UPDATE: Nearly two in five CMOs say their biggest challenge is “integrating and tracking multiple channels,” according to a recent survey by Aprimo and Argyle Executive Forum. In light of that finding, I thought I’d reprise a column that I wrote last year and use it to discuss correlating relative ROI (define) across channels like TV, print, radio, and online banner ads.

Lift in search volume for particular terms – like non-generic brand names – is useful because it indicates that the target customers not only saw the ads, but also remembered them and then took action. It is a better metric than those that only estimate whether ads were even seen or heard – i.e., reach and frequency-based metrics. This even works well for online banner or branding campaigns because it is not the click-through from those ads that we are concerned with, it is the lift in search volume that indicates interest and intent. The habit of search by modern users is now commonplace; as they all go online to look for additional information before making a purchase decision, we now have a universally applicable metric to correlate the effectiveness (and thus the relative ROI) of advertising across channels.

What about absolute ROI? We’ve got that covered too. Beyond lift in search volume, with proper analytics on online destinations, advertisers can track where customers came from, calculate how many took desirable actions like completing a purchase or printing a coupon (for items purchased offline). With these metrics, advertisers can correlate with other known data such as conversion rates of coupons, etc., to derive real-world ROI, scientifically. Obviously there are nuances and caveats, but if applied carefully these methods can help CMOs overcome what keeps them up at night.

Read More:  How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising

Erik_SontumClickZ: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising. http://bit.ly/ardDy5 via @tomtsinas #merkevare

acfou@clickZ How to calculate relative ROI across channels using lift in search volume #ROI #IntegratedMarketing - http://bit.ly/g5FUu

Carroll_PowellRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

hilloupayjouRT @travelwithdayo: Solid article on how to use Search to Calculate Ad Awareness ROI: http://bit.ly/aHqGQV #SEO #Advertising

iamgfcRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the #ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

jumpcurveRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

SthdesignRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT

lawton_chilesRT @TomPick: RT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

RobHerremaRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

chead95Good article, but Search misses other brand relationships – RT @clickz Using Search to Calculate ROI of Awareness Ads-http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

doughayRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

mobiaconRT @eMarketer: “How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou”

ADMAFORUMRT @dpletikosa: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising http://www.clickz.com/3633054

dpletikosaHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising http://www.clickz.com/3633054

KristenShueRT @TomPick: RT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

TomPickRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

joskouiHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising. #Search, #ROI, #Marketing, #Advertising http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

followtorontoRT @tomtsinas: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising | http://bit.ly/ardDy5

vidaimaginariaHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou @eMarketer

conversionationHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://ow.ly/1QSFR – very interesting for the integrated thinkers

micheleguidoRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

ChrissyZhouLeverage search marketing to boost up your bottom line http://www.clickz.com/3633054

AdvertisingPRCalculate the #ROI of Awareness #Advertising through #Search http://bit.ly/99y2HG

pweiderholmRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

oleagaRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

travelwithdayoSolid article on how to use Search to Calculate Ad Awareness ROI: http://bit.ly/aHqGQV #SEO #Advertising

kingstonjrGreat article. RT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

telerobRT @digeratti: RT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

digerattiRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

tomtsinasHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising | http://bit.ly/ardDy5

AgeSluisRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

Slingshot_SEORT @eMarketer How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

gailtwistRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

pathamilton3How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG

iancsouzaUsando mecanismos de buscas para ajudar no cálculo de ROI de publicidade tradicional. Útil! http://bit.ly/99y2HG (via @eMarketer e @acfou )

micklalalaHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou via @eMarketer

cxdigitalRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

IdeaViewsRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

NASinsightsHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

Lisa_CorcoranRT @eMarketer How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

RobertoCarrerasRT @eMarketer: How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

eMarketerHow to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising - http://bit.ly/99y2HG RT @acfou

jrmostellerRT @clickz How to Use Search to Calculate the ROI of Awareness Advertising – ClickZ http://bit.ly/7zp3FE

acfouCMOs bemoan inability to track ROI across channels - http://bit.ly/bAM4gu; lift in search volume can solve that - http://bit.ly/g5FUu