What are the best ways to track hits/sales from print ads?

Anita, the best way, in my opinion, is to create a tracking URL. There is only
so short you're going to be able to make it, but if he wants to track the ads
in print media, or anywhere for that matter, that's really the only way, or as
you said, create a subdomain.

There are no shortcuts that I know of.

Here is another take,

If you are offering a specific product, you could use a promotional code to direct traffic to a specific webpage,

just a thought

Anita,

Sub Domains look ugly and are HARD to type in the browser.

just get a domain that is super easy to remember.... the user will read it in a magazine, remeber it, then type it in (better conversion! )

instead of sub domains just register seperate domains..... 1 domain per ad...

buy the domain on godaddy, then forward it with a unique tracking url to your clients live site.

tracking can be easy or complex....... it depends on how much detail you want.

adminder.com is a great "bridge"... it will tell you how many clicks each magazine "ad" got... so you could set it up like this:

DOMAIN --> ADMINDER --> CLIENTS LANDING PAGE

adminder just redirects to the page you tell it to....

this would track how many clicks each unique "magazine ad " got...

if you need to track how many sales each magazine ad produces then you need to tell me more about the clients setup,


i will talk to you later,

-C

Anita,

Google Analytics does the job...

A few good articles explaining...

Web Analytics Can Track Offline Campaigns, Too - ClickZ
Tracking Offline Conversions: Hope, Seven Best Practices, Bonus Tips | Occam's Razor by Avinash Kaushik
How to Track Offline Ads with Google Analytics: Unofficial Google Analytics Blog

Dave

if its in a magazine, I'd use a promotional code

I did this with my accountant so she could track the business from the website I built her.

She offered 10% off if the customer came in with a specially printed page from her website. Or u could use a promotional word. (simple but effective)