The Marketing Measurement Round Up: Edition #43

Welcome to another edition of In The Loop: The Marketing Measurement Round Up 👋

What you can expect from this newsletter: As a marketer, you know that measurement is essential to success. But with so many different metrics, data points and tools to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start. That's where In The Loop comes in. Each week, we'll deliver the latest marketing measurement trends and best practices to help you measure your marketing effectiveness and improve ROI.

From our perspective

Here’s a question we get a lot:

“What’s better for measuring marketing performance – multi-touch attribution or marketing mix modelling?”

The truth is, both have their strengths:

MTA pros:

• Tracks individual user touchpoints
• Easy to get started with minimal data (though more data = better insights)

MMM pros:

• Offers big-picture insights into your marketing performance
• Uses reliable, independent data to measure effectiveness
• Covers offline channels like TV and radio
• Super privacy-friendly (ideal with today’s cookie restrictions and tighter privacy regulations)

A key thing to remember? 

No single method will give you the full story. That’s why combining MTA and MMM is a game-changer.

MTA digs deep into user-level interactions (like clicks), showing the details of the customer journey. MMM models broader trends, balancing the picture with insights on offline and upper-funnel activity. 

Together, they give you historical perspective, future forecasting, and a fairer look at your marketing channels. 

Add in incrementality testing to validate what’s really driving revenue versus what’s just capturing existing demand, and you’ve got a winning combo.

Don’t limit yourself to one measurement method. There’s no rulebook here—use what makes sense for your brand.

The latest in marketing measurement

ChatGPT’s search surge: 1% market share predicted by 2025

ChatGPT could snag a 1% share of the search market by next year. Jim Yu , the Founder and Executive Chair of BrightEdge , told Search Engine Land that “for the first time we can see a trajectory where ChatGPT could cross the magic 1% market share threshold sometime next year.”

On the flip side, Rand Fishkin , CEO and Co-Founder of SparkToro , recently estimated ChatGPT’s search market share to be around 4.33%, using data from SimilarWeb and Datos (a Semrush company).

Our thoughts:

Even with the slight difference in percentages, it’s clear that ChatGPT is becoming a contender in the search domain. Back in May, 6% of our leads mentioned they heard about us through ChatGPT. 

This trend isn’t just changing how search engines drive traffic and leads organically—it’s also adding another platform for marketers to keep an eye on.

Marketers will need to factor in this growing source of leads and set up the right tracking measures to understand its impact where possible, whether it's through self-reported conversions or more advanced tracking methods.

Google Ads tests AI-powered reporting tool

Google Ads is rolling out a beta feature that uses AI to simplify report generation, letting advertisers create custom reports by typing natural language prompts.

The AI-powered reporting tool simplifies data analysis, saves time, and makes insights more accessible, enabling faster and more informed decision-making for campaign optimisation. By allowing you to “describe the report you want to generate,” it reduces the need for manual setup and enhances efficiency.

Our thoughts:

An AI-powered reporting tool sounds like a step in the right direction. One of the biggest complaints we hear from marketers is that most reporting tools only provide retrospective data and don’t offer actionable insights, leaving them to figure out the next steps on their own.

That said, a couple of things come to mind. Since it’s a Google-owned product, there’s a good chance it’ll be biased—prioritising its own platforms for optimisations and budget recommendations, while ignoring other channels in the mix. But we all know the customer journey is complex, involving multiple touchpoints across different channels that all contribute to the final outcome.

Another issue is Google’s attribution limitations. While the tool will likely include metrics like conversions and ROAS, it will still be stuck with a 90-day lookback window. If your sales cycle is longer than that, important data could get left out, leading to skewed results and potentially poor decisions.

Content we think you'll benefit from

• 5 TikTok reporting analytics tools for 2025

TikTok’s high impression volumes and changing privacy rules can make it tough to track conversions directly. With the right TikTok analytics tools, you can get more control over your data and better insight into what’s working.

• Scaling your business to $1m+ with Daniel Reilly

Daniel Reilly , Co-Founder of Ruler, sat down with Alan Riddoch , MD of Agility Communications , to talk about his journey—from starting a digital marketing agency to building a successful SaaS business with seven-figure recurring revenue.

• The best B2B acquisition strategies according to expert

Diego Alamir highlights effective B2B customer acquisition strategies, expert tips, and common pitfalls to attract and convert high-value clients.

Just for fun

Remember, one data point is just a tiny slice of the marketing measurement pie.

(Or, if you're Michael Scott, one slice of the family-sized marketing measurement chicken pot pie.)

Don’t get stuck on just one piece—or you’ll miss the bigger picture.

This is our final newsletter for 2024! The Ruler team wishes you a happy festive season 🎄

We'll be back in 2025 with more measurement tips and updates, straight to your inbox. See you then 🚀