How do I track ROI?

Tracking sales and what content network sites work

[silverbytes]

I'm interested in tracking ROI, what I care is what sales comes from web, and specifically from Adwords, and if possible from what sites if those are from content network or site targeted ads.
Almost all my pages has email contact and people contact that way.
Can you suggest me how to track conversions and measure roi in my situation?

[eWhisper]

Almost all my pages has email contact and people contact that way.

Just to clarify, do people email/contact you and then you make an offline sale OR are you doing online eCommerce?

[silverbytes]

I'm not doing ecommerce. People just contact and order via email or calling.

[eWhisper]

This is how I'd do it:

1. Write a script to append all keyword URLs with a specific ID code.
2. On the webpage, show that code below the phone number.
3. When someone calls, have the sales people ask for the ID code.
4. When someone uses your contact form, pass the code into the email.
5. You'll have to find a good way based on your intranet/sales process/etc to associate the codes with sales/contacts.
6. Correlate the ID codes (along w/ sales/contacts) back to the original keywords to see ROI by keyword.

This should be able to close the loop between online advertising and offline sales.

[silverbytes]

Thanks, seems to be a little complex but it might work.
Any other ideas? How do you actually do, people?

[bigtoga]

I use eCommerce so I can't exactly comment but I like eWhisper's ideas. I would add that, to increase the chances that someone will call/purchase, your ID code could be tied to a 10% (or whatever) discount and could be time-based (Expires Jan 16). It has multiple benefits: (1) Incentive to call now, (2) incentive to tell saleperson the ID number, and (3) incentive that, if I purchase now, I save $$$