When you’re reviewing your marketing reports, it’s easy to fixate on what we call “vanity metrics,” or the numbers that sound impressive but don’t tell the full story.

Enter Tim Rulapaugh, who knows that those numbers are just the starting point. Tim’s favorite riddle is:

“What is the data actually telling us?”

Tim’s Case File

Role
Paid Media Strategist

What He Investigates
Paid search, analytics, and conversion tracking

Outside of Work
Youth softball and genealogy

Favorite Question
What is the data actually telling us?

Tim analyzes paid search campaigns, uncovers trends in marketing performance, and helps financial institutions understand what their results mean. Then, he turns those findings into useful recommendations.

From B-52 Avionics to Digital Marketing

Given Tim’s expertise in analytics and digital strategy, you’d never believe his first career wasn’t in digital marketing at all. In fact, he worked on B-52 avionics in the Air Force.

Now, he’s heavily involved in youth softball.

“I’ve learned that organizing kids, coaches, and schedules can occasionally make digital advertising seem simple.”

Tim Rulapaugh

When Tim isn’t diving into marketing data or corralling people on the softball field, you can find him dabbling in another detail-oriented side hobby: genealogy.

Tim has traced several branches of his family to at least the late 1200s in Bavaria, with other lines extending into England and Denmark.

“My wife and I both have a lot of Danish ancestry, which may help explain how we ended up with three redheaded daughters.”

Tim Rulapaugh

Whether he’s researching historic family records or investigating campaign performance, Tim enjoys following the clues until the larger story becomes clearer.

Growing Beyond Campaign Management

When Tim first joined forbinfi, his primary focus was managing paid search campaigns.

His work now extends into the larger system surrounding paid media, including strategy, analytics, conversion tracking, reporting, attribution, and the way data can support better marketing decisions.

“My job has evolved beyond managing campaigns. Now I spend more time asking bigger questions: Are we measuring the right things? What is the data actually telling us? And how can we turn that information into something useful for the client?”

Tim Rulapaugh

That perspective helps financial institutions move beyond surface-level campaign reporting and focus on the results that connect to their goals.

Define Success Before the Campaign Begins

Before you start deep-diving into the reporting, Tim encourages financial institutions to decide what success looks like.

“Clicks, impressions, and traffic can be useful, but they aren’t usually the business outcome you’re actually paying for. Whether you want to open more accounts, generate loan applications, grow deposits, or reach a specific audience, define that goal first and build the campaign around it.”

Tim Rulapaugh

He also encourages financial institutions to ask their marketing partners for transparency.

“Don’t be afraid to ask your marketing partner what the campaigns are producing. It’s your money, and you have a right to understand what you’re getting in return. We’re always willing to have that conversation and walk clients through the results.”

Tim Rulapaugh

Once the goal is clear, the campaign, landing page, call to action, and reporting can all be built around the same intended outcome.

Look Beyond the Reported Conversion

When asked which part of his work he could nerd out about, Tim was quick to answer.

“Measurement. Specifically, figuring out what the numbers actually mean rather than simply reporting the numbers we’re given.”

Tim Rulapaugh

Take Tim’s example: A platform reports 100 conversions. Tim doesn’t stop at the total.

Tim’s Data-Detective Checklist

Before accepting a conversion total, ask:

  • What action triggered the conversion?
  • Does that action connect to the campaign goal?
  • Can the result be verified somewhere else?
  • What happened after the recorded action?
  • What did the outcome cost?

A click on a phone number, for example, can indicate interest. It doesn’t necessarily confirm that a call connected, that the caller was qualified, or that the conversation led to an account or loan.

The same caution applies when a customer leaves the institution’s website for an external application platform. Marketing measurement may be able to track the initial action without showing everything that happened afterward.

A useful report explains what each metric represents, where the tracking stops, and what the available data can actually tell you about the customer journey.

Why Human Expertise Still Matters

One of the questions we get asked often is, “Why can’t we do this ourselves using AI?”

Like many marketers, Tim uses AI as part of his daily workflow. It can help him analyze information more efficiently, identify patterns, automate repetitive tasks, and speed up research.

But AI doesn’t replace expertise. Its output still depends on the questions being asked, the information it’s given, and the judgment used to evaluate the answer.

“AI can accelerate good thinking. It can also accelerate bad thinking.”

Tim Rulapaugh

AI can produce an answer quickly. It still takes human experience to decide whether the right data was used, whether anything important is missing, and whether the conclusion makes sense.

A Common SEM Myth

One misconception Tim often encounters is the idea that anyone can run a successful search engine marketing (SEM) campaign simply because the tools have become easier to use.

Advertising platforms can now generate ad copy, recommend keywords, automate bidding, and suggest campaign changes… but that doesn’t guarantee strong results. Those capabilities make campaign setup more accessible, but setup and strategy aren’t the same thing.

“Being able to set up a campaign is not the same as knowing how to manage one well.”

Tim Rulapaugh

Effective SEM still requires:

✓ A defined audience
✓ Clear business goals
✓ Search-intent research
✓ Relevant landing pages
✓ Accurate conversion tracking
✓ Ongoing performance review
✓ Informed campaign adjustments
✓ An understanding of what happens after the click

Automation can complete tasks, but a strategist must determine whether those tasks are supporting the right outcome.

Measuring What Matters

Tim isn’t focused on making reporting look impressive. He’s focused on helping clients achieve their goals.

He works backward from the client’s goals and determines which measurements can help evaluate progress. Metrics such as click-through rate, cost per click, and conversion rate can help diagnose campaign performance. Tim is ultimately more interested in the quality and cost of the outcomes being generated.

The questions may include:

  • Are prospective customers calling?
  • Are they submitting applications?
  • Are they starting relevant conversations with the institution?
  • Are the actions connected to the campaign goal?
  • Is the campaign producing those outcomes efficiently?
  • Can the results be verified outside the advertising platform?

“The Google Ads dashboard can look great, but if the campaign isn’t helping the institution accomplish anything, what’s the point?”

Tim Rulapaugh

Clicks, impressions, and traffic still matter. They help explain how a campaign is reaching people and how those people respond. Their value depends on what they represent and whether they help explain progress toward the institution’s goals.

Make More Sense of Your Marketing Results

Tim and the forbinfi team can help you understand what your campaigns are producing, where the tracking may fall short, and what to adjust next.

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