Improve your PPC or traffic campaign – after your campaign

Reporting & Analysis

Creating and maintaining an effective PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaign is crucial for driving traffic, generating leads, and ultimately converting those leads into customers. This guide will walk you through the essential principles of assessing your PPC campaigns to ensure they are performing optimally. We’ll start with an example scenario to illustrate these principles in action.

Let’s imagine you are running a PPC campaign for an online bookstore. Your goal is to sell at least one book per day through your ad.

Reaching Enough People?

You’ve set a daily budget of $50 for your online bookstore campaign, but you’re unsure if this budget is enough to reach your target audience effectively.

Steps to Assess:

  • Impressions: The number of times your ad is displayed is crucial. If your current Click-Through Rate (CTR) is 2.31%, you can estimate the necessary impressions to achieve your conversion goals. For instance, if you need at least 1 conversion per day, and your landing page has a conversion rate of 2%, you’ll need approximately 50 clicks to get one conversion (1 conversion / 0.02 conversion rate). With a CTR of 2.31%, you would need around 1875 impressions daily (50 clicks / 0.0231 CTR).

Adjustments:

  • Budget Adjustments: Increase your daily budget if your impressions are too low.
  • Targeting: Broaden your keyword searches to include less costly but relevant keywords, or explore other platforms with better cost efficiency.

Generate Interest in the Ad

Your ad has a CTR of 2.31%, which is on the lower end of the healthy range (2-5%). This suggests room for improvement in your ad creative.

Steps to Assess:

  • CTR Analysis: A CTR of 2.31% is decent but can be improved. Review your ad’s performance, focusing on the 7 headlines and 4 descriptions you’re using. Identify which combinations perform best.
  • Ad Relevance: Ensure your ad creative aligns with your target audience’s interests and goals. For instance, use headlines that highlight popular genres, bestsellers, or limited-time discounts.

Adjustments:

  • Optimisation: Omit underperforming headlines and descriptions, and create new ones that mirror the traits of the top performers.
  • Targeted Ad Groups: Create ad groups that target specific industries or interests, such as “Mystery Lovers” or “Romance Enthusiasts,” and tailor your headlines and descriptions to appeal directly to these groups.

Conversions on Website

Despite sufficient traffic, your online bookstore campaign isn’t converting as expected.

Steps to Assess:

  • Offer Attractiveness: Evaluate whether your deal is compelling enough. For instance, offering a limited-time discount or a buy-one-get-one-free deal could increase urgency.
  • Value Clarity: Make sure the value of your offer is clear. Highlight benefits such as free shipping, exclusive author interviews, or membership discounts.

Adjustments:

  • Limited Time Offers: Introduce limited-time or quantity offers to create urgency.
  • Clear Value Proposition: Enhance the clarity and appeal of your value proposition.
  • Low Friction Options: Provide options for visitors to easily leave their details for future engagement, such as a simple newsletter signup form or a free e-book download.

Conclusion

By following these principles—ensuring your ads reach enough people, generating interest with compelling ad creatives, and optimising for conversions—you can systematically assess and improve your PPC campaigns. Continuously monitor your metrics and make data-driven adjustments to keep your campaigns performing at their best. Remember, effective PPC management is an ongoing process. Regularly revisit these principles, analyse your campaign data, and refine your strategies to stay ahead in the competitive landscape of digital marketing.