The latest iteration of SearchIgnite's media management platform should put marketers more in control and assist in allocating budgets across multichannel campaigns. The move makes marketers smarter about strategies by solving "the last click" approach, a method that seems to have failed or fallen short for years.

SearchIgnite 3.2 attempts to assign attribution to media, as well as tie in to search and display strategies that have typically fallen short. It offers features intended to centralize measurement and attribution of clicks, impressions across pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, search engine optimization (SEO) strategies, and display ads to improve the efficiency of all media in the chain.

Marketers typically rely on three disparate systems to manage campaigns: search technology for paid search, ad server to track display, and analytics for SEO. Data is not shared, and conversions are miscalculated as one consumer clicks on a display ad, paid search, or organic link, and then buys something. Each of the three systems would only see the click they track, and then count a customer conversion.

"This version pulls in data and attributes actions back to multiple clicks that led to conversion," says Roger Barnette, SearchIgnite president. "It will provide higher ROI and better optimization in each channel because marketers will know the steps that lead to action."

Barnette said it's critical to tie data together and individual consumers across multiple tracking systems, so marketers understand that it's not three actions that occurred, but rather one. It also helps marketers understand how the different media channels interact with each other.

Prior to the most recent release, SearchIgnite could track media across every digital channel that has an associated click. The tool was not able to track people who see a banner ad, yet don't click on it before converting.

SearchIgnite 3.2 lets advertisers set custom attribution rules to credit an individual customer conversion across multiple assisting clicks and ad impressions. Customers also can integrate impression and click data from Dart for Advertisers (DFA) into the SearchIgnite platform in order to analyze display alongside the PPC, SEO, Paid Inclusion and Affiliate data tracked by SearchIgnite.

These latest features are essential for advertisers who want to measure real return on investments from all online advertising initiatives and achieve the best media optimization across search and other digital channels.

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