Resources · Guides

Measure what your ads bring through the door.

Practical guides for marketers who run many locations: measuring extra customers by channel and industry, designing tests that give a usable answer, and turning the result into a budget decision.

Featured guide

TestingIncrementality testing for multi-location businesses, step by step: pick a test design, size it, run it by market and read extra customers per location.Read the guideBy The Countlift team · · 11 min read
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Guides

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Written for operators and marketers at restaurant groups, fitness clubs, hotels, practices, med spas, home services and retail.

Measurement · 10

MeasurementWhy click attribution misses in-store sales — and what to measure insteadAd platforms report the clicks they can see. Multi-location brands get paid at the counter. Here is where click attribution goes wrong for physical locations, and how to measure incremental customers by market instead. · 7 min readRead guide →
MeasurementHow agencies can prove local ad results to multi-location clientsHow agencies can prove local ad results to multi-location clients: report extra customers by location from the client’s own data, with ranges, in every QBR. · 10 min readRead guide →
MeasurementBaseline sales vs incremental sales from advertising: how to tell them apartBaseline sales vs incremental sales from advertising: what each means, how the baseline is estimated, and how ads take credit for sales they didn’t cause. · 8 min readRead guide →
MeasurementFranchise ad fund reporting: how to show franchisees what the fund did for their locationFranchise ad fund reporting to franchisees that builds trust: show spend, delivery and extra customers per location, with honest ranges and a one-page report. · 10 min readRead guide →
MeasurementMarketing mix modeling vs incrementality testing for multi-location brandsMarketing mix modeling vs incrementality testing for multi-location brands: what each answers, the data each needs, and how to use both to move budget. · 12 min readRead guide →
MeasurementHow to measure the lift of a limited-time offer across locationsHow to measure the lift of a limited-time offer across locations: hold some stores back, count the post-offer dip, and split the offer’s effect from the ads. · 9 min readRead guide →
MeasurementMulti-location marketing reporting: what to put on the dashboardMulti-location marketing reporting: what to put on the dashboard, what to leave off, and how to show extra customers per location so people act on it. · 9 min readRead guide →
MeasurementPerformance Max store visits vs actual sales: what the number really meansPerformance Max store visits vs actual sales: how Google models store visits, why they run ahead of your POS, and how to test what PMax really adds by location. · 11 min readRead guide →
MeasurementHow to prove marketing ROI to a CFO for a multi-location businessHow to prove marketing ROI to a CFO at a multi-location business: measure extra customers, show ranges and payback, and answer the objections finance raises. · 9 min readRead guide →
MeasurementThe synthetic control method for marketing measurement, explainedThe synthetic control method for marketing measurement, explained in plain English: how the blend is built, a worked example, placebo checks and when it fails. · 10 min readRead guide →

Testing · 5

TestingGeo holdout tests for multi-location brands: a practical guideHow to plan a geo test that gives a usable answer: picking test and holdout markets, choosing a length, sizing budget against the minimum detectable effect, reading the result, and avoiding the common mistakes. · 7 min readRead guide →
TestingMeasuring ads for a single location: the on/off testWith one location there is no other market to compare against. Here is the honest way to check whether your ads add customers — alternating ads-on and ads-off weeks — how to plan it, and when a ZIP-level test is the better option. · 6 min readRead guide →
TestingHow long should a geo lift test run?How long should a geo lift test run? Usually 6–12 weeks plus a post-period. Set the length from purchase cycle, ramp-up and noise, with worked arithmetic. · 9 min readRead guide →
TestingMatched market testing vs geo holdout: which test should you run?Matched market testing vs geo holdout: how each works, what each costs, how many markets you need and which to run for your channel, with a worked example. · 10 min readRead guide →
TestingMinimum detectable effect for marketing tests, explainedMinimum detectable effect for marketing tests, explained: what MDE means, how to work it out from your own sales data, and how to size a test so it can read. · 9 min readRead guide →

Channels · 10

ChannelsHow to measure direct mail ROI by locationHow to measure direct mail ROI by location: hold out matched markets, read from the in-home date, cost the coupons, and find which stores the mail pays for. · 9 min readRead guide →
ChannelsAre Google Local Services Ads worth it for multi-location home services?Are Google Local Services Ads worth it for multi-location home services? How LSA charges, what changed with Google Verified, and how to test it by branch. · 10 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure influencer marketing impact on store visitsHow to measure influencer marketing impact on store visits: give each market one local creator, boost by geography, and compare visits with a twin. · 8 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure local search and Google Maps ads by locationHow to measure local search and Google Maps ads by location: pause them in matched markets, compare with a twin, and see how many store visits were extra. · 9 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure billboard advertising effectiveness by locationHow to measure billboard advertising effectiveness by location: compare stores near new boards with matched stores without them, site by site and pooled. · 10 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure CTV advertising for local storesHow to measure CTV advertising for local stores: run streaming TV in some markets, hold matched ones back, and count extra customers at each location. · 11 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure in-store sales from Facebook ads (and what Ads Manager can’t tell you)How to measure in-store sales from Facebook ads: offline events, Meta lift studies and market tests compared, with a worked example and the mistakes to avoid. · 10 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure radio advertising ROI for a multi-location businessHow to measure radio advertising ROI for a multi-location business: compare flight markets with a twin, count extra customers, and price in repeat visits. · 9 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure streaming audio ads (Spotify, Pandora) for local businessesHow to measure streaming audio ads on Spotify and Pandora for local businesses: run them by market, compare against a twin, and count extra customers. · 10 min readRead guide →
ChannelsHow to measure TikTok ads for restaurants and local businessesHow to measure TikTok ads for restaurants and local businesses: target test markets only, size the test first, and count extra guests against a twin. · 8 min readRead guide →

Industries · 9

IndustriesHow to measure car wash membership marketing (members who pay, not sign-up clicks)How to measure car wash membership marketing by site: count paying wash-club members from DRB or Sonny’s, separate weather and value new vs converted members. · 10 min readRead guide →
IndustriesHow DSOs measure dental marketing ROI per practiceHow DSOs measure dental marketing ROI per practice: count new patients from Dentrix, Eaglesoft or Open Dental, account for chair capacity, and share no PHI. · 8 min readRead guide →
IndustriesHow to measure gym marketing ROI by club (joins, not leads)How to measure gym marketing ROI by club: count joins from ABC Fitness or Mindbody, strip out January, value each member, and find the clubs worth funding. · 9 min readRead guide →
IndustriesHow to choose feeder markets for hotel advertisingHow to choose feeder markets for hotel advertising: rank cities by room nights per household, plan for booking windows, and test CTV against matched holdouts. · 9 min readRead guide →
IndustriesHVAC marketing attribution for booked jobs, not callsHVAC marketing attribution for booked jobs, not calls: count jobs in ServiceTitan, Jobber or Housecall Pro, net out the weather, and judge LSA on real work. · 9 min readRead guide →
IndustriesMed spa marketing ROI by location: count booked treatments, not DMsMed spa marketing ROI by location: count treatments from Zenoti, Boulevard or Mindbody, net out promo pull-forward, and fund the locations that grow. · 10 min readRead guide →
IndustriesRestaurant marketing attribution by location: count covers, not clicksRestaurant marketing attribution by location, done with covers from Toast or Square: separate ad lift from LTOs, delivery and weather at every store you run. · 11 min readRead guide →
IndustriesRetail store marketing attribution: how to measure in-store sales lift by storeRetail store marketing attribution that holds up: measure in-store sales lift by store from POS data so retail media, CTV and circulars stop double-counting. · 10 min readRead guide →
IndustriesUrgent care marketing ROI per clinic: visits, flu season and wait timesUrgent care marketing ROI per clinic: count daily visits, separate flu season from the ads, and stop paying for patients your busiest clinics can’t see. · 10 min readRead guide →
MethodologyHow MarketTwin™ worksTwin markets built from steady-spend markets, 95% ranges and placebo checks: the method behind every Countlift read, step by step.Read the method →

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