With so many terms, acronyms, and pieces of industry jargon to learn, running a digital campaign can be overwhelming. One of the most important parts of any advertising campaign is understanding reporting – both what the metrics mean, and how to use them to run more effective digital campaigns.

Metrics & Definitions

To help you grasp the basics of digital marketing and quickly analyze your campaigns, let’s begin with an overview of common terms in programmatic advertising:

1. Impression: It represents a single load of an advertising unit but does not guarantee an ad view.
2. Click: This refers to a user clicking on a banner or video ad, directing them to the advertiser’s website. However, a click doesn’t guarantee a website page view.
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR): Expressed as a percentage, CTR is the ratio of clicks to impressions, calculated as “clicks/impressions.”
4. Video Completion: This metric indicates when a user has watched a video ad from start to finish.
5. Video Completion Rate (VCR): VCR is the percentage of video impressions viewed to completion and is commonly used for reporting.
6. Video Quartile Completion: Denotes when a user has completed a certain quartile of the video, such as 25% or 75%.

You can find these metrics displayed on our self-serve platform, DemocraticAds.com, designed for down-ballot candidates. Interested in improving your digital advertising vocabulary across the board? Check out our eBook, The Definitive Digital Advertising Dictionary.

Acting on Reporting Insights

Now that you have collected your metrics, it’s essential to analyze them to maximize your digital marketing efforts. Here are some straightforward ways to understand and utilize metrics for campaign optimization:

1. Sustained drops in engagement signal the need for a creative refresh. If your engagement is consistently declining, it indicates that your creative is no longer resonating with the audience. In such cases, changing your messaging is the best course of action.
2. Video completion quartiles are valuable for identifying points where users tend to drop off from your video ads. Placing your call-to-action at the end of a video won’t be effective if most viewers don’t reach that point.
3. Consider the relationship between video length and completion rate. For instance, if 80% of viewers watch a 6-second video to the end, but only 50% watch half of a 30-second video, it means the second group is engaging more with your messaging. There’s no “right” or “wrong” approach, but this aspect is crucial to your video’s performance.
4. Continuously monitor your reporting metrics throughout the campaign. Utilize the day-by-day reporting visuals available on DemocraticAds.com to recognize when adjustments are needed. You can easily make changes to live campaigns if you notice underperformance.

Are you ready to launch your campaigns? If you have any questions about which reporting metrics to focus on, feel free to contact us! We’re here to help you succeed.