Frequently Asked Questions

• What is ClickEquations?
• Who should use ClickEquations?
• How does ClickEquations work?
• How much does ClickEquations cost?
• What are the requirements for ClickEquations?
• How does ClickEquations compare to other search management tools?
• How is ClickEquations different from my analytics software?
• Which search engines are supported?
• How do I tag my site for more data?
• What additional data do I get by using ClickEquations tags?
• How does ClickEquations Analyst work in Excel?
• What are the ClickEquations templates?
• What version of Microsoft Excel does ClickEquations Analyst support?
• Can I use ClickEquations on my Mac?
• What browsers are supported?
• How much history does ClickEquations store?
• How long does it take to get the initial data from the engines?
• How often does ClickEquations update my data?

What is ClickEquations? (top)

ClickEquations is an advanced paid search management platform that offers search professionals rich reporting, flexible campaign editing, and advanced bid management capabilities. ClickEquations provides a clear view of campaign performance, has advanced mathematics that allow you to go toe-to-toe with the engines, and prioritization to direct your efforts where they can make the most impact.

You start by connecting ClickEquations to your search accounts. If you use Google and Yahoo! conversion tracking you get some conversion data. And you get complete data and utility if you use ClickEquations tags (or tracking pixels) on your site, which we strongly suggest.

Once your account has been initiated, you can use the ClickEquations tool in your browser or ClickEquations Analyst in Excel to access and view all of your campaign data in a consolidated form with the ability to slice and dice any way you want or you can produce beautiful reports and dashboards from templates that you can customize in record time.

Who should use ClickEquations? (top)

ClickEquations is for anyone who manages paid search campaigns with monthly spend between $20,000 and $1,000,000+ per month. It provides easy yet versatile reporting for any advertiser who needs great reports and dashboards — whether you manage your own accounts or outsource to an agency. Most importantly, it’s a powerful tool for the serious PPC manager.

How does ClickEquations work? (top)

ClickEquations gathers data from the Google, Yahoo, and MSN paid search engines through their APIs. We get additional information from ClickEquations tags, or tracking pixels, that you put on your site and in the target URLs of your text-ads. We highly recommend using our tags since you get access to much richer data, but they are not required. The ClickEquations tags are compatible with DoubleClick‘s Floodlight, Channel Intelligence’s TrueTag, and other containers. We gather all of this data then each night we process it all and turn it into accessible and useful information for you.

How much does ClickEquations cost? (top)

We have transparent, no hassle pricing and there are no setup fees.  ClickEquations pricing is based on how much you spend on paid search advertising.  We charge a percentage of the total amount managed with the ClickEquations software.  Learn more about pricing.

What are the requirements for ClickEquations? (top)

To use ClickEquations all you really need are current Google Adwords, Yahoo SearchMarketing, or MSN AdCenter accounts. Just enter your login credentials for the campaigns you wish to manage and you’re off. But you gain tremendous value by tagging, or adding tracking pixels, to your site as well. ClickEquations supports three levels of tagging.

• No Tags (not recommended). If there are no conversion tags on your site you will have no conversion data (revenues, ROAS, etc.), or user data including search queries and geographic data.
• Search Engine Conversion Tags. If you have conversion tags/tracking enabled in Google and/or Yahoo, ClickEquations can access this data to provide conversion data and reports. But you still won’t have access to user data such as search queries, SKU-level sales details, ROI reporting, and geographic data.
• ClickEquations Site and URL Tags (recommended). If you add our simple conversion tags to your website and text-ad target URLs, ClickEquations can collect and report on all performance, economic, and user data. This level of tagging provides the maximum features and best results.

ClickEquations begins collecting data the same day you enter your search engine log-in credentials and your first reports will be available the next morning.

How does ClickEquations compare to other search management tools? (top)

ClickEquations is very different from other search management software because it was built by a unique combination of paid search practitioners and software entrepreneurs. We started out as a search agency and were so frustrated by the poor software available to us that we decided to build our own! Now you can use it too.

The difference is seen in hundreds of details, but some of the most obvious points are:

• ClickEquations Analyst. We spend our lives in Excel and we bet you do too. You already know how to use it, and you can create useful and beautiful reports in it. So we enable you to use Excel the way you want to — use it to slice and dice, or set up just the reports you want and update them with a push of a button.  Learn more.
• Web-based reporting. Our web application is fast because it gets you the data you need in the way you need it when you need it. No more merging and flipping across screens to see the data you want all in one place.
• Guidance. If you run large campaigns, one of the biggest challenges is finding that golden needle in the haystack. ClickEquations helps you surface the areas of your campaigns that need work, either to fix problems or to make the most of opportunities.
• Real metrics. We’re sticklers for the right math and statistics. So we do things like optimize to ROI rather than ROAS. And we show standard deviations, so you know whether the differences you’re looking at mean anything.

How is ClickEquations different from my analytics software? (top)

ClickEquations doesn’t try to replace your analytics software — you still need that to optimize your other channels and to understand user behavior on your site.

Which search engines are supported?(top)

ClickEquations supports Google, Yahoo!, and MSN.

How do I tag my site for more data? (top)

Tagging is a standard method for measuring web behavior. You simply place a bit of javascript on each page of your website (typically in the footer), and it tracks your users’ behavior on your site. When you sign up for ClickEquations, you will be directed to a site where you can download the javascript to add to your site.

If you already use DoubleClick‘s Floodlight, Channel Intelligence’s TrueTag, you can simply add the ClickEquations tag.

What additional data do I get by using ClickEquations tags? (top)

Beyond what we can collect through Search Engine Conversion Tags (basic conversion data), ClickEquations site and URL tags enable us to collect and report on all performance, economic, and user data including search queries, SKU-level sales details, ROI reporting, and geography.

How does ClickEquations Analyst work in Excel (top)

ClickEquations Analyst is an add-on to Microsoft Excel. Once you download and install it and you’ll see a button on your toolbar in Excel. Analyst pulls whatever data you want from ClickEquations into Excel and you’re off and running.

Analyst isn’t a simple download of your data, it works in concert with the ClickEquations servers to provide you with rich functionality in the familiar Excel interface

What are the ClickEquations templates? (top)

ClickEquations is unique in that it is designed to work in two worlds: a web application and Excel. ClickEquations Analyst provides you with standard templates that are preformatted and may include a wide variety of calculations and formatting. In addition to the templates that we’ve built for you, a number of luminaries in the web analytics and paid search field have created templates that you can download and use. And, maybe most exciting, you can share templates with other users.

You can modify any of the Analyst templates in any way, just using the standard features of Excel.

What version of Microsoft Excel does ClickEquations Analyst support? (top)

ClickEquations Analyst requires:

• Windows XP or Vista
• Microsoft Excel 2003 or 2007

Can I use ClickEquations on my Mac? (top)

Certainly, you can use ClickEquations’ web interface on your Mac. Unfortunately, today, ClickEquations Analyst only runs on Excel in Windows. So you’ll have to use Parallels and defile your machine with Windows to get the full power of ClickEquations.

What browsers are supported? (top)

ClickEquations works on all standard browsers:

• Internet Explorer 6 and 7
• Firefox 2 and 3 on Windows or Mac OS X
• Safari v3 on Windows or Mac OS X

How much history does ClickEquations store? (top)

ClickEquations maintains a rolling 13 months of data.

How long does it take to get the initial data from the engines? (top)

You see your first data in ClickEquations the morning after you sign up.

How often does ClickEquations update my data? (top)

ClickEquations collects data constantly, but it is not available for you to see until we process it overnight.