A lot of times, when we mention a PPC (pay-per-click) or AdWords campaign to a customer, we get similar answers: “we already tried that” or “the SEO programs don’t work” or “I never click on these ads”.
Unfortunately, there is a large misconception about the success of a good PPC campaign because they just weren’t done right.
• Seo programs from large companies like yp.com, SuperMedia etc are programs that used to work when there were fewer websites/competition out there. These programs are expensive and you pay a lot of money for managing the campaign and only a small amount of that cost goes into actual clicks. Furthermore, you are locked into a program for 1 year and are signing a $12K check.
• Many more clients have tried the do-it-yourself method since most new hosting plans come with Google Adwords credit. They ran their own campaign or had Google set up the campaigns for them which can lead to a lot of “collateral clicks”. Most people have never heard of negative keywords and or broad modifier keywords and ended up spending all their credit money on non-relevant clicks.
A perfect example for this is a campaign we ran for our business for website design. Without negative keywords, we would be getting clicks for website templates, Jewel cd cases, web design classes, free websites and web design inspiration, etc.
What determines my costs per click?
The cost for your clicks will greatly depend on how competitive your keywords are, the area you are running your campaign in and your actual content in your ads and your website. For example, an ad that is running a special with a 50% discount and links to a page on your website that has the same wording on that page, will most likely cost less per click than linking it to a generic landing page.
If you would like to cover a large area with your ads, you are most likely going to pay more per click as well versus a smaller targeted area. Specializing in certain areas and less broad keywords will reduce the chance of “unintended collateral clicks” and only target people really looking for that specific item, cutting down on your costs and leading to more conversions.
Is it worth it for my business?
This question is one that you will have to decide for yourself to a certain degree. Would you spend $1K per month on clicks if you could land a $25K job? How much business can you afford to lose this month if your competition is running a campaign? If your click costs you $5 and could get you a new client that would turn into a long-term account?
Pay-Per-Click campaigns can get you new leads that you may otherwise not have occurred if your website is not on page 1 on Google organically.
Final thoughts
We would never recommend doing your PPC campaign yourself unless you have the expertise on Google Adwords management in order to know all the ins and outs.
A good AdWords campaign includes writing good ads, synchronizing the ad with your website, specific targeting, adding negative keywords, monitoring your campaign weekly and/or daily until they are established properly.
The goal is not to get as many clicks as you can but get more relevant, quality clicks instead. A great PPC campaign will not only cost you less but you will get more conversions on the actual leads you are getting.
Contact us, if you would like to get started with a PPC campaign and/or SEO/SEM program.
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