Tracking offline marketing campaign with google analytics

Maze of Bill Boards, taken from Flickr. Credit to original creator Matthew Mendoza

In today’s age of digital marketing, is there a way Startup can leverage to plan and track offline marketing events. For example print advertising in the newspaper, magazines, participation in seminars and exhibitions etc. These events have a direct impact on the visit to website and resulting in more brand aware or/and eCommerce transaction.

First and foremost important step is to design a landing page, make the content very presentable. Now a days normally there is a single page landing designs with the details of the programme, a video teaser, a registration form and contact of the organizers.
- SEO Optimnisation: Landing page helps to generate more online interest if is it SEO optinised giving more brand presence and increasing participation in offline events.
- No SEO: If you would like to keep landing page only for offline tracking, then use the “No Index- Meta tags” in the header < meta name=“robots” content=”noindex” >
- Promotion in Social Media: Landing page can be easily promoted in the social media and linked to other pages offering presence, talk and PR for the same offline event
Link it to custom url– Make a custom url for the event for example if a company xyz is participating in digital marketing exhibition then URL can be www.xyz.com/dg2016. This custom URL can be used in all the print publication, radio, television or video. This was it is easier to remember and give a direct access to more information when comes to landing page. This can be used in a multiple ways
- You can buy a dedicated domain for the event and redirect to main website after registration
- You can send a direct email campaign and direct reader for (pre) registrations for reminders and avoid the queue at the off-line event or have a meaningful conversation by providing relevant information in one to one meet
- URL shortners- You can also use the url shortners to make it memorable, This can be used in billboards, magazine, newspaper, pamphlets or visiting cards. This is useful as you can tag the URL with the GA URL Builder. This will help you identify the source of the link.
Tag the links: There are 5 parameters in GA URL builder to track the campaign. Source, medium, Name, content, term. The last two are optional to fill in. You can also build your URL offline with this Excelsheet, it has in built formula to tag and generate the URL same as GA URL builder.

Download Sample EXCELSHEET for URL TAGGER

Add Goals to Track in Google Analytics: This is about tracking conversion of visitors to subscribers. Assume someone saw your advertisement in newspaper and saw the QR code or short url and subsequently used the same to visit the promotional landing page. He or she fills in the details for either appointment in the exhibition or request for a phone call, you can track the same through the Google Analytics.
- First design a conversion page for eg. a thank you page for registration
- Under the Admin (you will see in the top of screen of somewhere middle, it is 4rth in right from GA logo)
  - Click on Goals under the view section (I am using free edition of Google Analytics)
    Screen Shot Google Analytic Goals
  - Select the new Goal from top section, you can see I have added goals for login, registration, we will create a new one for the Exhibition registration
  - Google analytics provides some standard templates, we will use custom. Click on custom and continue
  - Under the custom template fill in the Goal Name (I have named it as Exhibition Registration). Select the destination and click continue
  - In the next Page as given below select destination equals to conversion page URL and click Save
Report Generation in Google Analytics: click on the reporting on the top bar (2nd from the Google Analytics loog). Check under Acquisitions > Source Medium , you will see the reports of the conversion happening for different sources.