Classified Ads – Tracking Effectiveness

Getting the most from your advertising dollar is the goal of any business person. Even if your advertising opportunity is provided free of charge, it’s important to monitor and track effectiveness to ensure the strategy is working for you and your business. There are many types of advertising strategies including banner ads, Ezines, newsletters, solo ads, and classified ads just to name a few.

Classified ads are one of those unique opportunities to promote your website and business to not only sell products, but to create long-term relationships and focus on lead generation. Classified advertising is offered at a cost or there are many sites which provide the service for free. Regardless of what you choose, you should always ensure your ads are working for you.

Tracking effectiveness

There are different ways to track effectiveness of your classified ad. You can include a unique URL for each ad you place with a service to track how well it works. You can use this tracking information to evaluate the clicks you receive from you ad. This will help you determine if your ad is effective. Having multiple classified ads placed simultaneously with different classified advertising directories will enable you to compare and contrast effectiveness of different headlines and body content.

Ad tracking services and software

There are ad tracking services and programs that can make this easier and more efficient for your business. Most of these programs can purchased on a monthly basis which allows you to spread the cost of ad tracking over the period of time you run the ads. They range in price starting at around $14.95 per month. Many trackers will offer you a discount or bonus when you refer other people who purchase their services. Most trackers provide you with a free trial period that permits you to evaluate the tool and decide if it works for you.

There are some classified advertising sites which also provide you with data and reports at no charge, so before you invest in ad tracking services, be sure to check out these options first.

Free or paid

Whether you have free ad tracking services available through your advertising providers, or you are paying for an ad tracking service, having an opportunity to evaluate an ad tracking software tool allows you to determine how easy or difficult it is to use. You can determine your comfort level with using the tool and make sure it provides you with the information you need to monitor your ad effectiveness.

The benefits of most all ad trackers are similar. They provide you with instant access to see which ads are working best. They save you time and effort by doing the analysis and evaluation for you. Rather than having to spend time tracking and analyzing data and clicks, or hiring someone to do it for you, it’s an automated process.

The ad tracking tools vary in what they offer in terms of information and analysis, but some of the most common data and information provided includes:

Number of visitors generated by each individual ad

Identifies which ads generate the most visitors, subscribers, downloads, sales, or other information

Provides you with a daily report of activity based on your needs

Privacy

When evaluating ad tracking software programs and online services, make sure you check out their privacy policies. You want to ensure they offer an encrypted system that ensures your data and the information collected from your visitors is safe and secure. You should also search for services that do not require long term commitments for services and that do not require complication set-up functions or fees.

The more automated you can make your ad tracking process, the more time, money, and effort you will save. But more importantly, the more frequently you will be able to view your ad’s effectiveness and evaluate your options for advertising. Having data and information at your fingertips makes the process easier to manage and making decisions from data makes for much better business decisions.

As you plan your classified advertising strategy, be sure to include ad tracking processes from the very beginning. You’ll be glad you planned ahead because you’ll save time and money in every ad campaign you initiate. And you’ll be able to make changes that positively impact your bottom line.