High PPC Conversion Rates (part 2)

By James Lee

High PPC (pay-per-click) conversion rates cannot be achieved by luck. They result from PPC experience and a sound marketing approach. Let’s look at some basic ways you can improve a conversion rate.

But first, let's make sure you’ve run your campaign long enough to gather sufficient data. As conversion rates can range from 0.1 percent to over 10 percent, you’ll need at least a thousand clicks to really assess your campaign’s conversion rate. And if your product or service is an expensive ticket item and you can achieve a positive ROI with as little as 0.1% rate, you really need about 2,000 clicks to get accurate statistical data. If this is beyond your current click budget, you might want to temporarily suspend other campaigns to channel more resources into showing the high-ticket item so that you can get an accurate reading on its effectiveness.

Now it may be difficult to achieve a high conversion rate without experience in your market, but it’s not difficult to identify factors leading to a low rate. Here are some thoughts.

1. Insure that the PPC ad copy matches the content of its landing page. Become a user and enter a keyword into the search, then click on your ad when it appears. See how long it takes you to spot words in the landing page that match the keyword you started with.

Here are a few more tips to improve a landing page:
- Use a graphic that reinforces the solution offered on the page
- Use a headline that reminds a visitor of the subject of their search
- Include a testimonial or quote from someone satisfied with the results from the use of this specific product. Quantify these benefits if possible
- Make the terms of any special offer expire on a specific date

2. If there are multiple campaigns for the same product or service, compare the conversion rates among them. If other campaigns have higher conversion rates than the one being considered, you may want to tune your keyword choices or your ad copy. Details of a diagnostic process are too long to be described here, but this kind of analysis is available by consulting with a PPC marketing company like Varazo (www.varazo.com).

3. If the conversion rate is low for all your campaigns, check the websites of competitors whose bid ranking is higher than yours and decide how their offering may be more attractive. Don’t be reluctant to adopt a competitor’s good ideas.

4. If there is no obvious gap between your campaign and that of your competitors, try to find the average conversion rate in yours or similar industries. If nothing obvious emerges, it is worthwhile to have your campaign reviewed by a PPC marketing professional.