Display Impressions Optimize Paid-Search Campaigns

OptiMine Software has created an attribution model that allows marketers to use display advertising impressions to optimize paid-search engine ads, rather than search terms used to target or retarget display ads. The company introduced the model Thursday.

Display ads have been undervalued for years, according to Alan Higley, vice president, digital marketing and eCommerce at sun protective clothing line Coolibar. "No one clicks on display banners any more; they get short-changed," he said, explaining how the company's old dashboards only gave attribution to the last click in the conversion path.

All that changed in May after rolling out a cross-channel model that turns attribution on its head. Higley said display ad impressions make consumers aware of products, then send them to search ads. Modeling the display ad impressions tells how each contributes to the impact on paid search.

OptiMine bids on the keywords across the Google display network. The impressions become another factor in optimizing paid-search campaigns by giving some insight into the display campaigns that require either increased or decreased bids.

Understanding the role of media is paramount. Bidding on it follows. Keywords are loaded in Google contextual display campaigns. When the network finds content related to the keywords, the display ads are served. It makes tracking and cookies technology of the past obsolete because it takes into account impressions across devices.

Consumers might research products on a laptop and buy on a desktop. This model enables marketers to target across devices, so no impressions are lost. The model enables Higley to determine the probable impact on search campaigns, organic and paid, for every display dollar spent.

The platform models the impact of those display impressions on a keyword-by-keyword basis. "Attribution models tell you how things are having an impact across channels, but now we know what to do with that information and how it will impact bids in display," Higley said. "I think this will become the new normal to model impressions." 

4 comments about "Display Impressions Optimize Paid-Search Campaigns".
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  1. Bob Gordon from The Auto Channel, June 28, 2013 at 11:31 a.m.

    THANKS - for 18 years we have been screaming that banners have been undervalued and publishers of real editorial content short changed in their CPM.

    When a potential customer is interacting with sought out content and a relevant banner pops up ....Just-in-time advertising that will be welcomed by the viewer as relevant and helpful... why did it take so long to recognize the value?

  2. Evan Rutchik from Yieldbot, June 28, 2013 at 1:26 p.m.

    Agree entirely, display banners haven't been getting clicks because more often than not display banners are not targeted properly. Put the ad in the right place at the right time and you will get a click driving conversion OR a high value impression driving a conversion.

  3. R.J. Lewis from e-Healthcare Solutions, LLC, June 29, 2013 at 6 p.m.

    Nice job, keep digging on attribution. We know display advertising works intuitively, but the "last click" attribution has always been short sighted. Keep improving your attribution models.

  4. David Koder from D Koder Marketing, July 3, 2013 at 11 p.m.

    Great work. I have seen studies before that keyword searches increase during and after a display campaign. Display advertising, like Evan said, comes down to the clients goals and how well your targeting to reach those goals in mind.

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