The RMX Direct Analyze tab tool is the place to find all the reporting functionality for RMX Direct. This is my favorite part of RMX Direct. I like it for the same reason that people love spreadsheets–it gives you the power to understand complex things, to control your environment better, and of course, to control your revenue.

Our RMX Direct team gets the least amount of negative feedback from this area. Our users dig it. And I think that’s because almost everybody understands it the first time they see it.

At first, it was really tough trying to decide between which features and functions to stock there: simplicity vs. power. I think we hit the right combination, though: it works for our uber ad gurus and our online advertising noobs. And we want it that way because we also see this product as a way to educate web users (publishers to be, bloggers, etc.) about how well online advertising can work for them.

So, with this in mind, I had a talk with Cameron McNeeley, our ‘Support’n and Report’n’ person. You may have seen his posts in the RMX Direct internal forum. One of our old timers, Cameron offered to share some of his tricks to get the most out of the ‘Analyze’ Tab.

Cam started out by saying the following:

‘’Vince, I guess it all boils down to each detail for me when trying to ‘analyze’–rather than just checking my totals. So, this being said, don’t forget the details…’

Now, I am guessing that you already know how to check how close you are to hitting your network minimums, right? If not try this out:

1. Select, ‘All Combined’ for URLs, ad sizes, and regions.
2. Select the individual ‘advertising network’ you want to check.
3. Under revenue, select ‘MTD by Day’ (month to date by day).
4. Then check your revenue total.

Cam posed and answered a few more:

Question 1: How do you pinpoint a source of a question you want to answer with your activity in RMX Direct?

Answer: ‘’Looking at an aggregate view of all of your data doesn’t give you a detailed sense of what is going on. Dial it down to the finest details, especially if you are trying to research something that doesn’t seem right. If you are getting PSA’s, try running by size and country and you will usually find out where there is low revenue traffic affecting you.'’

Question 2: Just analyzing your site’s traffic is complex. And your operations occur over time–they aren’t static. How do you get a better picture of all of this?

Answer: ‘’Think over time. Use the details we’ve already alluded to but then tweak the time variables. For example, invoke the ‘by hour’ reports with the other details chosen to see exactly how something is performing at different times of the day.'’

Question 3: Your site touches people all over the world. How do you optimize this?

Answer: ‘’Look at the details of the geography. They can help give you a strategy of what type of ‘manage’ placement you might need to fill the gaps that aren’t being filled. If you notice that you aren’t getting paid well in a certain geography, are there other networks that you can add to boost your placement there? ‘’

Question 4: Your site uses multiple sizes that get variable rates. How does one optimize this kind of variation?

Answer: ‘’Look at the details by size. Looking at things by advertisers will help you determine if you are getting a good balance between your linked networks and placements. Who’s getting most of your inventory? How can you add more competition to that one? Make use of the different sizes.”

If you’re an RMX Direct member and you have more ‘analyze’ questions, don’t hesitate to drop a line about it in our internal forums. And if you aren’t a member yet, you can always request an invite.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006 at 2:55 pm and is filed under Direct Media Exchange. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.