As pay-per-click (PPC) costs continue to increase, it’s more important than ever for marketers and digital ad agencies to be able to access their data – all of their data.

A recent article by Susan Wenogard talks about just how critical it is to track all conversions. I would argue what’s even more critical is to track true conversions, meaning the leads that actually convert into paying customers for a business.

The issue is that Google and other ad platforms treat all conversions as equal, a major flaw in the system. Here’s an example. Let’s say an ad generates 10 clicks and out of those clicks, five of them convert into a lead on the site either through a phone call, email, or chat. Out of those five conversions, only one converts into a customer while the rest are solicitations. However, the automation systems of the advertising platform will equate all of these conversions as valuable to the business and optimize its campaigns accordingly.

Do you really want your advertising budget being wasted on ads that are producing solicitations instead of qualified leads? I think not.

Content created in partnership with SherloQ™, Inc.

Here we go, again: Disappearing data

Google Ads also recently started to limit the data shared in its Search Terms Report to only include terms that were searched for by a significant number of users. Google has stated that this change is in regard to privacy compliance.

But, what does Google define as significant or insignificant data? This change reduces an advertiser’s ability to identify the search queries that triggered an ad, even for those that generated a click or conversion. This spells even more waste for advertisers and is equivalent to losing 28% of your budget’s visibility.

Are you ready to throw away 28% of your advertising budget? Again, I think not.

The real solution to reducing digital ad waste

With the world’s first AI Smart Core^℠, SherloQ^™ is revolutionizing how websites and ad campaigns operate altogether.

Powered by IBM Watson, SherloQ^™ allows marketers to easily train their AI-models on the types of leads that are most valuable to their business. First-party customer data from call tracking, chat vendors and on-site form submissions are piped into the system, and then SherloQ^™ rates and assigns each lead with an Ad Rank Score^™, while also accounting for bio-patented feedback from the end-user.

SherloQ^™ continuously feeds this data back into individual advertising platforms, informing them to optimize for the ad campaigns that are driving real customers for the business – thus eliminating ad waste.

In a recent case study of the McKnight’s Senior Living Directory, the number one publisher for senior living in the United States, the team shared some insights on how they are using SherloQ^™ with IBM Watson:

“Our directory has over 14,000 retirement and assisted living communities listed, including the multiple agencies we work with to manage assisted living websites and digital advertising for our listings. SherloQ’s^™ AI automation and data mining capabilities allows us to expand our digital media offerings and effectively run PPC advertisements for all 14,000 facilities while having a global view that would otherwise be impossible.”

Additionally, SherloQ^™ is giving marketers control over their data, at a critical time, too. SherloQ^™ provides marketers and agencies with user intent and intelligence that’s based on first-party data, identifying the specific landing pages and language/keywords consumers use to describe or find a business. This intelligence can be used to improve website SEO and content marketing strategies, ad copy and creative, and identifies potential new markets to enter.

For marketers and agencies seriously looking to reduce or eliminate their digital ad waste, download our white paper to learn more and contact SherloQ^™ to sign up for a demo or free 30 data trial.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is key to reducing digital ad waste