• by Ian Goldberg , November 20, 2000

By Ian Goldberg, Director of Professional Services, Bluestreak

How many times have you been told the story of "real-time" online marketing? I've been swimming among the "real-time" sharks for years, so I share your pain. I remember having to clean up the mess when my former boss would sell the promise of "real-time optimization" to our clients in 1997, and it got worse. Another former boss went so far as to name a division of our company "RealTime" in 1998. And I'm coming clean to tell you that until the last year, any "real-time" aspect of online marketing has been a figment of our imagination.

Today, real-time optimization, real-time tracking and real-time trafficking need to be key elements of your online marketing campaigns. Monitoring and fine-tuning campaigns in real-time is the key to improving click rates, conversion rates, cost per acquisition and sales. And I when I say "real-time", I mean real-time -- not taking days, weeks or months.

MAKING REAL-TIME OPTIMIZATION A REALITY

When I used to hear "real-time optimization" requests from clients, it would send shivers up my spine. I knew that it took no less than three weeks to collect campaign data, analyze that data, define patterns, and then implement optimizations. Today, however genuine real-time optimization is a reality with new automated technologies replacing most of the data gathering, analysis and optimization of campaigns.

From the moment a campaign goes live, these automated systems are collecting data and analyzing micro trends. Micro trends, such as which ad works best on weekends or what message is most successful during the morning hours, tend to be missed by today's standard reporting tools. These findings then inform the system, which weights ads so that the right ad runs where and when it is most likely to succeed. In a world where un-optimized campaigns equal wasted dollars, no one should settle for less.

These types of automated services don't, however, eliminate the need for active human monitoring of your online campaigns. They are just one ingredient in the online marketing mix that is aimed at saving time and increasing effectiveness during the campaign management process. Analysts still need to monitor the performance of your campaign on a site-by-site basis and adjust the media buy as necessary. Marketing teams still need to test ad messages, offers and designs in a disciplined fashion. And creative teams still need to be responsive to findings from the campaign data. This combination of technology and human intervention is the chocolate and peanut butter that makes real-time optimization so effective.

THE PATH TO REAL-TIME TRACKING

Market demand has been driving agencies to real-time tracking, yet only few agencies are currently equipped with the necessary cutting edge technologies needed to deliver on the promise. Over the years, "real-time tracking" has meant anything from providing weekly campaign reports to batching results