Attribution analysis shows which marketing channels may have the most influence on profit and engagement this year
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Feb. 9, 2012) – ClearSaleing, an industry leading advertising analytics and attribution platform, today released “A Guide to Market Leadership in 2012: A ClearSaleing Online Advertising Study.” The report draws from ClearSaleing’s attribution analysis of more than 56 billion ad impressions and $13 billion in resulting revenue, to identify the trends and truths that will most highly impact digital marketing in 2012. The report turns conventional wisdom on its head when it comes to the influence of social media, display advertising and paid search, and suggests that marketers should challenge their assumptions as they allocate their 2012 spend.
Key Findings
ClearSaleing’s online advertising study shows overwhelming support for social media and display’s ability to create and enhance consumer intent, and impact conversion quality.
- Social and Display Drive More Revenue: The presence of social media in a Purchase Path drives higher value orders, in terms of revenue per order ($280), than natural search and paid search combined ($230.07), although it is not the highest traffic channel. When display is included in a conversion path, the average revenue per order increases to more than $206, almost 65 percent more revenue than the overall average order size of $135.37.
- Social Media Drives High Quality Conversions: Social media is proving to be a core channel for driving intent. When social media was presented in a Purchase Path, the social media click accounted for $5.24 in revenue, a 20 percent increase from paid search ($4.38) and an 84 percent gain from natural search.
- All Display Is Not Created Equal: Premium publishers stand out from the online display pack as a means to create new customer relationships or invigorate dormant customer relationships. Premium publishers showed twice the ability of ad networks, and four times the ability of Demand Side Platforms (DSPs), to introduce and start new customer conversations. Roughly 8.4 percent of all premium publisher advertising interactions were the beginning of new Purchase Paths versus 3.62 percent for ad networks and 1.58 percent for DSPs.
- Paid & Natural Search Perform Even Better Than You Think: Paid search showed an 8.80 percent order lift (as compared to last ad analysis), while natural search had a 10.91 percent boost. Despite an overall devaluation of affiliate marketing under an attribution lens (6.41 percent), quality affiliate networks who focus on creating incremental traffic and revenue for advertisers see substantive performance lifts, as well.
“As we analyze shifting consumer searching and shopping behavior, it is clear that 2012 brings great change and opportunity for online marketers. Whether driving subscriptions, creating memberships or selling goods online, all marketers will face a new reality this year. Those who understand their customers’ journeys to a transaction and who embrace clarity in their metrics and innovation in their channel mix, will find themselves at the head of the pack,” said Randy Smith, ClearSaleing President.
Methodology
Advertisers utilizing the ClearSaleing platform were analyzed across multiple verticals, including retail, luxury retail, travel, healthcare, education and financial services, between January 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011. More than 56 billion impressions, 2.7 billion clicks and $13 billion in revenue tracked through the ClearSaleing system were studied, as well as online marketing channels including display advertising, social media, paid search, natural search, email marketing, affiliates, comparison shopping engines, and others.
Additional Resources
- “A Guide to Market Leadership in 2012: A ClearSaleing Online Advertising Study” is available for free download.
- Follow ClearSaleing on Twitter and join ClearSaleing on Facebook.
About ClearSaleing
ClearSaleing is an industry-leading advertising analytics and attribution platform. ClearSaleing enables innovative advertisers to increase sales volume and overall media mix profitability across their complex mix of advertising investments. The ClearSaleing platform and related services allow innovative clients such as American Greetings, Rosetta, iProspect and Nationwide Insurance to achieve true transparency across their marketing mix performance and to understand which marketing channels are most influential to profit, engagement, and overall return on investment. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. ClearSaleing is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GSI Commerce. GSI Commerce is an eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) company.
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