• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 3, 2012

What do paid-search marketers do after all the tweaks and the optimization strategies are in place, and campaigns get reworked without continued significant results? adMarketplace execs believe they have found a way to gain better results for search syndication campaigns running outside Google and Bing through integrating post-conversion offline data into online metrics.

Post-conversion data can increase performance in search syndication. The concept, while simple, has been overlooked by many brands that depend on lead generation as a path to conversion, since marketers insist on keeping the data close to the vest.

Many are reluctant to share data with Google, fearing that bid prices will increase. While good online performance data from leads generate higher ROI, qualified post-conversion data from offline phone calls or one-on-one contact can generate more qualified leads for conversions online, especially when it comes to financial institutions that need to qualify consumer credit history or worthiness.

When CreditCards.com -- part of the Bankrate Online Network -- wanted to drive more credit card applications to qualified consumers, it used adMarketplace. An initial conversion rate of downloading the application can appear profitable, but the company must find the qualified applicants who can generate the real ROI.

CreditCards.com now shares qualified offline leads with adMarketplace to optimize paid-search ads across its syndication network. adMarketplace grew CreditCard.com's profitability more than 400%, while increasing lead volume by 600%, it reports. The two companies have been working together for about a year.

However, aside from CreditCards.com, only 15% of companies share post-conversion quality data with adMarketplace. Adam Epstein, the company's president and COO, expects between 50% and 60% to jump in within the next few months, based on the type of performance metrics it returns.