Below is a walkthrough video to show Paid Search Best Practices for brands.

Walkthrough Video

👍

Recommended Dashboard Settings:

• Attribution Model: Clicks Only (Search campaigns won’t get View credit)
• Attribution Window: 1 Day
• Accounting Mode: Accrual Accounting
• Granularity: Daily
• Time Period: Month to Date
• Time Comparison: Previous period
• Filter by: Which platform you want to look at
• Breakdown by: Platform & Category

TL;DR

Here are key metrics to use:

• Spend
• New Customer % (unique to Northbeam)
• ROAS (1-Day Window)
• Auction and softer funnel metrics (secondary but helpful)

Compare platform vs. Northbeam data:

• Do not compare branded vs. non-branded performance OR different channels side-by-side without context
  • Instead, evaluate each tactic independently.
• Expect differences between Google-reported ROAS and Northbeam's ROAS due to:
  • Cash snapshot vs. Accrual performance differences
  • First-Time Customer focus
  • Adjustment for Multi-Touch and Cross-Channel impact

When to make decisions:

• Between Day 14 and Day 60, use Northbeam to find where in-platform data and Northbeam data are different.
• Lean into campaigns where Northbeam shows stronger performance, even if platform data suggests otherwise.
• Always apply your normal scaling and optimization rules, but trust Northbeam's view when directional differences show up.

In your first few weeks, your goal is to find pockets where Northbeam disagrees with the ad platform and trust those differences when making optimizations so you can start really seeing a difference.

Please reach out to your Paid Media Strategist, Customer Success Manager, or [email protected] if you have any questions.