Not Just Clicks: We Measure The Real Impact Of Meta Campaigns On Google And Direct

One of the biggest challenges of modern marketing is understanding how media channels influence each other. That is why at Salestube, we test this in practice: do campaigns in the Meta ecosystem drive interest in a brand on Google? More precisely, do they strengthen searches, clicks, and direct traffic?

What does Search Lift measure, and why is it worth using?

Imagine you are running a campaign on Facebook and Instagram. The results look good; green dominates in Ads Manager. But if you evaluate the campaign only by clicks, you only see what the tool allows you to see.

And marketing works more broadly than a dashboard. In reports, you see hard metrics, but you do not see intent. You do not know:

• How many users went to Google after contact with the ad.

• How many chose an organic result instead of an ad.

• How many returned via direct a few days later.

This is a problem most marketers know: the campaign “works,” but you cannot prove how broadly it works.

Search Lift measures intent, not just conversions

Social media campaigns often do not end with a direct visit to the website. Their real effect appears later: in branded searches, organic traffic, and direct visits. The problem is that these behaviors live outside Meta’s advertising ecosystem.

Without additional measurement, it is impossible to clearly say whether and to what extent they were triggered by exposure to the ad. This is exactly where the need for a different approach to measurement appears – and the solution in the form of Search Lift.

How does the Search Lift study work?

The study is based on A/B tests. Meta compares two groups of users:

• those who saw the ads (test group),

• and those who had no contact with them (control group).

It then analyzes whether and how much more often people from the test group searched for the brand name, products, or slogans related to the campaign. This provides hard data on whether a social media campaign influences interest on Google.

What does Search Lift look like in practice?

Together with the Meta team, we have already conducted several Search Lift studies in Europe. Each study was based on the Meta Conversion Lift methodology and was expanded with:

• custom events in Events Manager,

• integration with Google Ads, organic search, and direct traffic,

• the use of Meta Pixel and Conversions API for precise traffic attribution.

The result? A full picture of the user journey after contact with the ad.

How much more traffic does a Meta campaign generate?

Our research shows that campaigns on Meta generate real traffic to the website.

Average increases across all studies:

• +19.9% traffic from Google Ads,

• +21.1% organic traffic,

• +32.3% direct traffic.

These are not just numbers. This is proof that ads in the Meta ecosystem build intent that often materializes only a few days later – in the search engine or the direct channel.

You can find a full summary of this and 10 other campaigns in our case study: Meta Campaigns Drive Results Beyond the Platform: Insights from 11 Accounts.

Case study: premium e-commerce

We received even more interesting results in the latest study conducted for a premium brand from the e-commerce industry:

• +40% purchases,

• +63% direct traffic,

• +38% from Google Ads,

• +29% from organic search.

Meta campaigns played a key role in this campaign in building intent and activating users in other channels.

What is worth remembering?

1. Search Lift broadens the measurement perspective – it connects data from Meta, Google, and proprietary sources.

2. Meta generates demand, not just conversions – increases in branded searches confirm this.

3. Testing is the new standard – systematic studies help adjust the strategy to a specific market and brand.

Our perspective

For us at Salestube, this is further confirmation that precise measurement is not a luxury, but the foundation of an effective strategy.

We design studies that go beyond the dashboard and show the real impact of campaigns on consumer behavior.

If you want to understand how your activities in Meta translate into other channels, let us know! We will show you how to build a measurement model that shows more than clicks.