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December 2014

Dec 23

Conversions VS ROI: 4 Tips When Evaluating PPC Internet Marketing

By Internet marketing

Are you running a pay-per-click campaign and have questions about whether or not it’s working? When clients ask me how to evaluate a PPC campaign, I generally give the conversion rate as the short answer. For most clients nothing is more important than generating sales or leads. Although using this rate as the sole indicator of performance makes sense in theory, PPC account managers and clients would be making a mistake by ignoring other performance indicators. Here are the 4 reasons the conversion rate shouldn’t be the only way performance is evaluated.

4 Reasons Conversion Rates Don’t Tell the Whole Picture

1.   Not All Sites Can Accurately Track Conversions

Not all websites have the functionality to properly track conversions. Some websites have constraining content management systems or lack a webmaster with the ability to add tracking code to buttons or thank you pages. When a website has a limited ability to track conversions it may be more effective to focus on the behavior of the paid visitors such as the average time spent on a page, or as I outlined in a recent blog post; the click-through-rate of the pay-per-click campaign itself.

2.   The Majority Of Conversions That Begin Online, Finish Offline

Consumers don’t always finish the entire conversion process online. Site visitors may instead decide to convert offline via phone call or by visiting the business in person. Google found that as many as 80% of shoppers will research online before making a purchase, however only 44% will finish the entire process online. Additionally, Read More

Dec 02

4 Reasons the Click-Through-Rate Matters in PPC Internet Marketing

By Internet marketing

How do you know your pay-per-click campaign is paying off? And what should you be looking for when evaluating a PPC campaign? When I ask new PPC clients this question, many focus solely on a low cost-per-click or the number of valuable conversions such as purchases, and form completions. And at the end of the day they would be right to an extent. Nothing matters more than visitors taking valuable actions on your website at an efficient cost.

However these measures can’t be relied on to tell the whole picture. PPC account managers would be making a big mistake by ignoring other important factors such as the click-through-rate (CTR).

What is a Click-Through-Rate?

The click-through-rate is a measure of how frequently an ad is clicked compared to how often it is seen. The CTR is calculated by:

CTR Formula For Internet Marketing

Average click-through-rates vary greatly by industry, targeted geography, and competition. According to Google, the average industry CTR is between 1-2%.

Why Do Click-Through-Rates Matter for PPC?

In Google Adwords click-through-rates matter for 4 main reasons; the CTR is an indicator of strength of messaging, accurate targeting, can assist in guessing offline conversions, and maintaining a high CTR results in cheaper clicks.

1.   CTRs Can Indicate Strong and Weak Messaging

Click-through-rates are useful in understanding how strong your advertising message is. Since CTRs are calculated by the frequency an ad is clicked when seen, it’s clear that ads featuring more enticing messaging will be clicked more frequently. This can be an especially useful tool when trying to understand what messages actually matter to your audience (You may be surprised!).

2.   High CTRs Signify Accurate Targeting

The stronger your message is, the more frequently it will be clicked when seen. However, what happens if the audience you’re targeting is too wide? No matter how strong your message is, if it is being seen by the wrong audience it will receive a low CTR.

Read More

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