Improving the performance of a website or measuring the impact of a campaign requires the application of several sales techniques, including performance marketing. It is therefore one of the methods often used by advertisers to achieve the desired statistical results as quickly and efficiently as possible.
In this article, we take a closer look at this web marketing technique.
What is Performance Marketing?
Performance marketing is a digital marketing model in which the advertiser only pays for the results obtained. It is composed of a set of web marketing techniques (such as affiliation, PPC, etc.) that measures the results of an advertising campaign and attributes its performance to the different channels, according to the results obtained.
With performance marketing, you go from pay per click or impression to payment per result. The effectiveness of a campaign is not determined by statistical calculations, but by actual data collected by the tracking system that records clicks, conversions, sales, and subscriptions in real-time.
How do you measure the performance of these digital marketing campaigns?
In performance marketing campaigns, also known as results-based marketing, it is important to understand that the advertiser only pays for the results achieved, regardless of the channel you are working on. So the key is to achieve results.
For a performance marketing strategy to be effective, you need to consider the following aspects:
- Set clear and measurable objectives: performance marketing should not be used to achieve objectives related, for example, to brand awareness. It is also crucial to specify the key performance indicators before the launch, as they will serve as a reference. Since payment depends on them, these Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) must comply with the requirements of the agency that will manage the campaign and be aligned with the client’s expectations.
- Define a clear payment model: since you can use a variety of channels and everything will depend on the conversion, it is necessary to clearly define the payment model used. For example opting for CPM, CPC, CPL, CPA, etc. The recommended models for a performance marketing campaign are:
- CPL (cost per lead)
- CPA (cost per share or cost per acquisition)
- CPC (less common but can be used to measure concrete performance marketing actions)
- Create optimized landing pages: a conversion process usually ends on a landing page. So it is important to take the time to create a good, optimized landing page. Make sure that the landing page is compatible and displays correctly on all devices, including desktops and mobile devices.
- Turn to specialists to make the most of technology: Performance marketing is about using advanced digital tools to help achieve goals. However, you need to rely on experts who know how to make the most of the technology. For example, at Antevenio GO, each client has a conversion designer team, an AdWords and social media advertising expert, and a conversion manager for their landing pages. Each specialist ensures the real-time management of your leads for performance marketing campaigns.
- Monitoring is key: performance marketing strategies must be analyzed in real-time. If you see that your goals are not being met, you need to optimize and make changes as soon as possible. Regular optimization of performance marketing activities is the key to your success.
- Communication: The relationship between the agency and the advertiser must be harmonious. They should both have the same objectives and have transparent communication.
The best performance marketing techniques
- Native advertising:
This is a type of paid service that creates click opportunities. It tends to respect the natural look and feel of the site on which the native ads are placed. The most common payment model for this performance marketing model is either CPM or CPC.
- Sponsored advertising:
Sponsored advertising involves creating a publication dedicated to the promotion of a brand and/or product. These sponsored publications increase traffic and conversions. They also increase visibility on the Internet in general. Payment for this service can sometimes be CPM, CPA, or CPC.
- Affiliate marketing:
Affiliates are often considered performance marketing partners. Affiliates can take the form of review sites, blogs, discount sites, or else loyalty programs. It is a form of paid media that, unlike billboards or banner ads, does not look like advertising.
- Advertising on social media:
This type of performance marketing relies on social media platforms to drive traffic and awareness. Often, it is based on “likes”, engagement, sales, and clicks. You’ll be able to target consumers in a very specific way without having to worry about the hassles of organic social media publishing.
- Search Engine Marketing:
Search engine marketing operates through both paid and organic searches. However, the paid portion only comes into effect when it comes to performance marketing. Baidu’s cost-per-click programs can boost your visibility by using keywords that will appear on search engine results pages.
Ten Steps to a Successful Performance Marketing Campaign:
- Integrate performance marketing into the company’s overall strategy: Results-based marketing must be integrated with the rest of the company’s marketing strategies.
- Identify and set KPIs: this step is fundamental! You need to know the key performance indicators that will help you measure the actions you are taking. This way, you will be able to optimize your campaigns effectively.
- Pave the path to conversion: conversion is the ultimate goal of any performance marketing strategy. Identify the steps to get to improve the effectiveness of your performance marketing actions.
- Consolidate and measure: Thanks to Big Data, it is now possible to produce millions of pieces of data and use them conscientiously. The challenge is to process and analyze these huge amounts of available data, whether structured or unstructured, to make sense of them and transform them into useful information.
- Technology and CRM: If you combine all your digital marketing campaigns with your own CRM, you’ll have better control over how your advertising campaigns work. You’ll also be able to better target users when planning future campaigns. The personalization of campaigns through the integration of the results in the CRM offers results-focused on performance. This helps improve conversion rates, no matter what the objective is (be it leads, sign-ups, sales, reservations, etc.) because everything is oriented according to the user’s history.
- Attribution models: Attribution models are a set of rules that assign and pinpoint, as accurately as possible, the recorded value of sales to each of the touchpoints and the recorded value of each of the users on the conversion path.
- Omnichannel strategy: The increase in the number of channels that allow a consumer to interact with your brand in both an online and offline environment requires the creation of an omnichannel strategy. An Internet user can interact with your brand in different contexts, at different times, and on different devices.
- Constant innovation: It is important to be constantly innovating and to manage data properly. To do this, you can use specialized media and tools to reach users with personalized messages at the right time.
- Creativity and content: Content is the starting point. Your creative content strategy must be well managed and balanced. In all cases, you must understand that the content lifecycle has changed: previously, content would die when it was published. Nowadays, the cycle begins once the content is published.
- Analyze the competition: The success of a performance-based marketing campaign relies heavily on constant analysis of the competition. It is essential to be able to answer all the questions on the competition (who, how, where, when…) and then make relevant decisions.
What tools should you use to track results?
- Google Analytics
Analytics has dashboard modules and allows you to follow the results on the web. This said it does not allow you to feed the database with external data.
- Spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets
- Spreadsheets are flexible if you wish to manipulate data and perform additional calculations. You can copy results manually or use APIs and add-ons to import elements automatically.
- On Excel you can use the SEO Tools plugin which allows you to manage multiple SEO data integrations in a versatile way. It offers different programming interfaces and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for common SEO analysis tools such as Ahrefs, Google AdWords, Google Analytics, Majestic, Moz, Searchmetrics, SEMrush, SISTRIX, and SEOlytics. With this plugin, you can access the toolbox in the menu to see key components and determine cell formulas and evaluate the SEO of your data.
- Dataviz: Power BI, Table Software, Qlik
Dataviz is a tool that allows you to visually highlight all your results thanks to the multiple integration sources provided in the form of interactive graphs that offer easier reading and allow you to refine results on demand.
Dataviz is the most complete tool, but also the most difficult to implement.
Performance marketing: at the heart of our marketing strategies at Eminence:
Eminence has a radically different approach to traditional agency-based digital marketing campaigns: we help your business grow through data-driven strategies.
We aim to focus on an ultra personalization strategy.
Depending on your business needs and objectives (qualified traffic generation, collection of new prospects, monetization of your forms or databases…), we develop bespoke strategies to develop your web activity efficiently and with controlled costs.
The priority of our digital team is to design effective campaigns that meet your objectives while respecting your budget.
Let us help you and prove the efficiency of our approach! Contact us here: https://eminence.ch/contact-agence-marketing-geneve
