How to track the effectiveness of classifieds

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Content
We are developing a tracking system
Tools used
How to increase the return on classifieds?
Resume
How to properly track the effectiveness of placement in classifieds, what tools and metrics to use for this and how to increase the return? We asked these questions to both parties at once: representatives of the largest classifieds in Runet - Avto.ru and Yandex.Real Estate and their regular user - the head of the Internet marketing telegram customer service malaysia department at the company "Glavstroy" Dmitry Kubyshkin.

Classifieds, or bulletin boards, are platforms for buying and selling goods and services. Initially, transactions were made here between individuals, but the segment grew rapidly, and now more and more companies are turning to classifieds services: medical centers, car dealers, developers, etc.

For example, in the automotive sector, this channel for attracting customers is close on the heels of contextual advertising and SEO promotion.


We are developing a tracking system
The main difference between classifieds and other advertising channels is that they do not provide traffic, but clients who already have a real need to buy a product or order a service. Therefore, advertisers, as a rule, track not clicks on the site, but leads - calls, applications, chats or, as in the auto industry, direct traffic to the salon.


Roman Tsuper, Head of Commercial Services and Sales Group, Avto.ru

The main metric for the effectiveness of classifieds placement is the number of targeted calls. We at Avto.ru offer replacement numbers and statistics on them for free so that dealers always understand what exactly they are paying for and why. However, it is worth noting that more and more people prefer to communicate with sellers in chats (car dealerships should pay attention to this). We allow the use of this communication channel as well.

Another very important indicator of efficiency is direct traffic to the showroom (walk-in). Unfortunately, it is not always possible to measure it correctly. But it is necessary to measure it. Some dealers in Moscow tell us that with 10 calls they sell 100 cars using Avto.ru. How do they record this? Very simple. People come with printouts of Avto.ru ads, show the seller our application with specific cars or indicate in the questionnaires where exactly they saw the car.

In small towns, direct traffic from the Internet to showrooms is even greater. There are few dealers there, and some brands are sometimes available only from one seller. You choose a car on the bulletin board, look at the name of the showroom and go straight there - there is no need to call, because it's only a 5-10 minute drive to a familiar address.

For some companies, calls are the main metric for assessing the effectiveness of placement, so large classifieds offer them the “Pay for calls” format.


Evgeny Belokurov, Head of Client Relations Group, Yandex.Real Estate

In real estate sales, pay-per-call is a new tool, and most services provide it only for new buildings. Yandex.Real Estate makes this option available for the secondary market without exception.

We know that not all sellers achieve the desired results when working with classifieds. In order to save clients from irrational investments, the service takes on the selection of the optimal results that will bring clients to the ad. Payment for calls is a convenient and effective format of work. The service becomes interested in attracting buyers and works together with the client for the result.

This is confirmed by the results of our partners, with whom we have already tested a new form of monetization: the luxury real estate agency Penny Lane increased the number of calls by 2.5 times; the share of calls from Yandex.Real Estate at the NDV agency reached 29.1%; the Gradomir group of companies recorded an increase in indicators by a third.

When working with classifieds on a regular basis, it is better to immediately develop a system for tracking the effectiveness: define clear KPIs for viewing an ad, the cost of a call, a request for viewing, a contact, a sale. You can evaluate the indirect influence of a classified on the completion of a final transaction (for example, when a visitor saw an ad, followed it to the site and made a conversion there) using the " Associated Conversions " report.



Dmitry Kubyshkin, Head of Internet Marketing Department at Glavstroy

Classifieds do not generate traffic to the site and have almost no effect on brand recognition, its main goal is to generate calls. At the same time, “hot” calls, since ads are monitored by clients comparing specific apartments, that is, much closer to buying than those who surf housing estate sites, studying concepts.

Accordingly, according to classifieds, we analyze the cost/quantity of calls and their quality depending on the adjustments of ads in the downloaded feeds. And, of course, we track further conversion into deals, but this is already within the framework of the analysis of associated conversions and quality control of application processing.

Sometimes the impact of classifieds is quite difficult to assess: for example, as in the case of cars, when clients immediately come to the showroom. Dmitry Kubyshkin spoke about the additional impact of classifieds in the real estate sector.

Dmitry Kubyshkin, Head of Internet Marketing Department at Glavstroy

The secondary value of a classified for a developer is its presence in the client's information field. For example, a client has formed his top 3 projects, from which he chooses an apartment, but cannot buy it now or has not yet decided. But from time to time he goes to a convenient classified and compares prices/product range between projects from his top 3. Ultimately, he will buy by calling his sales manager. It will not be possible to measure the influence of a classified in this case, but nevertheless, it is necessary to place an offer on it a priori.

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Tools used
To work with classifieds, advertisers increasingly engage contractors or use listing services. In addition to optimizing and automating placements, these services provide efficiency analytics: you can see which sites work and which don’t, which positions bring in money and which only waste the budget. In the automotive industry, the most popular services are Maxposter, CarOperator, TradeDealer, etc.

Roman Tsuper, Head of Commercial Services and Sales Group, Avto.ru

The choice of a contractor depends on the budget and business goals. There are companies that specialize in the placement of new and/or used cars. The highest quality service is provided by agencies that focus on classifieds services. At the same time, network agencies of a wide profile often do not pay enough attention to classifieds.