The framework classifies individual marketing activity, from high-level channels down to low-level keywords, with specific recommendations associated with each. One visualization of Logan Tod’s process looks a little like this:

So, if you can work out how much money you spent on any particular ad channel and how much revenue it generated, you can figure out just what to do next. But, identifying the latter is incredibly difficult. That’s why Adrian Nash, Head of Analytics and Insight at Logan Tod, welcomes the opportunity to work on clients with TagMan.

Speaking at TagMan’s second client event, TagMeet 2, Nash told the assembled throng: “Whenever a client says they have TagMan, I always say ‘great’ because it provides a great data source for us to work on.”

TagMan data enables Logan Tod to see how much revenue any online channel contributed to, not just in terms of being the last click, but throughout a customer’s path to conversion. This means a channel’s revenue contribution can be assessed much more fairly, particularly those channels that tend to be more effective ‘upstream’ of the last click.

But, the level of complexity that Logan Tod is applying to understand, report and recommend based on this kind of reporting boggles the mind.

Nash combined sweeping insight such as “it is better to be precise than accurate” (because precision is repeatable) with ultra-practical advice. For example, he explained that the path-to-conversion data in some tools doesn’t report anything over 30 days from the last click, which, based on recent Google research, indicates that up to 30% of research behaviour prior to a sale may be missed; “in those cases the first click isn’t the first click at all, it’s actually in the middle”.

He then explained how Logan Tod produces complex scorecards to rate the effectiveness of channels and applies predictive models to test how different mixes would affect return on ad spend.

In all, Nash’s session showed the level of expertise that can be applied to the data TagMan provides. However, using attribution data, Logan Tod recommends clients start with something simple:

Since using TagMan data makes it very simple to value every channel’s revenue contribution as first touch or last touch, advertisers can ask new questions of their marketing strategy and campaigns. If activity tends to appear only as the last touch before a conversion and doesn’t play a role further up the conversion path – is it’s role being overvalued or vice versa? TagMan data contains the information required to perform simple analysis like this through to more complex attribution modelling and ensures that there is a very low barrier to entry for clients wishing to use attribution to improve the performance of their marketing.

Current technologies that track consumers’ behavior when browsing the Web are often dropping cookies on users’ browsers unbeknownst to them (secret data collection). And that’s what’s causing all the alarm and changing tide toward enabling consumers to opt out of being tracked.

For marketers and etailers this movement sounds like a no-win. But it isn’t. As Angus Glover, Chief Privacy Officer at TagMan recently wrote on MarketingProfs:

Through use of tag management and other opt-out mechanisms, marketers can live up to the opt-out promises that various laws and regulations around the world require, while continuing to use tracking systems that do not require such opt-outs. Tags, cookies, data collection, and sharing are at the heart of the privacy problem. By leveraging a system that allows marketers to control all data-driven vendors in one place, they can ensure that best practices are met across the board.

Tag management systems not only help marketers and agencies comply with regulations, independent tag management systems (vendor agnostic platforms) allow marketers to remove or replace vendors (retargeting, social widgets, data collection, tracking, affiliates, analytics, etc.) who don’t meet their privacy policies. With a full universal tag management system, like TagMan, consumers can opt out of third-party behavioral targeting, while still being tracked by first-party site analytics. Marketers can control the data collection process, gain trust from the consumer by offering them to opt out, and still collect relevant data.

Image: By Pininfrna (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

You guys at Ghostery recently released a study of the top third-party content that was slowing the Internet down in the US, highlighting the top 10 lagtags. Is there a large dropoff after those top 10?

I wouldn’t call it a large dropoff. It’s a gentle slope. We see a 4000 millisecond load time in spot 11 and it trends down after that. You have to look in the 20s before you get below 2000 milliseconds. It’s actually when you get to about spot 19 that you see a latency number that dips below 2000 milliseconds.

Why did Ghostery conduct this research to measure tag speed and page-load times?

There are a number of issues involved here. But first let me say that Ghostery’s core goal and mission is to provide transparency and education to the average Internet user. They have a misunderstanding of what’s happening during their browsing experience and that publishers are perhaps trading off data for content. The user doesn’t get that embedded objects on a site are affecting their browsing experience. So for the user it’s, “Not only am I surrendering data that I’m unaware of, but my experience is being affected by my interactions with these third-party elements.” Again, our goal is to educate users, not to cast dispersion on companies controlling tags. Users have never heard of any of these companies before. They’re not even aware of what they do, because they’re not named or disclosed by the site. We just want to show that there’s an ecosystem behind these services and our goal is to help users better understand.

What type of elements cause higher latency in terms of tag and page speed?

There are mainly two issues when it comes to higher latency. First, there are complicated functions such as heavy flash animations that take a long time to load, or it could be keywords used for targeting advertisements on a site. But it could also be the company’s server that’s incapable of handling all of the functions and traffic coming to the site. So it’s a function in the tag itself or the infrastructure built around the website. And they’re not mutually exclusive either. If your tags are more robust you need a more robust infrastructure to service them.

Have page speed and tag latency become hot topics among companies with an online presence?

Page load has been an area of concern for web developers since the dawn of the web, especially since no one has ever created a real solution for many of these issues causing the problem. As new technologies develop, the concern becomes greater. How much are we willing to give up in latency as a trade off for using these new technologies that capture data about site visitor’s behaviors? The topics remain continually relevant. These are issues that we’ll never be able to ignore.

In your study, you mentioned that the top 10 slowest tags don’t disclose how long they retain your data or who they share it with. How is this related to latency?

Typically, Ghostery users are concerned with privacy. Tag latency is a secondary concern. For the web publisher, it’s a double whammie in terms of risk factor: not only do they not disclose how data is shared they’re slowing the page down. If users understood how the data collection might provide value to them or to the web publisher, they might take a hit on speed. But it’s difficult for users to make a positive decision when disclosure is withheld.

Do you think it’s important for companies to invest in site performance?

There are multiple reasons why companies should, but it all gets back to the user. Latency is a direct indicator of user satisfaction. It’s important for web publishers to both collect valuable data about users and to provide users with excellent service. It’s a high price to pay when you start to compare the value of using the necessary technology to collect that valuable data versus the value of latency. Especially since it’s hard for publishers to measure things out in the wild. At Ghostery, we don’t drop tags on websites nor or we a media-based web company that is using a lot of these third-party tags and widgets. We’re objective, impartial observers looking closely at the tech vs latency tradeoff.

What’s important to note in this discussion is the finding from Aberdeen Group that says  a 1-second delay causes a 7% loss in conversions, that could mean up to 10% of sales lost, just thanks to slow-loading tags. TagMan can speed up advertisers sites and vendors tags through our smart tag loading features and vendor services. For more information on our vendor program, contact  partners@tagman.com.

Speaking at TagMan’s most recent client get together TagMeet 2, Silsbury said: “It’s going to be a pig of a year.” And none of the other retailers in the room looked ready to disagree.

So what does Glasses Direct plan to do about it? Given its focus is online, then drive its online channels hard. Efficiency is the overriding mission. But, that doesn’t mean the company isn’t prepared to invest to get as lean as possible. Silsbury has a couple of things in mind:

1. Data unity: Getting all his marketing data in one place so he can learn to optimise his spend against entire user journeys, not channel-by-channel
2. Conversion: Maximising things like site speed to make sure that any customers that do get to his website, buy – and buy big – before they leave

Both these causes are part of his justification for implementing TagMan at Glasses Direct. The system will be used to enable Silsbury and his team, including long-time TagMan user Oli Elliott – formerly of online clothes retailer Boden – to track the entire online path to conversion of customers and attribute credit for sales much more fairly across the channels that made a contribution.

Silsbury is also one of the first to use TagMan v3, the newest version of the software, which includes several world-first features to lighten the load that tracking tags place on websites, and speed up his website. Silsbury said initial tests showed a 25-28% decrease in page load speed.

“We are obsessed with site speed,” he said. “Apart from the obvious impact on user experience and site conversion, it is part of how Google ranks your website.”

Silsbury has committed to TagMan for other reasons too. He explained how “tagging is an unnecessary distraction” that hampers his team’s ability to implement new technologies and campaigns. Tag management enables them to focus on the things that matter.

But, the biggest challenge is attribution. Silsbury is keen to distinguish the use of attribution tools for understanding user journeys better and for optimising campaigns.

He explained: “For me it’s important to distinguish attribution from optimisation. We mainly use TagMan’s attribution data for reporting, but we want to optimise paths-to-conversion, not individual channels so we use ‘assisted views’ [reporting that shows when a channel appeared anywhere in a user’s journey to a sale] to optimise. The Unique User ID assigned in the system enables us to see any user’s complete path to conversion and so see how all channels work together. It’s important to know that investment in one channel may see the conversion take place in a completely different one.”

Silsbury stated that in reverse to the above, there are very real financial efficiencies to focus on too and attribution should be used to deduplicate and ensure that you are paying the right party for its part in a sale. Using email and affiliates as an example, Silsbury’s argument is that if a customer has been sent a Glasses Direct email, then they can’t be considered a customer 100% driven by the banner they clicked on [up to] 30 days earlier. He wants to focus affiliates on customer acquisition and therefore not pay 100% where email is present in the path. Silsbury was quick to add though that “this is not a money saving tactic, more a way of reinvesting the saving in areas like paid placements, which do deliver genuine value from the affiliate space.”

Silsbury closed by stating that the ultimate goal is “getting to a fractional model, where split percentages can be applied to individual channels dependent on their importance in the path.”

“Ultimately it is a question of understanding, as Oli puts it, the ‘golden combinations’ that drive sales. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting there.”

The truth is, consumers aren’t visiting social networks to do their shopping. A recent simplyZesty article reported that Forrester found that the conversion rate for Facebook stores was equal to that of standard e-commerce stores, at between 2-4%, while also attracting traffic of between 1-10% of the total fan base rate.

For smaller shops, the return on setting up a social shop definitely seems minimal. But when it comes to socializing e-commerce sites, there’s a greater reward. ADWEEK recently reported that, “revenue per click from shoppers arriving via social media links is $5.24, versus the $3.18 per click spent by email shoppers, according to analytics company ClearSaleing.” Adding that, “‘Share’ and ‘like’ buttons help drive traffic since click-through rates for news feed links are vastly higher than for Facebook ads.”

Using “Facebook Connect,” on e-commerce sites, such as Levis and Ticketmaster, has also aided in adding social to e-commerce that doesn’t seem awkward or forced. If a friend chooses to share shopping habits, then the consumer can see what they’re buying or liking right at the point of the transaction or search on the e-commerce site which ultimately influences their purchase. Shoppers are relying more and more on social to inform their shopping decisions and to form relationships with retailers.

So, how can e-tailers get ready for the social commerce wave?

1. Ensure the loading speed of social plugins won’t stop consumers from completing the sale
2. Ensure you know the true effects of your campaign with path to conversion reporting

Here’s how TagMan can help:

1. While some e-tailers still have concerns about using social plugins because of added page-load time, TagMan’s Smart Tag Loading functionality can significantly improve page speed.
2. With path to conversion reporting, TagMan helps marketers fully realize customers complete path to conversion by housing all the tags from all channels in one place and enabling clients to see actually where and how different campaigns appear in and contribute to the path to conversion. One TagMan client was able to demonstrate natural search delivered 14 times more than previously credited for (Social media and SEO massively undervalued: study)

Finally, measuring the value and interplay between social and search becomes a greater reality with a tag management system.

Jim Sterne at the TagMan Booth at eMetrics New York

We recently caught up with Jim Sterne, the Founder of the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit to talk about what happened at the event in New York and what’s happening in the industry overall.

Q:  What were some of the a-ha moments of eMetrics New York for you this year?

A: We are actually maturing as an industry. More and more presenters are talking about how they are integrating data from multiple data streams in order to drive business strategy instead of lamenting how they wish they could. More senior people are consuming the insights bubbling up from analysts. More analysts are reporting into Finance — a huge step forward. Analysts are moving into more executive senior roles as organizations recognize their unique grasp of the inner workings of the company and the behavior of their customers.

Q: We’re moving into a hyperdata era of real-time analytics and big data. What do you think this will mean for analytics and performance?

A: Analysts and optimization professionals will be even more necessary as even more competitive advantage is mined from hyperdata. The ability to monitor sentiment in real time, the ability to respond to sudden shifts in subject matter interest and the ability to leverage predictive analytics across large datasets will continue to put analysis and performance into the spotlight.

Q: Are you surprised by the growth in tag management in the US since TagMan first made its US appearance at eMetrics DC 2009?

A: I am not surprised by the growth in tag management. One company had a tag management offering at eMetrics in 2008 and attendees were very interested. Everybody I encountered lamented their trials and tribulations with tagging. But that firm was unsuccessful at explaining their solution.

When TagMan appeared, people were hopeful that it would deliver — and it did. Now, tag management is seen as a solution for a clear and present problem and those who are not using it are considered a step behind.

Q: Do you see this growth as a fad or a trend?

A: I see this growth as an inevitability. Why would a company not use a content management system, a web analytics tool, word processing, spell check or tag management?

Q: What are your thoughts on the future of tag management?

A: Tag management is one of those necessities that is so manifestly valuable that it will be folded into digital property development and management systems. These systems will include rudimentary tag management functionality, license third party tools or be deemed substandard.

Jim Sterne is pictured above at the TagMan booth at eMetrics New York. He’s driving the Tag Speedway, where eMetrics participants were given the opportunity to test their own speed at slot cars, test their website speed (courtesy of Catchpoint) and road test TagMan. With TagMan site speed is instantly improved, as our smart tag loading features solve the problem of slow-loading tags through conditional tag loading, parallel tag loading, synchronous tag acceleration, and tag killing.  

Now we’re taking a look at the benefits and shortcomings of each of these tag management solutions in terms of the internal effort required in relationship to whether all vendors are fully supported. (See image above)

As you can see, employing a full enterprise TMS requires the least internal effort with 100% of vendors fully supported. 100% vendor support means you can even manage other types of tags (container and universal), but it doesn’t work the other way around. Meanwhile, near the other end of the scale, a Container Tag solution requires quite a bit of internal effort, but only around half of all vendor tags are supported and they don’t work very well with web analytics. A full TMS ensures campaign and conversion tracking, and most important, a speedy page-load time. Why would you even consider another solution?

This despite evidence that shoppers are becoming increasingly social, with 58% of online consumers having “followed” a retailer through Facebook, Twitter or a retailer’s blog.

While e-commerce sites generally feature less shareable content than publishers, we have to wonder if online retailers, whose conversions are so vulnerable to page-load time, are especially wary of the extra load time accompanied with installing social plugins. If these e-commerce sites are missing out on a valuable opportunity due to concerns about extra load time, they might want to talk with TagMan about our Smart Tag Loading functionality built into our latest release.

After a frustrating experience while attempting to purchase tickets from Virgin America’s website, Mehdi at Catchpoint ran a test to determine what was effecting the page-load time. The culprit, he found, were 49 unique hosts not delivering the content he needed to purchase his tickets. He said, “They were all tracking pixels for ads/marketing and analytics tags.”

More and more, websites are becoming littered with third-party tags that are negatively impacting the user experience. Marketing needs the tags to work, but the IT department doesn’t have the time to update or test the tags. This is yet another reason to research and invest in a tag management system. If visitors aren’t hanging around your site to complete purchases or engage with your content, you’ll end up not having any campaigns to track.

With synchronous tag acceleration, TagMan can preload dependent third-party script resources so that pages don’t have to wait to fetch the tag while executing. TagMan can also time out tags that aren’t loading fast enough, so that the user experience isn’t impacted.

To learn more about TagMan’s Smart Tag Loading features, watch this video.

Evolution of Tag Management

As JavaScript tags for tracking a website’s campaigns become increasingly complex, every marketer longs for the holy grail of tag management to solve their problems and give them freedom and control.

And while Tag Management Systems (TMS) are emerging as the leading solution in the space now, they weren’t the first.

Let’s take a closer look at the tag management solutions that emerged over time–from pixel piggy backing to a container tag to the universal tag, and finally to TMS.

Pixel Piggy Backing
Pixel piggy backing involves customizing a third-party image tag or code — for each page of your site — that sets cookies in a user’s browser to track their behavior.

While this method has been known to provide real-time data for publishers and advertisers, its customizations can be just as complex — if not more complex — than implementing JavaScript tags. Page-load time also increases, as the pixels are often placed on the bottom of the page.

Container Tag
Likewise, a container tag also sometimes further complicates site tag implementation. Since its third-party code loads an in iFrame (also often at the bottom of the page) there’s an increase in page-load time, turning away site visitors and affecting ranking in Google and other search engines. Most important, container tags only work with about 50% of vendor tags. And they won’t play very well with your web analytics systems.

Universal Tag
Given its name, the universal tag has been heralded as the great hope of tag management.  What you get with this tag is one single code–that directly loads scripts into the page–to capture data from all other data sources. It’s essentially one code format that many vendors have to agree to so that all data can flow through the one source. Sure, this solution can save time and cost, but it can result in being locked in with one vendor (often a web analytics vendor).

Tag Management Systems
Tag Management Systems (TMS) take the concepts of the universal tag and the container tag one step further. Acting like a content management system for all site-wide tags, TMS enables placing all tags–including container and universal tags–into one system. The application deploys just one snippet of code on each page to manage them all, and instead of serving all tags on all pages at all times TMS only serves tags as needed. Furthermore, advertisers and agencies can manage all third-party data collection services in one place, ultimately reducing the need for IT as a resource, improving quality control, and expediting the go-live time for new and updated tags and campaigns.

We’re living in a data-driven age, where marketers need to prove ROI. They’re reliant on tracking systems that end up littering websites with pixels, tags, and widgets. Because of this, the need for a tag management solution is becoming more critical. Investing in a solution now will eventually save you time and money.