What key performance indicators (KPIs) should advertisers focus on when analyzing view-through conversions?

When analyzing view-through conversions (VTCs) on Bing Ads (or any advertising platform), advertisers should focus on specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of their campaigns. These KPIs help determine whether the ads are influencing users to convert, even if they do not click on the ad directly.

Here are the most relevant KPIs to track when analyzing view-through conversions:

1. View-Through Conversion Rate (VTCR):
Definition: This metric represents the percentage of users who converted after viewing an ad but not clicking on it. It is calculated by dividing the number of view-through conversions by the total number of impressions.

Formula:
View-Through Conversion Rate (VTCR)
=
(
View-Through Conversions
Total Impressions
)
×
100
View-Through Conversion Rate (VTCR)=(
Total Impressions
View-Through Conversions
�
 )×100

Why It's Important: A higher view-through conversion rate indicates that your ad is effectively influencing users even without them clicking directly, which is critical for understanding the indirect impact of brand awareness campaigns.

2. View-Through Conversions (VTCs):
Definition: This is the total number of conversions that occurred after a user viewed your ad but did not click on it. View-through conversions are typically tracked within a predefined attribution window (e.g., 30 days).

Why It's Important: It directly measures the effectiveness of your ad impressions in driving conversions, giving insight into the ad's indirect influence on users' actions.

3. Conversion Value (for View-Through Conversions):
Definition: The total value generated by view-through conversions. This could include revenue from purchases, the value of leads, or other conversion actions like sign-ups or downloads.

Why It's Important: This helps to assess the financial effectiveness of your view-through conversions and ties the conversions back to actual business value. Understanding this KPI helps in evaluating ROI (Return on Investment).

4. Cost Per View-Through Conversion (CPVTC):
Definition: The cost of generating a single view-through conversion. This is calculated by dividing the total spend on the campaign by the number of view-through conversions.

Formula:
Cost Per View-Through Conversion (CPVTC)
=
Total Spend
View-Through Conversions
Cost Per View-Through Conversion (CPVTC)=
View-Through Conversions
Total Spend
�
 

Why It's Important: CPVTC provides insight into the efficiency of your campaign in terms of generating conversions. If your CPVTC is high, you may need to optimize your targeting, ad creatives, or budget allocation.

5. Impressions:
Definition: The number of times your ad was shown to users.

Why It's Important: Tracking impressions is important to understand the reach of your campaign. A higher number of impressions combined with a good view-through conversion rate indicates that the ad is likely having a broad influence.

6. Click-Through Rate (CTR) and View-Through Conversion Rate Combined:
Definition: The CTR measures the percentage of people who clicked your ad, while the VTC rate measures the percentage who converted after viewing the ad. Together, these two metrics provide a broader view of how your ads are performing both in terms of engagement and indirect influence.

Why It's Important: While CTR helps measure direct engagement with the ad, combining it with view-through conversions gives you a fuller picture of ad effectiveness across different stages of the customer journey.

7. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) for View-Through Conversions:
Definition: The revenue or value generated from view-through conversions relative to the amount spent on ads. It is a measure of the profitability of your campaign.

Formula:
ROAS for VTCs
=
Revenue from VTCs
Total Spend
ROAS for VTCs=
Total Spend
Revenue from VTCs
�
 

Why It's Important: ROAS helps evaluate the financial return of view-through conversions. A high ROAS means your ads are generating significant value even from non-click engagements, whereas a low ROAS suggests you may need to refine your targeting or creative.

8. Attribution Window and Conversion Path Analysis:
Definition: The attribution window specifies how long after viewing an ad the conversion will be credited to that ad. Conversion path analysis helps you understand the sequence of interactions (views, clicks, conversions) that lead to the final conversion.

Why It's Important: Understanding how long after seeing an ad a conversion happens (and whether a series of interactions contributes) can provide deeper insights into the effectiveness of your ad impressions and the role they play in the customer journey.

9. Engagement Metrics:
Definition: Metrics such as time spent on site, pages viewed, or bounce rate after users view an ad but do not click immediately. These can offer indirect indicators of user interest.

Why It's Important: These engagement metrics help measure the quality of traffic generated by the view-through impressions. For instance, if users spend more time on the site after viewing an ad, it may indicate that the ad influenced their decision-making, even if they didn't convert right away.

10. Frequency of Impressions:
Definition: The number of times the same user sees the ad over a set period. Frequency capping helps limit how many times the same person sees your ad.

Why It's Important: Monitoring the frequency of ad impressions helps ensure that your ads aren't overexposed to the same users, which can lead to ad fatigue and reduce the likelihood of future conversions. High frequency with low view-through conversion rates might indicate that you need to refine your ad targeting.

11. Ad Placement Performance:
Definition: Performance data segmented by where your ads were displayed (e.g., search results, Microsoft Audience Network, Bing Display Network).

Why It's Important: Understanding how ad placements affect view-through conversions helps you optimize your campaign by identifying which placements are most effective at influencing users indirectly.

Summary of KPIs to Focus On:
View-Through Conversion Rate (VTCR)

View-Through Conversions (VTCs)

Conversion Value (for VTCs)

Cost Per View-Through Conversion (CPVTC)

Impressions

Click-Through Rate (CTR) and View-Through Conversion Rate Combined

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) for VTCs

Attribution Window and Conversion Path Analysis

Engagement Metrics

Frequency of Impressions

Ad Placement Performance

By focusing on these KPIs, advertisers can better understand how view-through conversions contribute to their overall campaign success, assess the indirect influence of their ads, and optimize their strategies for greater impact and ROI.