Introduction This is a short post explaining the correct way to calculate ROI for online marketing. I got the idea earlier today while renewing my Google AdWords certificate and seeing this question in the exam: Now, here’s the trap – I’m arguing most advertisers would choose the option C, although the correct one is option A. […]
Tag: digital marketing
Carryover effects and their measurement in Google Analytics
Introduction Carryover effects in marketing are a tricky beast. On one hand, you don’t want to prematurely judge a campaign because the effect of advertising may be delayed. On the other hand, you don’t want bad campaigns to be defended with this same argument. Solutions What’s the solution then? They need to be quantified, or […]
Chasing the “true” CPA in digital marketing (for Pro’s only!)
This is a follow-up post on my earlier post about “fake” conversions — the post is in Finnish but, briefly, it’s about the problem of irreversibility of conversions in the ad platforms’ reporting. In reality, some conversions are cancelled (e.g., product returns), but the current platforms don’t track that. So, my point was to include […]
Online ad platforms’ leeching logic
We had a great discussion with Mr. Lauri Pitkänen about unfair advantage in business – e.g., a gift card company’s business model relying on people not redeeming gift cards, investment banker’s relying on monopoly to take 7% of each new IPO, doctor’s controlling how many new doctor’s are educated, taxi driver’s keeping the supply low […]
How to measure offline marketing with online metrics?
Introduction The issue with offline marketing is tracking. For many offline marketing efforts, such as exhibitions and networking events, it’s hard to track results. Participation in these events is often expensive, and the results are evaluated on a qualitative basis. Although qualitative evaluation is better than nothing, quantitative data is obviously better. And in many cases, […]
A Few Interesting Digital Analytics Problems… (And Their Solutions)
Introduction Here’s a list of analytics problems I’ve devised for a class I was teaching a digital analytics course (Web & Mobile Analytics, Information Technology Program) at Aalto University in Helsinki. Some solutions to them are also considered. The problems Last click fallacy = taking only the last interaction into account when analayzing channel or campaign performance (a […]
Digital Marketing Laws (work in progress…)
Hi, this is work in progress – I’ll keep updating this list as new moments of “heureka” hit me. Digital marketing laws The higher the position in a SERP, the higher the CTR The more a mixed platform gains demand-side popularity, the more it restricts the organic reach of supply-side Search-engine traffic consistently outperforms social media […]
Using the VRIN model to evaluate web platforms
Introduction In this article, I discuss how the classic VRIN model can be used to evaluate modern web platforms. What is the VRIN model? It’s one of the most cited models of the resource-based view of the firm. Essentially, it describes how a firm can achieve sustainable competitive advantage through resources that fulfill certain criteria. These […]
The difference between business logic and strategy
Introduction I started thinking this question today when reading my students’ exam answers. The questions was “Define business logic and give an example of it”, and many answers actually defined strategy. At that point, I realized it’s not so easy to see a difference between these two concepts. So, what would I see as the […]
How to use Facebook Ads for market segmentation?
This article discusses the potential of market segmentation using Facebook Ads. Why is segmentation needed? Segmentation is one of the most fundamental concepts in marketing. Its goal is to identify the best match between the firm’s offering and the market, i.e. find a sub-set of customers who are most likely to buy the product and […]