“If you want to know the future, look at the past” – Albert Einstein
When it comes to marketing your business, analyzing past results will provide a clearer picture for the future. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising generates results quickly, making it easy to obtain consumer data. However, knowing which results to compare determines how effective your ads have truly been.
Understanding PPC
You’ve probably noticed that some search engines, like Google and Bing, display results with the bolded word ‘Ad‘ next to them. These are ads that have been created through pay-per-click advertising and are usually shown before or right after the organic results.
PPC drives traffic to your website by placing your advertisement on search engine result pages (SERPs) and other websites. With PPC, you bid on keywords and keyword phrases that are relevant to your industry and then only pay when that advertisement is clicked on. PPC can generate results quickly with well-targeted campaigns, and understanding those results is key in determining your true return on investment.
Why Comparing Year to Year is Important
When comparing PPC results, it is important to understand the process. After you have bid on your keywords and set a budget for your campaign, you will pay each time that ad is clicked on, and only when that ad is clicked on. You automatically know that your money is going toward an actual result – a visit to your website or landing page. If no one sees or clicks on your ad, you won’t spend any money, but you also won’t see any results.
Clicks, leads, sales, and impressions are all tracked through PPC advertising services. The sales funnel shouldn’t stop at the website click, but should continue with the consumer through the entire buying process. Luckily, PPC results are fast and easy to control. You can track how much time a consumer spent on a page and at which point they left the website. You can also target only your ideal customers, find the exact keywords and keyword phrases they’re searching, and craft a message that targets their exact needs. Once you have an effective strategy in place, it’s time to compare your PPC results.
Think of comparing PPC results as you do when comparing sales. You wouldn’t compare business sales by only comparing month to month as this would not provide you with an accurate picture of the company’s overall growth. PPC results work in the same way. Different seasons and times of the year can affect when and why customers are searching for your service or product.
For example, lawn care ads may surge in clicks during the spring and summer and then slowly dwindle in the fall and winter. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the ads have stopped working. The searchers may not need lawn care services during that time. To really determine the Return on Investment (ROI) your Pay-Per-Click Advertising has yielded, look at the bigger picture and compare your results to previous years, not previous months.
PPC in Action
Now that you understand how PPC works and how to effectively compare your results, it’s time to put a strategy in place. PPC specialists are experts in identifying your target audience, generating clicks, and crafting unique ad copy. No matter your business size, PPC can help push you above your competition in both leads and search engine results.
Let’s chat about how we can help you reach your PPC goals. Contact us today!
