Google recently released some interesting data gathered from anonymous mobile users with location history enabled, stating that ‘This holiday season, mobile will influence more purchases than ever’.
If you think about it, the revelation that 82% of smartphone users are going to be using their phone while in store isn’t surprising. Consider how you use your phone daily – in front of the tv, sat at your laptop, maybe while wandering the supermarket aisles? Well, it seems you’re not alone.
Winning micro-moments
In the world of digital marketing, the term ‘micro-moments’ has been coming up more and more often, and Google’s worked to enable Estimated Total Conversions across devices so we get a more accurate picture of just how online advertising is driving conversions. Insight into the many forms of conversions (store visits, phone calls, downloads, sales) helps to optimise and focus online advertising, and reveal ROI.
So yesterday, Google announced that we’ll now be able to better track offline store visits:
“… advertisers can get a more detailed view of offline measurement with the ability to breakout store visits at a keyword or ad group level, and the ability to view visits by day, week, or month to better inform bidding and campaign strategy.” – Google Adwords on G+
Offline Analytics. The store foot traffic index gives an idea of how people shop during the holiday season, and patterns of behaviour for different store types. Not all stores have the greatest foot-fall on Black Friday:
Which ads impact foot-fall?
This is the first time we’re being provided with data that helps us understand which keywords are influencing in-store conversions. Bidding can even be adjusted to fall inline with the afternoon’s peak shopping period:
Local Search
We’ve banged on about the importance of Local SEO and how local businesses can capitalise on ‘on the go’ searches before, but being able to truly measure the impact of ad spend on offline conversions will show just how much budget your business should be assigning to these sorts of activities.
Store visit conversions are only available to certain advertisers. Find out if you qualify by reviewing the requirements here.
