Google recently announced the availability of an additional metric to determine the success of your content network display ads in driving conversions. In simple terms, view-through conversion metrics are going to show you the number of online conversions that happened within 30 days after a user saw your content display ad but did not click on it. (Note this new feature is for content display ads only, no search ads or text ads.)
So how does this work? Say I am reading my favorite website and I see a display ad for a 50% off sale on running shoes. My son needs new shoes but I can’t remember his shoe size. So I make a mental note to confirm his size and come back later to order. Three days later I type in the URL of the site I saw in the ad and order a new pair of shoes. The original view was tracked through the AdSense cookie so Google knows a particular ad was displayed. When I return later (within 30 days) and go to the website that cookie determines that an ad was displayed previously and attributes my purchase to the display of the ad.
This gives one more level of data to determine the effectiveness of your ads. Previously you never knew if an ad displayed, but not clicked on, got the user to remember your name and come to your site later. It also provides another tool to determine if a particular site on the content network is beneficial to your goals. Maybe it does not convert on the first display but users come back later and convert. Those sites might have been blocked in the past as non-converting.
You will find the view-through conversion data in your campaign, adgroup, ad and keyword reports as long as you have conversion tracking implemented.
