Three measurement tips that go beyond last click

So you’ve launched your Pinterest ad campaign—and now it’s time to monitor performance. Before you sit back and relax, make sure you’re using the right tools to measure your success. If you’re only using third-party site analytics or last click solutions to measure your campaign, you’re not going to get an accurate read on performance.  

Last click analytics only assign credit to the platform that drove the final interaction before a purchase. But there are so many other potential touchpoints along the way to a purchase. If you only rely on last click analytics to define success, you won’t learn how other steps of the marketing journey are impacting your results.  

To capture the true impact of your Pinterest campaign, you’re going to need a more holistic approach. And we’re here to help. Here are three quick tips to take your measurement strategy beyond last click: 

1. Set a longer attribution window

People who use Pinterest are planners. They often start thinking about purchases well before making them, so they don’t click “buy” right away. In fact, 75% of Pinterest conversions happen a week after ad exposure.¹ So if your attribution window is too short, your data is incomplete. 

Get a better picture with a longer attribution window. Expanding your window helps capture the actions that influenced a decision earlier in the customer journey. If you work with a Pinterest account team, they can help advise on the right attribution window for your business. If you don't currently have a Pinterest rep, you'll find custom attribution window recommendations for your account right in Ads Manager. This will help you get the best view on your specific audience, and when they tend to convert.

2. Use advanced solutions to see cross-device impact  

Site analytics solutions typically only account for conversions that happen in the same browser, device and session. But the path to purchase is rarely that linear. Someone could see an ad on one device, then finish the purchase on a different one.

We’ve got some fixes for that. Enhanced match ties actions on your website to people on Pinterest, even when there’s no Pinterest cookie present. So, for example, you could tie a purchase on your site to someone who saw your ad on Pinterest earlier in their purchase journey. 

Enhanced match helps you understand how your Pinterest campaigns are driving actions that may occur across different devices or browsers. When possible, we also recommend setting up the Pinterest API for Conversions to reduce dependencies on browser data and improve matching.

3. Record each and every view 

On Pinterest, ad views play a critical role in the purchase journey. Many measurement solutions don’t account for views, but the Pinterest tag does. It helps capture views across people’s sessions, browsers and devices. This is incredibly useful, especially on a visual platform like Pinterest. In fact, our research shows that up to 95% of conversions captured by the Pinterest tag are based on views.²

Take control of your campaign measurement

Measuring ad performance isn’t a simple task. But if you use the wrong solution, you’ll end up with inaccurate results. 

These three tips are a great start to gain more insight into what’s really going on. And remember, Pinterest analytics helps you keep an eye on real-time data. Once you’ve set up your campaign and measurement strategy, make sure to keep an eye on those dashboards. From there you can tweak, refine and optimize.