Digital is supposed to be the the most accountable of all marketing channels, but it turns out that measuring return on digital advertising spend isn’t so easy. Why? Because that most nimble and fast moving of creatures, the modern-day consumer, has a way of confounding the most determined marketer. We bounce from display ads to websites to Facebook brand pages as we make a purchase decision. We share opinions with each other on consumer review sites and through good-old-fashioned, face-to-face conversations. Our complex behavior has given rise to an entire profession of analytics experts who specialize in using tools and models to understand how and when consumers purchase goods and services. With insights gained from analytics, marketers can make better decisions about where to invest their marketing dollars — display ads, search marketing, social media, and the like. On February 22, through a webinar sponsored by the Direct Marketing Association, my iCrossing colleague Doug Bryan discussed some of the models that marketers can use to understand how consumers behave on the web. I provided live  coverage on the iCrossing Great Finds blog. You may read my post here and view Doug’s presentation via the link provided at the top of this post. Happy returns on your marketing investment.