Measuring and monitoring online advertising is much easier than measuring traditional advertising campaigns. Because you can track every click on every search ad, banner ad and link, you can effectively measure, monitor and evaluate which online ads are working and which ones are not. Once you know what works and what doesn't, you can better determine where you should be spending your money online. Follow these four steps when measuring and monitoring online ads:

1. Use the free measurement tools provided by search advertising giants like Google and Yahoo.
2. Purchase software that can help keep track of online ad campaigns and provide comprehensive reporting.
3. Hire an online advertising marketing firm to oversee your online advertising budget and monitor results.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Google and Yahoo's free tools

The biggest online advertising outlets are Google AdWords and Yahoo search ads. Both offer online advertisers targeted search marketing to reach specific audiences. The pay-per-click search ad model they offer comes complete with online monitoring and measuring tools. All you have to do is sign in and pull your reports.

I recommend: Use Google Analytics and Yahoo's Marketing Console to track the performance of your online campaigns.

Software helps track ads

If you have multiple online ad campaigns running simultaneously, you may end up spending more time monitoring each campaign than running your business. Fortunately, there are a variety of software solutions that can help track every online advertising dollar you spend and monitor results.

I recommend: Use NetTracker Web Analytics or JAZreturns to help monitor online campaigns. Find a list of over 25 software solutions at ClickZ.

Hire a firm to monitor and measure ads

As a business owner, your most valuable asset is your time. Using a reputable firm that can monitor and measure online ads is the same as having your very own online advertising staff, but without the personnel costs.

I recommend: Let BigBrushMedia, SmartSearch B2B or SendTraffic help monitor and measure online ads.

Use an online advertising calculator

It's impossible to monitor and measure online advertising results if you don't know what a click is worth. Once you determine how much you have to spend on an online advertising budget, you can better determine what a pay-per-click ad is worth to you, depending on what the lead will cost.

I recommend: Use ClickZ's Online CPM Calculator to determine the costs, cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM) and the number of exposures when figuring your online ad budget.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The worst thing you can do when creating an online advertising campaign is not monitor it.
• •  Don't just measure your online advertising. Keep track of your site analytics to see how online advertising is affecting Web traffic.
• •  Monitor everything from click-through rates to conversions to the success rate of each search ad.
• •  Monitor and measure online advertising results at least once a month.
• •  If you use Google AdWords, take creative direction from the ad with the highest click-through rate.