In the world of Google Ads, we all chase the final click. But let’s be blunt: View-Through Conversions (VTCs) are the most misunderstood and undervalued metric in your account. We know the skepticism is real—it’s easy to dismiss a VTC as “platform credit inflation” or a “soft” brand metric. Yet, this refusal to acknowledge the non-click touchpoint is creating a major blind spot for every Marketing Director and PPC Manager.
The Attribution Lie: Why We Need View-Through Conversions (VTCs) to Value Demand Gen
Are Your Search Campaigns Lying To You? Why Your Demand Gen Budget Is Getting Eaten Alive.
Here’s the costly truth: If a user sees your visual Demand Gen ad (YouTube, Discover) and then converts via a non-brand Search ad, the Search campaign gets 100% of the credit. Your demand-creation efforts look like a failure, and you starve the top of the funnel.
A VTC is the digital advertising equivalent of an effective impression that drove a measurable action. It’s the data point that stops your Search campaigns from falsely claiming the credit for demand that your Demand Gen and creative assets actually generated.
Join us as we detail how leveraging VTCs is the only way to accurately measure, justify, and scale your brand awareness budget. In this article, we’ll discuss:
Topics in this Article
Understanding Attribution in Digital Marketing
Attribution in digital marketing is the process of assigning credit to different marketing touchpoints in a customer’s journey towards conversion.
This journey is rarely linear; customers interact with numerous channels before making a purchase decision.
From social media to search ads, email campaigns to direct website visits, every interaction plays a role in guiding a potential customer through the sales funnel. Therefore, understanding which touchpoints are most effective can significantly influence how marketing budgets are allocated.
Last-Click is the Old Way
Traditionally, last-click attribution has been the go-to model for many marketers. This model assigns 100% of the conversion credit to the final interaction before the sale.
While this may seem logical, it grossly oversimplifies the complexity of a customer’s journey.
Matching Your Conversion Attribution to the Reality of Customer Journeys
Imagine a scenario where a potential customer first learns about your brand through a YouTube ad, then sees a display ad on a news website, and finally converts by clicking on a search ad. In this case, the last-click attribution model would give full credit to the search ad, completely ignoring the crucial role played by the YouTube and display ads in creating initial awareness and interest.
Several other attribution models exist, such as first-click, linear, time decay, and position-based models. Each has its own set of advantages and limitations.
Cost-Benefit of First-Click and Time Decay Models
- First-Click Attribution. The first-click model gives all the credit to the first interaction, while the linear model distributes the credit equally among all touchpoints.
- Other Models. Time decay gives more weight to interactions closer to the conversion, and position-based models give the most credit to the first and last interactions.
Despite these variations, none of these models fully capture the multi-faceted nature of customer journeys in today’s digital landscape, making the case for more sophisticated metrics like View-Through Conversions (VTCs) even stronger.
The Limitations of Traditional Attribution Models
Traditional attribution models, while useful in certain contexts, come with significant limitations that can distort the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Valuing the Brand Awareness and Demand Generation
One of the primary issues is their inability to account for the nuanced role of brand awareness and demand generation. For instance, the last-click attribution model may lead you to believe that search ads are the most effective channel for driving conversions, while in reality, your display and video ads might have played a crucial role in building the initial interest and intent.
Moreover, these traditional models often fail to capture the impact of cross-device and cross-channel behaviors.
Customer Journey Occurs Across a Variety of Platforms
Like we previously discussed in Search Everywhere Optimization, advertising is multi-platform and multi-device.
The Reality. In a multi-device world, where a user might start their journey on a mobile device, continue on a tablet, and complete the purchase on a desktop, attributing conversions accurately becomes even more challenging.
The Challenge. The inability to track these fragmented journeys can lead to misallocation of marketing budgets, where channels that are vital for creating initial awareness and engagement are underfunded, while channels that capture the final click receive undue credit.
Brand Data can be Challenging, But That’s Changing
Another significant limitation is the lack of visibility into the influence of non-click interactions. Traditional models are heavily skewed towards click-based metrics, completely ignoring the value of impressions and other non-click interactions. This is particularly problematic for channels like display and video advertising, where the primary goal is often to build awareness rather than to drive immediate clicks.
By not accounting for these interactions, traditional attribution models can lead to a myopic view of marketing performance, where the true drivers of demand generation are overlooked.
What are View-Through Conversions (VTCs)?
View-Through Conversions (VTCs) represent a more holistic approach to measuring the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns. Unlike traditional click-based metrics, VTCs attribute conversions to ads that were viewed but not clicked on.
Why is VTC valuable for display and video advertising?
Essentially, if a user sees your ad and later completes a conversion action—such as making a purchase or filling out a form—without directly clicking on the ad, this conversion is counted as a VTC. This metric is particularly valuable for channels like display and video advertising, where the primary goal is often to build brand awareness and interest.
Why are View-Through Conversions Important?
The concept of VTCs acknowledges that not all interactions with an ad will result in an immediate click but can still have a significant impact on the user’s decision-making process.
How do VTCs work in Demand Gen Campaigns?
For example, a user might see a YouTube ad for a new product, which piques their interest. Later, they might perform a Google search for that product and make a purchase. In this scenario, the YouTube ad played a crucial role in sparking the initial interest, even though the user did not click on it.
By recognizing and attributing value to these view-through interactions, VTCs provide a more accurate picture of how different marketing channels contribute to conversions.
How do VTCs inform Demand Gen Optimizations?
VTCs also offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of your demand generation efforts. By tracking how many users convert after viewing your ads, you can better understand which creative assets and channels are most effective at driving interest and engagement. This data can then be used to optimize your campaigns, allocate budgets more effectively, and ultimately, drive better marketing ROI.
In today’s ad world, where the customer journey is increasingly complex and fragmented, VTCs offer a more comprehensive and accurate way to measure the true impact of your advertising efforts.
The Importance of Demand Generation in Marketing
Demand generation is a critical component of any comprehensive marketing strategy. Unlike direct response marketing, which focuses on driving immediate actions such as clicks and conversions, demand generation aims to create long-term brand awareness and interest.
Demand Generations and Top of the Funnel Advertising
It’s about building a pipeline of potential customers who are aware of your brand, understand your value proposition, and are more likely to convert when they are ready to make a purchase. This top-of-the-funnel activity is essential for sustaining growth and ensuring a steady flow of qualified leads.
At its core, demand generation involves a mix of content marketing, social media engagement, display advertising, video campaigns, and more. Previously, we discussed how demand gen advertising in Microsoft ads, boosted SEO. In top of the funnel advertising, the various channels work together.
Each of these channels plays a unique role in shaping the customer journey, from initial awareness to eventual conversion. For instance, content marketing can educate potential customers about the benefits of your product or service, while social media engagement can build a sense of community and trust. Display and video advertising can capture attention and create memorable brand impressions, setting the stage for future interactions.
VTCs Make it Possible to Evaluate Top of the Funnel Ads
However, the effectiveness of demand generation efforts is often difficult to measure using traditional attribution models. These models tend to favor direct response channels that drive immediate clicks and conversions, overlooking the critical role of top-of-the-funnel activities. This is where VTCs come into play.
By attributing value to non-click interactions, VTCs provide a more accurate measure of how demand generation efforts contribute to the overall marketing strategy. They help bridge the gap between awareness and conversion, ensuring that the channels and assets responsible for driving initial interest are recognized and adequately funded.
How VTCs Enhance Demand Gen Strategies
Integrating VTCs into your demand generation strategy can significantly enhance your ability to measure and optimize the effectiveness of your campaigns.
Key Benefit
One of the key benefits is the ability to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the customer journey. By tracking how many users convert after viewing your ads, you can identify which channels and creative assets are most effective at driving initial interest and engagement. This data can then be used to refine your targeting, messaging, and overall strategy, ensuring that your demand generation efforts are as effective as possible.
Non-Linear Customer Journey
VTCs play a pivotal role in addressing a key challenge of demand generation: the often non-linear customer journey. Users engage with multiple touchpoints over time before making a purchase decision. Traditional attribution models may overlook the importance of these initial interactions. By valuing view-through interactions, VTCs enhance our understanding of how different channels positively impact the overall customer journey, leading to more informed marketing strategies.
Justifying Budget for Demand Generation Ads
Furthermore, VTCs can help to justify and secure budget for demand generation initiatives. One of the main reasons why demand generation efforts are often underfunded is the difficulty in measuring their impact using traditional metrics. By providing a more accurate measure of how view-through interactions contribute to conversions, VTCs can help to demonstrate the value of these initiatives, making it easier to secure the necessary budget and resources. This, in turn, can lead to more effective and impactful demand generation campaigns, driving long-term growth and success.
Analyzing the Impact of VTCs on Marketing ROI
Understanding the impact of VTCs on marketing ROI is essential for optimizing your overall strategy and ensuring that your budget is allocated effectively. One of the key ways in which VTCs can enhance your ROI analysis is by providing a more accurate measure of the effectiveness of your demand generation efforts. By attributing value to non-click interactions, VTCs help to capture the full impact of your display and video ads, ensuring that these channels are recognized for their role in driving awareness and interest.
VTCs also help to address the attribution gap that often exists between top-of-the-funnel and bottom-of-the-funnel activities. Traditional attribution models tend to favor direct response channels that drive immediate clicks and conversions, overlooking the critical role of demand generation efforts. By integrating VTCs into your ROI analysis, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of how different channels and touchpoints contribute to the overall customer journey. This, in turn, can help to ensure that your budget is allocated more effectively, with the right balance between demand generation and direct response activities.
Moreover, VTCs can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your creative assets and messaging. By tracking how many users convert after viewing your ads, you can identify which creative elements are most effective at capturing attention and driving interest. This data can then be used to refine your messaging and creative strategy, ensuring that your ads are as impactful as possible. In this way, VTCs can help to drive continuous improvement and optimization, leading to better marketing ROI over time.
Case Studies: Successful Implementation of VTCs
To illustrate the impact of VTCs, let’s explore some real-world case studies where businesses have successfully implemented this metric to enhance their marketing strategies. These examples highlight the transformative potential of VTCs in providing a more accurate measure of advertising effectiveness and optimizing demand generation efforts.
Case Study 1: An E-commerce Retailer
An e-commerce retailer specializing in fashion accessories faced a challenge in measuring the effectiveness of their display and video ad campaigns. Traditional attribution models were giving full credit to search ads, leading to underinvestment in demand generation channels. By integrating VTCs into their analysis, the retailer was able to attribute value to non-click interactions and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the customer journey. This revealed that their display and video ads were playing a crucial role in driving initial interest and awareness. As a result, the retailer reallocated their budget to invest more in these top-of-the-funnel activities, leading to a significant increase in overall conversions and a higher marketing ROI.
Case Study 2: A B2B Software Company
A B2B software company was struggling to demonstrate the value of their content marketing and display ad campaigns. Traditional metrics were not capturing the full impact of these efforts, making it difficult to justify budget allocation. By leveraging VTCs, the company was able to track how many users converted after viewing their ads and content, even if they did not click directly. This data provided a more accurate measure of the effectiveness of their demand generation efforts, helping to secure additional budget for these initiatives. The company also used the insights gained from VTCs to refine their targeting and messaging, leading to more effective campaigns and higher conversion rates.
Case Study 3: A Consumer Electronics Brand
A consumer electronics brand was facing challenges in measuring the impact of their video ad campaigns on YouTube. Traditional attribution models were giving full credit to search ads, overlooking the role of video ads in creating initial awareness and interest. By incorporating VTCs into their analysis, the brand was able to attribute value to view-through interactions and gain a more accurate measure of the effectiveness of their video campaigns. This revealed that their YouTube ads were driving a significant number of conversions, even if users did not click directly. As a result, the brand increased their investment in video advertising, leading to a substantial boost in overall sales and marketing ROI.
Best Practices for Measuring and Utilizing VTCs
To effectively measure and utilize VTCs, it’s important to follow best practices that can help you gain the most accurate and actionable insights. Here are some key strategies to consider:
- Set Clear Goals and KPIs : Before you start tracking VTCs, it’s essential to define clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for your campaigns. Determine what you want to achieve with your demand generation efforts, whether it’s increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, or generating leads. By setting specific goals, you can better measure the impact of VTCs and ensure that your campaigns are aligned with your overall marketing objectives.
- Use Multi-Touch Attribution Models : To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the customer journey, consider using multi-touch attribution models that distribute credit across multiple touchpoints. This can help you capture the full impact of view-through interactions and avoid the pitfalls of single-touch attribution models. By recognizing the role of different channels and touchpoints, you can allocate your budget more effectively and optimize your overall strategy.
- Leverage Advanced Tracking and Analytics Tools : To accurately measure VTCs, it’s important to use advanced tracking and analytics tools that can capture view-through interactions across different channels and devices. Platforms like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and third-party attribution tools can provide valuable insights into how users interact with your ads and convert over time. By leveraging these tools, you can gain a more accurate measure of the effectiveness of your demand generation efforts and make data-driven decisions.
- Optimize Creative and Messaging : Use the insights gained from VTCs to refine your creative assets and messaging. Identify which elements are most effective at capturing attention and driving interest, and use this data to optimize your campaigns. This can help you create more impactful ads that resonate with your target audience and drive higher engagement and conversions.
- Test and Iterate : Continuously test and iterate your campaigns to optimize their effectiveness. Use A/B testing to compare different creative elements, targeting strategies, and messaging, and use the insights gained to refine your approach. By continuously testing and iterating, you can improve the performance of your campaigns over time and drive better results.
- Communicate the Value of VTCs to Stakeholders : Finally, it’s important to communicate the value of VTCs to key stakeholders within your organization. Educate your team and leadership about the importance of view-through interactions and how they contribute to overall marketing effectiveness. By demonstrating the value of VTCs, you can secure the necessary budget and resources for your demand generation efforts and drive long-term success.
Conclusion: Embracing VTCs for Better Marketing Insights
In conclusion, View-Through Conversions (VTCs) represent a valuable and often overlooked metric that can provide a more accurate measure of the effectiveness of your demand generation efforts. By attributing value to non-click interactions, VTCs help to capture the full impact of your display and video ads, ensuring that these channels are recognized for their role in driving awareness and interest. This, in turn, can help to optimize your marketing strategy, allocate your budget more effectively, and drive better ROI.
Traditional attribution models, while useful in certain contexts, come with significant limitations that can distort the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. By integrating VTCs into your analysis, you can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the customer journey and ensure that your demand generation efforts are adequately funded. This can lead to more effective and impactful campaigns, driving long-term growth and success.
To effectively measure and utilize VTCs, it’s important to follow best practices such as setting clear goals and KPIs, using multi-touch attribution models, leveraging advanced tracking and analytics tools, optimizing creative and messaging, continuously testing and iterating, and communicating the value of VTCs to stakeholders. By embracing VTCs and incorporating them into your marketing strategy, you can gain valuable insights that can help to optimize your campaigns and drive better results.
In a landscape where the customer journey is increasingly complex and fragmented, VTCs offer a more comprehensive and accurate way to measure the true impact of your advertising efforts. By recognizing and valuing the role of non-click interactions, you can ensure that your demand generation channels are adequately funded and optimized, driving long-term growth and success for your business. So, don’t overlook the importance of VTCs—embrace this valuable metric and unlock the full potential of your marketing strategy.
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