Setting Up a Meaningful Data Structure / Information Hierarchy

In any tracking and reporting tool, a well-defined data structure is crucial for ensuring clear, accurate, and actionable insights. A proper information hierarchy not only organizes the data effectively but also helps streamline reporting across different channels and partners. This document outlines best practices and recommendations for structuring your tracking data, ensuring that internal rules and conventions are consistently applied. Consistency in data collection and reporting is essential, especially when comparing performance across various traffic sources. Adhering to these guidelines will help you create meaningful, comparable, and reliable reports that drive better decision-making.

1. Channel

Purpose: The top-level classification that groups all related data under a broader marketing or business initiative.
Examples: Email, Social Media, Paid Search, Content, Organic Search.
Information Captured:

• High-level marketing or operational channels.

• Enables grouping for high-level performance analysis and strategy comparison.

Why It’s Important:
This level gives you a bird’s-eye view of how different channels are performing, providing insights on which are most effective in achieving overall business goals.

2. Category

Purpose: A more specific breakdown of the Channel, designed to differentiate types of efforts or campaigns within the same channel.
Examples: Social Paid, Display, Content, Price Comparison, Incentives, Display.
Information Captured:

• Different campaign types or categories within a broader channel.

• This helps refine the analysis, providing a better understanding of where the budget and efforts are allocated within a channel.

Why It’s Important:
It allows you to dig deeper into specific campaign types, uncovering more detailed performance data.

3. Sub-Category (Equivalent Medium)

Purpose: Further segmentation within a category that defines the medium through which the campaign is delivered.
Examples: Content → Consumer Guides and Bloggers, Display → Regargeting, Paid Search → Brand Traffic.
Information Captured:

• Mediums within a particular category, such as social or search platforms.

• Helps refine targeting and performance reporting across specific platforms.

Why It’s Important:
It helps in identifying which granular categories within a channel are delivering the best performance and where optimizations are needed.

4. Partner: Company (Equivalent Source)

Purpose: Identifies the partner or company driving traffic or sales.
Examples: Affiliate partners, Influencers, Paid media vendors.
Information Captured:

• Source of traffic (partner, publisher, etc.)

• Affiliate or third-party partners who are directly responsible for driving leads or sales.

Why It’s Important:
Partner-level reporting helps measure individual performance, making it easier to manage partnerships and determine who is delivering the best ROI.

5. Adspace: Business Model/Activity (Equivalent Source)

Purpose: Defines the business model or activity related to the partner/source.
Examples: One partner (company) can have a Price Comparison, a Newsletter and a Social Media Channel
Information Captured:

• Payment or performance models tied to individual partners.

• This level provides clarity on the business relationship and how partner performance is tracked and compensated.

Why It’s Important:
Differentiating business models at this level allows for more accurate financial analysis and budget allocation.

6. Creatives Set: Theme/Campaign (Equivalent Campaign)

Purpose: Content dimension: Groups a set of creatives that follow a particular topic or are part of a specific campaign.
Examples: Summer Sale Campaign, Black Friday Promotion, Flights, Hotels, Rental Cars
Information Captured:

• Topic-level or Campaign-level creative sets.

• This level helps track the performance of entire creative efforts for specific promotions or messaging themes.

Why It’s Important:
You can compare the success of different creative approaches and identify the ones driving better engagement or conversions.

7. Creative: Format, Detail (Equivalent Term/Creative Format)

Purpose: Breaks down the specific format and details of a creative within a set.
Examples: Banner, Text Link, Product Feed
Information Captured:

• Specific creative formats used in campaigns.

• Additional details like message variations, copy, or visual elements.

Why It’s Important:
Helps pinpoint which creative formats resonate most with your audience and are performing best.

8. smc1: Detail (Equivalent Term)

Purpose: Captures additional reporting details related to placements or user data.
Examples: Ad Placement, Keyword
Information Captured:

• Any specific reporting elements that help refine performance analysis.

Why It’s Important:
Provides granular insights into user behavior or ad placements, helping in optimizing future campaigns and ad strategies.

9. further smc2 - smc6

Purpose: additional information, e.g. unique identifier for tracking clicks or engagements.
Examples: ClickID
Information Captured:

• ClickID or unique identifier used for tracking individual interactions (this is internal and typically not part of public-facing reports).

Why It’s Important:
Allows any additional information that is provided by traffic sources or partners that you may need to analyze with conversions or performance.