How to Know if Your PPC Metrics Are Good, Bad or In Between
Pay-per-click (PPC) is one of the most common types of paid digital marketing. You’ve likely seen it or used it for your brand in the form of Google Ads, but there are other PPC placement opportunities including on other search engines (like Bing) and on platforms including social media (like Facebook and YouTube) and even Amazon. PPC is a widely used tactic, yet it can still be shrouded in mystery when it comes to performance. How do you know if your PPC campaign is performing?
Metrics to watch
A good rule of thumb is to select metrics to track that directly reflect your brand’s marketing goals. Because there are so many metrics to choose from, it can become cumbersome and even counterproductive to track and review every single available metric. Here are a few common metrics and why you might want to put them on your list:
Cost-per-click (CPC) – This is your average spend per click. This can give you a good global view of your PPC campaign and how much you’re spending per person to get the traffic you’ve received.
Click-through-rate (CTR) – This is how often your ad is clicked after being seen by your target. This can give you insights into if your marketing is speaking to your target market. If your ad is being seen often, but not being clicked, you’ll want to investigate.
Conversion rate – This is how many sales you are getting from your clicked ads. If you’re driving traffic to your website or to a purchase landing page, you’ll want to know how many people are following through with a purchase.
Return on ad spend (ROAS) – This is how much money your company netted based on your marketing spend. Meaning, are you making more money than you’re spending? Is it worth the investment for the return?
What are key questions to ask?
When you’re looking through these metrics, keep in mind some key questions to ask, especially if your performance is below what you expected. Here are a few questions that may be helpful, but remember these aren’t the only metrics or questions that matter:
Are you using the right keywords?
Do you have the right target market?
Are you reaching your target on the correct platforms?
Are you advertising during the correct times and in the correct locations?
Does your marketing content accurately reflect your brand and set the expectations for what your customer can expect when they click through to your website or landing page?
What are your competitors doing and how does your PPC campaign compare to theirs?
The good, the bad and the in between
After reviewing your metrics and going through some of these key questions, you might find out that your PPC campaigns are performing well, poorly or somewhere in between. No matter what you uncover, that will give you a good idea of what you need to do. You might be happy with performance and want to stay on your current path, you might want to make a few small tweaks or realize that you need to completely overhaul your PPC strategy. Whatever the outcome, at least you’ll have some answers and be able to move forward.
Connect with one of the digital marketing experts at Beyond Fifteen to learn more about how we can help you make sure your PPC campaigns are running at optimum levels.