giving Credit Where It’s Due

Outbrain often plays a crucial role in the early stages of the customer journey. However, traditional attribution models like “last-click” might undervalue its contribution. Consider implementing a custom attribution model that gives more weight to touchpoints that occur earlier in the sales funnel.

Understanding Different Attribution Models

• Last-Click Attribution: Attributes 100% of the conversion credit to the last click before the conversion.
• First-Click Attribution: Attributes 100% of the conversion credit to the first click in the user’s journey.
• Linear Attribution: Distributes conversion credit equally across all touchpoints in the customer journey.
• Time-Decay Attribution: Gives more credit to touchpoints that occur closer to the conversion.
• Position-Based Attribution: Assigns a specific percentage of credit to the first, last, and middle touchpoints.

Creating a Custom Attribution Model

The best attribution model depends on your specific business goals and customer journey. Experiment with different models and analyze the results to determine which one provides the most accurate representation of Outbrain’s impact. Consider using data-driven attribution, which uses machine learning to analyze your historical data and assign credit based on the actual impact of each touchpoint.

Tools and Resources for Advanced Outbrain Analytics

Beyond Google Analytics, consider leveraging other tools to enhance your Outbrain analytics:

• Outbrain’s Reporting Dashboard: Provides valuable insights into campaign performance, including clicks, impressions, and cost-per-click.
• Third-Party Analytics Platforms: Tools like Mixpanel or Kissmetrics can provide more granular insights into user behavior.
• Data Visualization Tools: Use tools like Tableau or Google Data Studio to create compelling reports and dashboards that communicate your findings effectively.

Conclusion

Moving beyond basic click-through rates is crucial for understanding the true value of your Outbrain campaigns. By implementing advanced analytics techniques, leveraging Google Analytics, and creating custom attribution models, you can gain a deeper understanding of how Outbrain contributes to your business goals. This, in turn, allows you to optimize your campaigns, improve your ROI, and drive sustainable growth. Don’t just count clicks – count conversions, engagement, and ultimately, revenue.