Pay Per Click Metrics
In order to make your PPC
advertising a successful venture, you need to understand the concept
and meaning of certain 'factors' and 'metrics' at the very outset of
your campaign.
Specifically speaking, your campaign is affected by three factors
namely, Keywords, Ads, and Landing Pages.
In all profitable campaigns,
Keywords, Ads, and Landing Pages are optimized. This is done because
these three factors work in a 'series' - when a user begins his/her
search, your Keywords lead him/her to your ad, the ad further takes
him/her to the landing page, and the landing page can bring around the
required transaction.
Coming to the 'metrics', three
of them - click-through rate, cost per click, and conversion rate -
require a comprehensive study, to get the maximum
benefit.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The
CTR metric is connected mainly with Keywords and ads. It works in two
ways, which are-
- If Keywords are
unchanged yet ad CTR shows 'improvement', it implies that ad
text or ad position has 'improved' - i.e. ad text is appealing or ad
ranking has become higher.
- If ads remain constant yet CTR shows 'improvement', it
implies that new, relevant Keywords are attracting traffic to your
website.
However, in both cases, there
is no underlying implication of a more profitable position due to the
changes undertaken. Though CTR is generally taken as an indicator of a
landing page's conversion rate, you must not take the results for
granted.
Your effort for bettering the
CTR for your campaign should be in the direction of finding more
specific or 'less competitive' Keywords, or writing better ad text.
Once a 'Keywords -ad-landing page' combination is profitable, you can
try to improve click-through rates. Otherwise focus on decreasing
cost-per-click or increasing conversion rates.
Cost Per Click (CPC): Your
'bid' in the pay-per-click program determines your cost per click - you
can reduce your average CPC without lowering your bids by
improving click-through rates, making good landing pages, and writing
good ads.
If your campaign is a
non-profitable, lower your CPC by lowering the bid. Similarly, in
the case of a profitable combination, you can raise
your CPC to make more profits.
Though a higher ranking may
lead you to assume increased conversion rates, it is not always so. As
in the case of CTR, conversion rate is independent of CPC as well.
Don't be as enthusiastic with one side of the proceedings as to
completely overlook the other. You have to be completely 'involved' in
monitoring you campaign so that you have a good idea about what CPC
maximizes your profits.
The entire concept of
pay-per-click advertising is based on mathematical calculations, with
due consideration to certain undefined 'ex-factors' affecting the
users' choice. There is no bid management 'tool' to work out the
different permutations and combinations for you - it is experience and
foresight that will see you through, along with a streak of
luck.
Conversion Rate: All the three
earlier mentioned factors - Keywords, ads, and landing pages - affect
conversion rates. You have to 'combine' these factors in such a way
that the conversion rate improves bringing the desired benefits for you.
This aim can be achieved in
different ways - by writing ad text that 'qualifies' the user, who is
likely to make a transaction, by making your Keywords list 'broad'
enough to avail good advertising opportunities, modifying your site by
creating relevant content, etc. Such efforts help you to establish
trust with the user, giving him/her the confidence that he/she the best
deal.
Conclusion: A thorough
understanding of these three major metrics can considerably improve a
pay per click campaign, thereby enabling you to achieve your aim of
making optimum profits. It is advisable to study the results of each of
these metrics independently of the other. Finally, there is no denying
the fact that a systematic approach towards 'keyword-ad-landing page
combinations' is bound to yield rich dividends!
Sharon Gantt AKA The Queen of Search
Copywriting created & managed hundreds of ad campaigns on the
majorsearch engines. Discover how to increase your sales, get better
cashflow with targeted effective online marketing
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