The Economics of Online Marketing

The “What did I spend on advertising?” side of the equation is straightforward. The ad venue sends invoices; your accounting department tallies the funds you paid during a period.

But make sure the cost figures you use to compute efficiency match actual invoices paid. Some agencies and advertisers estimate costs via their own in-house click counts and average cost-per-click (CPC). These click and CPC estimates can differ from the authoritative costs provided by the search venue. Conduct occasional audits to ensure that the cost side of your online reports ties to your online ad bills.