Some say that one of the first ad trackers shifted focus to a ROI-based model back in 1996.
Online advertising used to be a bit of a guessing game. Advertisers had no way to track the performance of their banner ads and were forced to wait until a campaign was completed before analyzing results. That is until Doubleclick came along.
What is Doubleclick?
Doubleclick introduced D.A.R.T. (Dynamic Advertising Reporting & Targeting), which allows advertisers to track how many times an ad was viewed and clicked across multiple websites. The most impressive feature of D.A.R.T. was the ability to change a live campaign.
If an ad was underperforming, advertisers could remove it and devote resources to a better-performing website.
Many believe that we need to thank Doubleclick’s innovative approach to online advertising pricing, which shifted towards an ROI-based model. Cost per impression (CPM) became the new norm, and advertisers could finally track the performance of their banner ads with greater ease and efficiency.
What Happened to Doubleclick?
In 2007, Google bought Doubleclick for $3.1 billion and later incorporated and re-branded D.A.R.T. and other Doubleclick products to become the Google Ads in-house tracking tools.
Today, we take these tools for granted, but it’s important to remember the pioneers who paved the way for more effective online advertising.
How Do Ad Trackers Look Now?
Ad trackers have evolved and introduced many new features, on top of link tracking. For example, with Keitrao Tracker, you get an array of features and benefits:
- High-performance reports with detailed insights and over 30 built-in metrics.
- Local landing pages & a built-in editor to create and manage your landing pages seamlessly.
- Customizable Geo DB, which Includes IPV6 support for precise targeting.
- Click API/Admin API to enjoy remote control over your campaigns.
- A/B tests & multi-offer funnels to optimize your strategies for maximum success.
- Multi-user access so that you can customize permissions and track activities effortlessly.
- Seamless integrations with Facebook, TikTok, Google Ads, Cloudflare, Namecheap, and more.
If you’re curious to see the modern ad tracker in action, try Keitaro Tracker with a 14-day free trial:
See you in the advertisement!
