Remember when you first collected a keyword from an adwords campaign? The days when you could only collect one or two tracking parameters are long gone.
Today, you can track pretty much anything and everything. So the logic is: if you can track it, then you should track it. This results in you ending up with huge volumes of analytical data.
The Modern World and Data Overload
So much data! The obvious keyword is still relevant, but the operating system version and device name became the “new elements” that must be tracked. When you also start adding the IP Address, Publisher_ID, language settings etc. into the mix, then you really start collecting massive amounts of data.
While content is king, it cannot be leveraged without the proper business intelligence and analytical tools. So naturally, you keep on collecting and piling up more data hoping it will bring you insight.
We’ve all been there – having access to so much analytical data, but lacking the tools to actually extract the relevant information that will tell you what your next optimization steps should be.
In fact, most marketing executives agree that only a small portion of the data they collect is actually used to make decisions. And yet, we install all sorts of analytical software because we read a nice review about it, or just because we happened to hear someone say it could be useful.
We have somehow, accidentally, managed to apply our brain’s main dysfunction to our own businesses: We only use a small portion of it.
Analytics are only useful if they’re going to assist you in making intelligent decisions. Otherwise, they just slow your site, provide data to third party companies and mess up your site’s code.
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New Technology
Recently, we installed intercom.io on our site and it’s like having a CRM on steroids. In fact, it collects behavioral data and lets you trigger communications (email and in-app messages) based on this data. It’s a perfect example of data driven marketing.
The marketing world isn’t flat anymore, it’s 3-dimensional and the tools are now available to you so that you can navigate through all dimensions with ease. Far from comparing TrackingDesk to Intercom, I do see some conceptual ideas that perhaps you will be able to relate to (even remotely).
Let me explain: Until recently you had to install a massive CRM / automation system that required a team of engineers to maintain it, a team of marketers to run it and statisticians to pull data and explain it to you.
With Intercom, one person can operate the entire application, and it can give you a tremendous reach and ability to build the most complex communication rules without ever having to write a single line of code.
Here is a complex campaign that would typically be hard to build, run, analyze and optimize:
TrackingDesk makes the following easy to integrate:
Traffic Sources:
- Unlimited number of traffic sources (Over 40 traffic sources pre-defined)
- Custom variables/Parameters (i.e. Keywords)
- PostBack or pixel conversion tracking
Advertisers:
- Unlimited number of pre-defined affiliate programs
- Unlimited Offers
- Unlimited tracking links
Campaign Customization:
- Geo-Targeting
- Global campaigns
- Rule based campaigns
- AB Testing of landing pages or funnels
- Fallback Options – Global/Custom and more
Aditionally, you can add multiple conversion steps (Lead, Sign-Up, Sales, Recurring Sales), your own products/offers or Create, Add your own landing pages.
A Single URL Rotates:
- Your tracking links
- Offers
- Landing pages
You also have the option of running your campaigns on specific tracking domains. This workflow allows you to reach positive ROI faster with better tracking and control over your marketing campaigns.
TrackingDesk to some extent is similar to Intercom, as it allows affiliate marketers and media buyers to run their traffic. This is via a single interface where all parties involved such as – Traffic sources, direct advertisers and affiliate networks – are fully integrated.
It does this without having to get your development team to integrate complex tracking systems, pixels, dynamic variables and other technical barriers that would scare away any decent or normal marketing person. And still, variations of tracking will all be collected seamlessly (including the most complex types of traffic) so you can have access to what you aim for: your traffic performance.