best way to measure print advertising?

whats the best way to measure print advertising when used for a website?

if you have www.www.com/advert but your brand is www.www.com then why will people even enter the /advert?

or is print advertising dead?

 

Print advertising is far from dead (though a great way to blow money if you are not careful)! Though tracking it sure is challenging. You could get a domain, just for your ad, and have it redirect to your main site.

 

The way you get them to use the exact URL that you want them to use for tracking purposes is to offer a special deal that they can only get at that URL. This way, you will get most of the people to go to that specific url and can track what they do from there.

 

I've done this a few times, but I just buy a new domain.

 

You could make page that has promotion or code on it and say they need that page to get price. Make sure not to link to it so it does not get listed in search engines

 

Unique URL that redirects to your site. Check stats for the unique url hits. Bingo.

 

thanks all

chris - thats a VERY important point there about making sure not to link to it....

so i understand the new domain is the way forward.

Thanks

 

Thanks to all that have posted in this thread it has been helpful.

I have purchase a second domain. This domain will be used in a mailer. Customers will type in the new domain name and then be redirected to the product page on the main domain.

What is the best way to do the redirect to ensure you capture the traffic in your logs(I am using Google Analytics) 301 or meta refresh?

 

I think meta refreshes now result in a google penalty (http://www.isitebuild.com/301-redirect.htm). I'd go with the 301.

I have also found through experience that mysite.com/promo is not a good method to use, the majority will simply visit your home page without typing in the rest of the URL!

 

Thanks for the reply!

I like the 301. I have used it many times when I have updated the url structure for a site. With the 301 the referring domain should show up in the Google Analytics reports.

The card that is being snail mailed will say go to www.newproduct.com to learn more.

Do you think it will be confusing for the visitor to type in www.newproduct.com and then end up on a page called www.mainsite.com/newproduct.html?

With a meta refresh I could put up a page (for 3 to 5 seconds) that informs the user of the redirection. Or will that be more confusing?

Thanks so much!

 

personally, I'd make the new URL *be* the promotion. Otherwise it might be confusing or suspicious.

 

I agree with you. However I am working with the plan my client has laid out.

The new domain will eventually be a site dedicated to just that product. We do not have time to create all the new information before the postcard hits the mail.

So I am trying to make the the best of a less than perfect situation.

I think the question comes down to: Is it better or worse for the viewer to see a page (for 3 to 5 seconds) that informs them they are being redirected to the companies main domain and page?

In your opinion is having the meta refresh better or worse?

Thanks!

 

A coupon code is the best option, also some retail sites ask customers how they heard of the site when checking out.

If you create a new domain, whose to say that your real URL will stick in their head?

 

I like the idea of having a coupon code to measure the success of an ad campaign.