8 of the Most Damaging Pay Per Click Mistakes

Pay per click advertising has the ability to not only increase traffic to your site, but also increase the knowledge you have of your market. It can very quickly put money in your pocket or very quickly take it out.

Opening up a paid search account, adding a method of payment, and letting traffic flow only takes a few minutes. After that, the most common problem is simply not knowing where to go from there.

Here are eight mistakes that most often turn what could be an otherwise successful campaign into a pure nightmare.

1. Using large non-targeted broad keyword lists.

Large lists of non targeted keywords generally attract non targeted visitors. Rather than focusing on these massive lists (sometimes referred to as keyword dumps) you should focus on smaller more targeted lists. In addition, refrain from using “broad match” keyword types without any offsetting negative keywords. The use of alternative match options will likely yield less traffic, but that traffic should be more qualified.

2. Paying too much attention to your CTR and not enough on your Conversion Rate.

CTR (or Click Through Rate) means nothing if that traffic does not produce actions (sales in the case of ecommerce sites). Focusing on CTR only as an indicator of paid search success will only end up costing you money in the end (thus the “pay per click” concept.) Instead pay more attention to your paid search Conversion Rate to get a better idea of whether you are moving in the right direction or not.

3. Not looking at your Value per Visitor in relation to your Avg. CPC.

Your Value per Visitor represents the amount of revenue you earn for each visitor that arrives at your website through a paid search click. Your Avg. CPC (Average Cost per Click) is the amount you spend on average to get one visitor to your site. Comparing the two tells you whether you are making money or not.

If your Avg. CPC is less than your Value per Visitor then you are making money. The further the two numbers are apart, the more money you are making. It goes without saying that if your Avg. CPC is more than your Value per Visitor then you are losing money.

4. Using only one Ad Group for multiple sets of non-related keywords.

Setting up only one Ad Group and loading it with multiple sets of non-related keywords does a number of bad things. It restricts your ability to more accurately target your visitors based on ad copy. It can cause your quality score to suffer. It costs you more money and also can cost you ad position. I’ll sum it up as follows: using one ad group will often result in non-targeted traffic at a higher cost with a lower ad position in the results. This is no way to succeed at paid search.

5. Using only one ad copy variation per ad group.

I see it often. Website owners running paid search and only using one ad to generate traffic. To be successful and find out what really converts, you should use at least two different variations of ad copy per ad group — and that’s only a gauge. Three to four different ad variations is even better.

Running different ads against each other across one ad group helps you learn what triggers your market to act and furthermore what triggers them to buy. It enables you to test what works and what doesn’t so you can zero in on higher conversion rates.

6. Not turning off Content Network at the start of a campaign.

Until you know what you are doing, one of the first things you should do to save yourself some money is to turn off the “Content Network” option (on by default).

Traffic from the content network typically converts at a much lower rate than traffic generated through the search network. There are ways to increase that content network conversion figure (combining placement targeting with proper landing pages is an example) but it takes a lot of time to get it right. The longer you leave the Content Network turned on, the more money you’ll likely spend and the lower your paid search conversion rate will go.

7. Not setting a Daily Budget.

If you don’t set a daily budget you’re opening yourself up to unexpected charges and possible wasted advertising dollars. The easiest way to set a budget is to come up with the amount you are willing to invest in advertising per month and then take that amount divided it by 30 or 31 (days in a month). Then allocated that daily advertising spend across the number of campaigns you have. This does not ensure the most “visible” campaign, but it will ensure you rarely exceed your budget.

8. Running all paid search traffic to a single landing page.

Driving all the traffic your paid search receives to a single landing page (i.e. the home page) is going to typically result in less than desirable conversion rates. The better method is to set the destination url at the individual keyword level to allow more control over where traffic is routed.

Move to new Server Complete

Just a quick notice here that the move to the new server is now complete. Some of you may notice periodic inaccessibility while the new server information propagates throughout the Internet. This can take between 24 and 48 hours at times.

The move was needed in order to keep up with the growth of the site. The new server should be faster and provides for greater flexibility as well as scalability. Both important features going into the future.

Thanks for your continued interest. I’ve got a number of exciting items planned for this year and as always, look forward to providing you with revealing new information that helps you build your business.

Appeal to Your Recession Shoppers Through Social Networking Venues

Welcome to the age of the Recession Shopper. According to research conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates and commissioned by LinkShare Recession Shoppers are the new breed of consumers.

Careful and conscious of what they’re purchasing, Recession Shoppers scour the Internet for good deals as meticulously as Martha Stewart folds hospital corners.

According to LinkShare, “Retailers that offer discounts, special promotions and product comparisons to engage – and keep – these consumers will have more success than those that continue to try striking emotional chords through traditional channels.”

The study also revealed that in order to engage with these consumers e-commerce retailers must change how they think and connect with current and potential customers.

Your e-commerce consumer is going to be an information-based shopper. They are going to click through a lot of websites before making a final decision. They’re going to ask their friends on Facebook, send out a Twitter post and post a question to their online web group.

To separate yourself from your competition, you’re going to need to get into those online channels with them. You’re going to appeal to those Recession Shoppers through social networking.

Facebook. If you’ve done your homework, you’ll know that there are more decision-making purchasers using Facebook than nearly any other tool out there. These purchasers are asking their Facebook friends for opinions on products as well as referrals. If you want to get in — or stay in — the conversation, you want to be on Facebook, too. You’ll want a fan page that your loyal or prospective customers can click to in order to learn more about your site and your products or services. Use your Fan Page to post pictures and announcements about discounts or sales. Consider it a customer service portal.

Twitter. Twitter is closing in on The New York Times as one of the most often clicked-on sites in the United States. Like Facebook, this is another place where your decision-making purchasers are talking. Like Facebook, they’re posing questions and doing research. Creating a Twitter account and using it to connect with your brand loyalists will show you’ve already gone above and beyond your competitors.

YouTube. Given our visual nature, it’s no wonder YouTube has taken off the way it has. Why not serve up a series of how-to videos for current or potential customers. Create a channel dedicated to your site and post tutorials, consumer testimonials or alternative uses to your products. Host a contest that asks people to post a 60-second video on why they love your product. Create buzz and the customers will follow.

Even More Proof Free Shipping is High on Customer Want Lists

I’m always saying how offering free shipping will boost sales. After all, it is one of the most important factors in turning a potential customer who is “on the fence” into a lifetime customer.

Survey after survey reveal that consumers rate free shipping high on their list of expectations from online e-tailers.

So I ran a survey of my own on a current client site which has a number of very nice offers that distinguish them from the competition. I will add that this client has product prices which are on average higher than the competition … in some cases significantly.

We placed an optional “after order” survey on the thank you page of the website so as not to interfere with the buying process and asked a number of questions. The first question was simply “What was the main reason for your purchasing from us today?” The results are below and guess what reason was a leader of the pack? You guessed right if you said free shipping.

Most Important Parts of a Product Page

In one of my previous posts titled Most Important Pages on an Ecommerce Site I uncovered for you the most important parts of any ecommerce website.

After that post I thought it would be a good idea to develop a series providing more detail on each page within that original post.

Below is a list (in no particular order) of what are the most important elements all good product pages possess.

Shipping Information
All internet consumers want to know “how much does shipping cost” and “how soon can I get it”?

Naturally, many begin to first ask this question at the product page. Providing them with the answer to that question at the precise point during their buying cycle is critical toward moving them closer to conversion. Giving them easy access to the shipping rates and shipping options will improve the customer experience and set you up for success.

Product Availability
Even if a product is in stock, don’t assume the customer knows that. Don’t make them think. A customer that see a product listed as “in stock ready to ship” is more likely to put that item in their cart and proceed forward.

Add to cart button
No matter how good a product page may seem it’s certainly no good if the customer can’t figure out how to add the item to their cart. Making the add to cart button larger and more visible is an essential element toward increasing conversion.

Presence of payment methods accepted
Ok, the customer has decided that the product they are viewing is one they want. The next question many ask is “what payment options do I have for buying this”? Indicating the types of payments accepted will answer this question.

You can do this in a variety of unobtrusive ways. A good test is to try adding small icons of the payment methods you accept just under the add to cart button. Again, it’s at the moment that a customer is ready to add an item to their cart that they ask what methods of payment are accepted. Reinforcing it here is a good idea.

Payment Icons Example

Product photo
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. On the internet the product’s picture is just about the only element that can show clearly what an item really looks like. Make sure your photos are clear, crisp, show detail and are large enough to provide plenty of visual appeal yet are optimized for fast internet download times.

Using tools such as lightbox effects for showing larger photos and even zoom type effects (often with jQuery / Ajax) can provide a very nice professional touch.

JQuery Zoom Example

Photo Lightbox Effect

Customer assurances
Building trust and confidence with customers is at the forefront of any strong ecommerce site. Although customer assurance elements should be present sitewide, you should really make sure they are obvious on the product page.

Numerous questions are asked and decisions made by the customer on the product page. Committing to adding an item in their cart requires reinforcing trust and confidence.

If you offer warranties, guarantees etc… you should make sure these are in plain site on the product page. Letting the customer know that you have a 90 day guarantee (as an example) will help move them toward placing the item in their cart.

Product Price
It’s pretty obvious to most that customers want to know the price of a product before they commit to moving forward, yet I’ve seen sites stating “add the item to your cart to see the price”. I personally see no reason for this and in fact can point out two reasons I feel this would hurt your conversion.

1. You are adding another step to the customer’s buying process and the more steps you add the greater your chance of losing them.
2. You are taking away the customers choice by forcing them to add an item to the cart in order to get information which should be in plain view from the start.

Both hinder the customer experience and will likely cause a decrease in conversion. If you are selling products on the internet do you and your customers a favor by including the full price of the product on the product page.

Customer Reviews
With the recent growth of social media use, it should be no surprise customers are indicating in surveys that the presence of peer reviews is playing a bigger role in their decision to buy products.

Whereas store issued product reviews can appear biased at times, consumers feel that peer ratings provide a real picture of the likability of a given product. These should be included on every product page and the ability for a customer to write a review should be in plain site.

Now go back and review your site for the inclusion of these elements. If you have them in place congratulations, if you don’t you should really think about adding them.

To your success!