PPC Traffic Tracking

From: Steve Harrison <merlin_at_paypermaster.com>
Date: Wed 25 Apr 2001 10:26:29 -0500

Not being a server logs cruncher whiz-bang, I'm curious
if there are any notable softwares/programs out there
that, in addition to the usual tracking and plotting
of site visitor traffic, can perform a specific task.

The specific task at hand regards traffic coming from
pay-per click (PPC) engines, like GoTo.com. But not
just that. GoTo is now partnered with several other
portal sites and their listings show up in several
meta engines.

What we're needing is a way to discern, say a GoTo
click-thru, that came from within GoTo itself versus
a GoTo click-thru that came from another source, like
AOL Search. GoTo will extract the bidded amount
regardless of where the click happened, so it'll
show-up in the GoTo account management click report.
But where'd it really come from?

Upshot is to plot a more accurate conversion rate
regarding GoTo and other PPC click-thrus. Big question
is: Are searchers clicking on PPC links within a
given PPC more targeted (better customer prospects)
than searchers clicking on that same PPC listing at a
partner site?

The compounded exposure by all this partnering of PPC
listings is great for the additional traffic, but those
are paid click-thrus. What "quality" of visitor are
the partner and meta sites delivering for the cost of
the bid? Most don't indicate, or at least make it clear,
that the link is a pay-per click.

Steve Harrison, Prez, CEO, Janitor
<http://www.paypermaster.com/index.html>Pay-Per Master ~
http://www.paypermaster.com
merlin_at_paypermaster.com



Received on Wed Apr 25 2001 - 10:26:29 CDT