We get it. It’s frustrating to hear that PPC is the fastest and surest marketing strategy you can invest in when all you’re seeing is a meager payoff for your time and money. The truth is, PPC campaigns do work and some of them do it incredibly well.
If your current strategy isn’t getting you the PPC conversion results you counted on, here are some of the most common reasons it might be happening, and what you can do about them.
Your PPC Conversion Strategy Is Off
Deciding on a budget and then buying up keywords is not an effective PPC strategy. There are other key components that need your attention:
- CPL or costs per lead is the best metric for analyzing the efficiency of your campaigns; it’s measured by the number of conversions divided into ad spend. Look at your current ad spend and calculate what you’re spending per lead/conversion. Is it worth it; is it in line with other companies of your size, industry, or earned revenue? Ad reviews, monitoring landing pages, and remarketing are all ways to reduce CPL while gaining more buyers.
- What’s actually working in your campaigns? Are there keywords with high spend and no conversions? Which search terms lead to the highest rate of conversions? Which ad groups, keywords, or related set of keywords are using a lot of your budget but not showing a good rate of return?
Don’t use up your budget without understanding who your customers are and what they’re searching for. Ads must be tailored to what your audience wants. They should also be created with the intended platform in mind. For example, Facebook ads should be hyper targeted while Google Ads can be broader because users are already in “buy mode.”
Clicks but No Conversions
One of the most obvious ways to improve PPC conversion is to increase the number of clicks your ads get. To do that you should make sure to:
- Target the right audience. Use your research on geographic location, online behavior, and other demographics to get your ads in front of the right people.
- Use less generic keywords. Broad keywords often bring irrelevant traffic. And in many cases, using long tail keywords that are more specific and focus more on a niche is a great SEO tactic for slowly but surely building a new, motivated audience with higher conversions. For example, if you sell classic cars, your page is unlikely to appear near the top of an organic search for “cars” or even “used cars” because the competition is steep. But if you specialize in a certain make or model, like “vintage Ford Mustangs” using those keywords will reliably find the people looking for exactly what you’re offering.
- Test your ad placement at different positions. You don’t want your ads showing up in places your intended audience will never see them. Optimizing placement or custom engagement can provide a nice increase in conversion volume and a decrease in your cost per lead.
Consistent conversion tracking that shows ad groups, keywords, and match type is crucial to determine what changes in your ads and approach need to be made.
Are You Taking Advantage of Remarketing?
Remarketing is simply showing the same ad to people who viewed it earlier but didn’t convert. It’s a great way to bring a user back to your website and increases the odds they’ll click your PPC ads and make a purchase. Some people don’t think of remarketing as a conversion rate optimization tool, but it can save you both time and money by letting you market to people who have already shown an interest in what you have to offer.
Have You Tested the Landing Page Design?
Landing pages influence your PPC conversion rate and their design will make all the difference in your campaign. But even if your bids are competitive and your ads laser targeted, there’s no getting around it—you must split-test your landing page. Here’s a few suggestions:
- Test the headline. All headlines should compel a lead to read what’s next but shouldn’t be clever for clever’s sake. One of the biggest ways to turn off a reader is not matching the headline to your ad’s content. Try several variations and see which one gathers the most clicks.
- Optimize the lead capture form by keeping it simple. The more information you try to get, the lower your conversion rate will be. Few people want to turn over all their life details before they can see what you’re offering. Stick to the basics like name and email at the start; you can get company info and phone numbers later.
- Test the call-to-action button. Sometimes the content is more important than the color and shape. Think about what is of value and relevance to your site’s visitors and keep the focus on what they’ll get, not what they have to do.
To the final point, keep in mind that, depending on the CTA needed, conversions will be defined in different ways. Testing for lead generation? Then tracking two CTAs, form fills and phone calls, is in order. Product purchases on e-commerce sites, on the other hand, are recorded as conversions once the shopping cart transaction is completed.
Takeaway
PPC success takes time and patience, but improved PPC conversion rates are possible if you consistently optimize and test your campaigns. Atkins Marketing Solutions can help by creating customized PPC solutions for all your marketing efforts, including getting a higher rate of conversions. To learn more, contact us online today or call us at 714.904.4453
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