Frequently Asked Questions

A container tag simplifies the method of tagging your site by allowing you to place a single tag across the pages you wish to track and then manage any 3rd party tags within the container tag User Interface. This prevents web developers having to be involved every time you wish to add or take away a tag on your site and stops duplication in sales reporting.

Find out how this could benefit you in Storm Container Tag.

De-duplication refers to eliminating duplicate or redundant information. It is a key concept in sales reporting as it prevents erroneous information. In the case of using affiliate marketing it prevents commission being paid more than once for the same sale.

Storm automatically de-duplicates sales using the Container Tag.

Behavioral targeting uses information collected on an individual's web-browsing behavior, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made, to select which advertisements to display to that individual.

The problem many sites have is that behavioral targeting is driven by web tracking, achieved though tracking tags, which can be a lengthy and error-prone process. See how Storm overcomes this with the Container Tag

Online marketing evolves so quickly that new tracking tags are constantly being developed and whilst implementing these is not difficult, it takes times and has to be implemented by developers who often can't keep up with marketers' needs. To prevent this you would use a 'container tag' on the site, which then allows you to manage your tags without having to change site.

For more information on Storm's tracking solutions go to Storm Container Tag

Remarketing (or re-targeting) is a hot topic in Digital Marketing. And by using Storm it is possible to track Google remarketing campaigns.

All of the clicks, impressions and cost data is collected in the same way as any other PPC campaign from Google, so you can report on it in exactly the same way. All you have to do is add your Google re-marketing campaign into Storm.

We also recommend that if you align your Adgroup name with your audience name, you will be able to report and analyse the value of the audience by using the Adgroup.

Read the case study on how Virgin Holidays generated £62,000 during a 6 week trial of remarketing here.

Storm Container Tag makes adding new campaigns easy - regardless of where they originate. You don't need to re-tag your site or involve any developers.

We don't think of ourselves as an analytics provider, as our tools are designed to give killer insights, tracking and attributing value to all the visits your website users make on their journey to sale. So, whilst the data provided by Google about website usage is undoubtedly valuable, it doesn't address the same business needs we do.

Contact us to find out more about what you need.

Storm Container Tag takes the hassle and time out of deploying third party tags, allowing you to manage them all via one central interface.

Future-proof your website by adding our tracking code once, and then never re-tag your site again, whichever 3rd parties you use.

Contact us to find out more.

The Site Tracking Tag is a unique JavaScript library that contains all of the code and functions required to log a page view, sale or other elements that the tag is capable of tracking.

See how this is used in the Storm Container Tag and view Storm's tracking solutions.

A container tag simplifies the method of tagging your site by allowing you to place a single tag across the pages you wish to track and then manage any 3rd party tags within the container tag User Interface. This prevents web developers having to be involved every time you wish to add or take away a tag on your site and stops duplication in sales reporting.

Find out how this could benefit you in Storm Container Tag.

Behavioral targeting uses information collected on an individual's web-browsing behavior, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made, to select which advertisements to display to that individual.

The problem many sites have is that behavioral targeting is driven by web tracking, achieved though tracking tags, which can be a lengthy and error-prone process. See how Storm overcomes this with the Container Tag

Storm Lite is an HTML tag that allows you to track PPC traffic to your website if it does not allow 3rd party JavaScript tags.

HTML image based tracking solution that uses the tracking.dc-storm.com cookie for storing visit and user data. StormLite will only track traffic that has been redirected through one of our jump servers and is currently only available for PPC traffic.

Read more about our various tracking solutions in Storm Tracking.

The tracking accuracy is between 90% and 95% (5% of browsers have javascript disabled or do not support it - click here for more info)

Read more about Storm Tracking.

Generally there is no degradation of user experience. Clearly it takes time to load the tracking JavaScript, however the file is very small - around 12kb. The script used ensures the file is available before loading and we use a global CDN (Akamai) to deliver the file - this minimises the impact. Estimated load times are less than 100ms.

In the unlikely event that a tracking tag fails to load, the tracking process will exit so that your site will still display properly.

Read more on Storm Tracking

It is possible to track Mobile Ads that are delivered to your mobile device. The ads are tracked in the same way that anything else is tracked. Keywords are used to generate the ad impression and as long as the keywords have been updated with Storm landing tracking parameters, then the ad can be tracked to keyword level.

The target website must load fully in the browser on the mobile device and the javascript must execute for the tracking to work successfully.

If you have a seperate mobile site then Storm can track across multiple domains and custom tracking sources can be added at anytime. See Storm Tracking for all of the options.

Within Storm you can set custom tracking options because we realise that many users have vastly different requirements.

You can track internal site searches, flash video, on-site events other than conversions - exit links, newsletter signups, competition entries and just about anything else. Storm also tracks users over multiple site visits and can link by user login to track them from different locations.

See how Storm Tracking can help you and how it is used in Storm Reporting

Remarketing (or re-targeting) is a hot topic in Digital Marketing. And by using Storm it is possible to track Google remarketing campaigns.

All of the clicks, impressions and cost data is collected in the same way as any other PPC campaign from Google, so you can report on it in exactly the same way. All you have to do is add your Google re-marketing campaign into Storm.

We also recommend that if you align your Adgroup name with your audience name, you will be able to report and analyse the value of the audience by using the Adgroup.

Read the case study on how Virgin Holidays generated £62,000 during a 6 week trial of remarketing here.

There are hundreds of web analytics is solutions on the market, many of them free. Why should I buy DC Storm?

1. Web analytics solutions are very good at providing onsite analysis for helping increase onsite conversion, however they don't provide insights on what caused your users to visit your site in the first place. Or to come again second, third, fourth or whichever time round. DC Storm's campaign tracking helps site owners to understand the influence of all visits and all marketing channels on the users's decision to purchase.

2. Some web analytics tools claim to be able to provide sale attribution and click path analysis. In reality this is an afterthought for the tool and you normally have to run special reports to get to this often over simplified data. In DC Storm click path and sale attribution is at the heart of the solution.

If you're not sure, then contact us to find out if Storm is suitable for your needs.

The Storm Platform tracks every channel, including your display and banner advertising campaigns.

Storm Container Tag provides a unique approach to action allocation, so you can easily identify exactly how much your display campaigns contributed to the conversion.

Yes! The Storm Platform tracks all channels, including all Social Media or networking sites.

We can identify if your Facebook PPC campaign is delivering results for instance, or provide insights into how much Facebook contributes to conversions.

Get in touch to find out how we can help you.

Yes! The Storm Platform tracks all channels, including Twitter and all other Social Media sites.

Contact us to find out more.

Yes! The Storm Platform tracks all channels, including LinkedIn and all other Social Media and networking sites.

Contact us to find out how we can help you.

Storm Container Tag makes adding new campaigns easy - regardless of where they originate. You don't need to re-tag your site or involve any developers.

We don't think of ourselves as an analytics provider, as our tools are designed to give killer insights, tracking and attributing value to all the visits your website users make on their journey to sale. So, whilst the data provided by Google about website usage is undoubtedly valuable, it doesn't address the same business needs we do.

Contact us to find out more about what you need.

Most web analytics providers give information on what happens on your website. Our tools are designed to give killer insights, tracking and attributing value to all the visits your website users make on their journey to sale.

Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Yes! We track everything, including your onsite conversions, and tell you exactly how much influence all your marketing channels and visits had on the conversion.

You can read more about this in the Storm Tracking section.

Yes! The Storm Platform tracks all channels, and allows you to attribute value to all of them on the website goals, including email.

Contact us to find out more.

Our technology tracks everything, and whilst it can tell you a figure for how many impressions your webpages have had, there is little real value in this information, and it doesn't help you to optimise your digital marketing.

The Storm Platform gives you the insights that really matter, allowing you to create brilliant optimisation strategies for all your marketing, and helping turn impressions into conversions.

Contact us to find out more.

A page view is a single view of a webpage on your site.

This is logged by the Storm Tracking and shown in Storm Reporting

A visit is any continuous sequence of page views on your site, from any traffic source.

Storm tracks every single site visit from all online traffic sources to the highest accuracy, including: PPC; natural search; email; display; and social media, and tracks down to individual site visits, user sessions and on-site actions.

This is a key concept and is used across the whole Storm Platform.

A landing is an initialization of a traffic source, or when a user lands on your website after clicking one of you pieces of marketing for the first time. For example, a user clicks on a banner ad and enters your site, or clicks on a PPC ad and enters your site.

A landing is not counted if a user enters your site directly – such as entering the URL in the browser or via a bookmark. This would be counted as a visit.

This is a key metric for Storm Reporting, as a landing allows you to better see the value and impact of your digital marketing activities.

Traffic Source names the source a user has used to enter your site. For example it could be a Google PPC ad, banner ad or from a link on twitter. Each time a user clicks on a traffic source to enter your site then it is logged as a landing.

Storm can track all types of traffic sources and even has the option to add as many of your own as wish, all within the Storm Platform

An impression is counted whenever your PPC ad has been displayed at the search engine.

See this in context in Storm Optimiser.

A Bounce is defined by a user entering your site and then exiting after viewing only one page.

Bounce rate can be used to measure the effectiveness of your entry or landing page, alongside other things. Find out more in Storm Reporting.

The click path is the sequence of links a user follows to get to your site. Within Storm, analysing the click path allows you to see the history of the landings a user has made to get to your website.

You can look at a variety of different attributes of the 10 most recent landings e.g. Traffic Source Type, Referrer, PPC Keyword, Search Term. This functionality allows you to look at the information presented in a more suitable format for general analysis in Storm Reporting 

Equity share, also known as sale or action attribution, is Storm's framework for attributing the value of each sale to the online channels that drove it. The attribution is based on all the visits to the site that lead to the sale and not just attributed to one channel.The rules for this are configurable and can be optimised based on product and website attributes.

For more information read our solution to Sales Attribution and see how it is used in Storm Reporting

Within Storm you are able to convert the currency to any you choose. Currency conversion allows you to convert both sales and search engine data into one common currency. This can be set at either the agency level or for each individual site.

You will then be able to see both your converted currency and your local currency within the reporting. Currency conversion also benefits multi-currency PPC optimisation with a common currency measure.

You are also able to set a default timezone at the site and agency level.

Find out more about how this is used in Storm Reporting and Storm Optimiser

Storm Data Integration allows any compatible external data to be uploaded into the platform for reporting and optimisation. Offline data can be key to your online activities; sales can be affected; stock numbers can dictate CPC spend (and vice versa); and order margins and currency conversion rates can drastically affect the way you view your data. Any platform that claims to offer an accurate measure of performance must be able to take these into account.

Find out how Storm tackles Data Integration.

Any existing campaigns or campaign data, both online and offline, can easily be integrated into the Storm Platform, and is available for reporting and optimisation just like any other channel.

Most web analytics providers give information on what happens on your website. Our tools are designed to give killer insights, tracking and attributing value to all the visits your website users make on their journey to sale.

Contact us to discuss your requirements.

PPC stands for Pay Per Click and it is a form of advertising, where the advertiser pays the host every time the link is clicked.

See how Storm Optimiser can help you get the most from your advertising.

Storm has a framework for attributing the value of each sale to the online channels that drove it. The attribution is based on all the visits to the site that lead to the sale and the rules for this are configurable and can be optimised based on product and website attributes.

See Storm's approach to Sale Attribution.

Within Storm it is possible to upload external data, including information like actual profit margins, which are often only available after the sale has been made. Once the margins have been uploaded they are then attributed to the correct marketing channels using the attribution rules of the site. By using this method you can get the most accurate information on the ROI of your digital marketing activities, which can be used for reporting and optimisation.

Find out more about Storm's Sale Attribution.

Storm Data Integration allows any compatible external data to be uploaded into the platform for reporting and optimisation. Offline data can be key to your online activities; sales can be affected; stock numbers can dictate CPC spend (and vice versa); and order margins and currency conversion rates can drastically affect the way you view your data. Any platform that claims to offer an accurate measure of performance must be able to take these into account.

Find out how Storm tackles Data Integration.

We are not a PPC agency, but Storm Optimiser was originally built as a PPC optimisation tool.

Whilst the Platform now tracks all channels, the insights it provides help you to improve your keyword and optimisation strategy, and achieve better results for your campaigns.

Our Client Services team can offer help and guidance on building an appropriate optimisation strategy for your business.

We're not a digital marketing agency, however the Storm Platform provides insights into the success of digital marketing campaigns which can be used to help direct campaign planning.

If more help is required, then our Client Services team can offer expert advice on using the Platform to develop winning optimisation strategies.

Any existing campaigns or campaign data, both online and offline, can easily be integrated into the Storm Platform, and is available for reporting and optimisation just like any other channel.

Storm Data Integration allows any compatible external data to be uploaded into the platform for reporting and optimisation. Offline data can be key to your online activities; sales can be affected; stock numbers can dictate CPC spend (and vice versa); and order margins and currency conversion rates can drastically affect the way you view your data. Any platform that claims to offer an accurate measure of performance must be able to take these into account.

Find out how Storm tackles Data Integration.

The simple answer is any data! Because all businesses are different, we designed the Storm Platform to be as flexible as possible. This includes allowing clients to upload their own data, which may be essential for effective optimisation of their digital marketing. Once integrated, external data is treated just like any other field and is available in all reports for optimisation.

See how the Storm Platform tackles Data Integration

Storm Professional is DC Storm’s online accreditation course. It is a series of video tutorials with examinations and those who pass become accredited by Storm.

Find out more about Storm Professional

To become Storm certified you must pass the Storm Professional training programme. This consists of 6 core courses and then your choice of 2 specialist courses. Storm Professional is taught and assessed online, using video tutorials. Once you become Storm certified you will have access to Storm Professional Expert-led Sessions (SPEX), which are bespoke training sessions based on your data.

Organisations with 2 or more accredited users become Storm Qualified.

Find out more information about Storm Professional

Our Client Services team are devoted to providing the best service possible, and part of this is offering bespoke consultancy. Our experts work hard to understand the specific needs of our clients' businesses.

Sessions are usually focused on ensuring the Storm Platform provides the best solution possible, but we can help with things like developing an appropriate optimisation strategy. Sessions even make use of client data to ensure an immediately positive impact.

Yes! We already work with a number of first class digital marketing agencies. Find out how the DC Storm work with digital agencies to deliver better results and service for their clients in the Storm for Agencies section.

You can also read the case study on how Propellernet saved time with the Storm Platform here.

We're not a digital marketing agency, however the Storm Platform provides insights into the success of digital marketing campaigns which can be used to help direct campaign planning.

If more help is required, then our Client Services team can offer expert advice on using the Platform to develop winning optimisation strategies.

Any existing campaigns or campaign data, both online and offline, can easily be integrated into the Storm Platform, and is available for reporting and optimisation just like any other channel.

Storm Container Tag takes the hassle and time out of deploying third party tags, allowing you to manage them all via one central interface.

Future-proof your website by adding our tracking code once, and then never re-tag your site again, whichever 3rd parties you use.

Contact us to find out more.

Storm has a framework for attributing the value of each sale to the online channels that drove it. The attribution is based on all the visits to the site that lead to the sale and the rules for this are configurable and can be optimised based on product and website attributes.

See Storm's approach to Sale Attribution.

Within Storm it is possible to upload external data, including information like actual profit margins, which are often only available after the sale has been made. Once the margins have been uploaded they are then attributed to the correct marketing channels using the attribution rules of the site. By using this method you can get the most accurate information on the ROI of your digital marketing activities, which can be used for reporting and optimisation.

Find out more about Storm's Sale Attribution.

De-duplication refers to eliminating duplicate or redundant information. It is a key concept in sales reporting as it prevents erroneous information. In the case of using affiliate marketing it prevents commission being paid more than once for the same sale.

Storm automatically de-duplicates sales using the Container Tag.

Equity share, also known as sale or action attribution, is Storm's framework for attributing the value of each sale to the online channels that drove it. The attribution is based on all the visits to the site that lead to the sale and not just attributed to one channel.The rules for this are configurable and can be optimised based on product and website attributes.

For more information read our solution to Sales Attribution and see how it is used in Storm Reporting

We don't think of ourselves as an analytics provider, as our tools are designed to give killer insights, tracking and attributing value to all the visits your website users make on their journey to sale. So, whilst the data provided by Google about website usage is undoubtedly valuable, it doesn't address the same business needs we do.

Contact us to find out more about what you need.

A Bounce is defined by a user entering your site and then exiting after viewing only one page.

Bounce rate can be used to measure the effectiveness of your entry or landing page, alongside other things. Find out more in Storm Reporting.

A conversion is counted as a landing turning into a success. You can have one conversion per landing but can have multiple sales. Within Storm, conversions can be set by you at the point of tracking and can be counted as any successful action on your site, such as a sale, signup etc.

The Storm Platform has flexible conversion options to use in reporting and optimising, because we realise that no two businesses are the same

There are hundreds of web analytics is solutions on the market, many of them free. Why should I buy DC Storm?

1. Web analytics solutions are very good at providing onsite analysis for helping increase onsite conversion, however they don't provide insights on what caused your users to visit your site in the first place. Or to come again second, third, fourth or whichever time round. DC Storm's campaign tracking helps site owners to understand the influence of all visits and all marketing channels on the users's decision to purchase.

2. Some web analytics tools claim to be able to provide sale attribution and click path analysis. In reality this is an afterthought for the tool and you normally have to run special reports to get to this often over simplified data. In DC Storm click path and sale attribution is at the heart of the solution.

If you're not sure, then contact us to find out if Storm is suitable for your needs.

We are not an SEO agency, but the Storm Platform can track all online channels, which includes natural search.

The insights it provides could help you to build your keyword strategy, and onsite content, which all help to improve your search engine rankings.

We are not an SEO agency, but Storm Tracking can track all online channels, which includes natural search.

The insights it provides could help you to build your keyword strategy, and onsite content, which all help to improve your search engine rankings.

The Storm Platform tracks every channel, including your display and banner advertising campaigns.

Storm Container Tag provides a unique approach to action allocation, so you can easily identify exactly how much your display campaigns contributed to the conversion.

Our technology isn't an 'out of the box' solution, with one price for every client. Instead, we work to provide our clients with a tool which is specific to their business requirements and our rates vary according to this, being based on the number of events we track.

Contact us to discuss your needs.

Our Client Services team are devoted to providing the best service possible, and part of this is offering bespoke consultancy. Our experts work hard to understand the specific needs of our clients' businesses.

Sessions are usually focused on ensuring the Storm Platform provides the best solution possible, but we can help with things like developing an appropriate optimisation strategy. Sessions even make use of client data to ensure an immediately positive impact.

We are not a PPC agency, but Storm Optimiser was originally built as a PPC optimisation tool.

Whilst the Platform now tracks all channels, the insights it provides help you to improve your keyword and optimisation strategy, and achieve better results for your campaigns.

Our Client Services team can offer help and guidance on building an appropriate optimisation strategy for your business.

Any existing campaigns or campaign data, both online and offline, can easily be integrated into the Storm Platform, and is available for reporting and optimisation just like any other channel.

Most web analytics providers give information on what happens on your website. Our tools are designed to give killer insights, tracking and attributing value to all the visits your website users make on their journey to sale.

Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Our technology tracks everything, and whilst it can tell you a figure for how many impressions your webpages have had, there is little real value in this information, and it doesn't help you to optimise your digital marketing.

The Storm Platform gives you the insights that really matter, allowing you to create brilliant optimisation strategies for all your marketing, and helping turn impressions into conversions.

Contact us to find out more.