5 Common Mistakes: You often hear radical success stories of how Pay-per-click or digital marketing began to generate 100’s, even 1000’s of leads for this or that business. Yet we talk to a lot of businesses who aren’t seeing radical success or who feel like PPC didn’t work for them. If you feel that you fall into the latter category, can I be frank: the problem isn’t with PPC but with the execution thereof.
There is MUCH more to PPC than simply bidding on keywords in Google (or targeted ads via Facebook pages such as: https://www.facebook.com/Dynamic-Wave-Consulting-Greater-Philadelphia-109149291571910/). PPC connects people looking for your product to you in real-time. PPC targets your exact demographic or buyer with 100% precision. PPC enables you to target the right people at the right time with a budget that you control. If you can’t succeed with all of this going for you, there’s something terribly, terribly wrong.
So… what CAN go wrong (5 Common Mistakes)… and why?
With all that PPC has going for it, at the same time, it is a highly complex system of marketing with a lot of variables. A LOT can go wrong if the wrong strategy or poor execution of the right strategy. These are what we see over and over as the top 5 mistakes that can sabotage your success story.
- Using the Wrong Targeting Strategy:
Google sponsored search or keyword-based search engine result ads are the most common type of PPC. But as useful as it can be to have your company pop up at the top of a Google keyword search, this strategy isn’t necessarily the best of the best for everyone. In many cases, the “right” keywords for your business may be too broad, may overlap with other companies or search terms, the number of other companies bidding on those keywords may be prohibitive and the list can go on. There are A LOT of other ways to target by keyword or by demographic if traditional keyword search PPC isn’t the right approach. With some fine tuning, expert PPC gurus can make this tried-and-true standby work for you; but there may be other strategies altogether that are a better fit. With the right strategy and execution, virtually anyone can succeed with PPC. - Using Default Settings:
Let’s face it, PPC companies are in business first and foremost to make money for THEMSELVES. The ideal campaign for THEM is one that yields the most clicks. Sure, they want you to succeed… but… they want your ads to get clicks, even if every click isn’t necessarily the best lead for YOU. Consequently, the default settings for campaigns are created to maximize THEIR profits, not yours. It takes expertise to navigate the seas of settings that benefit them and not you; and to be fair, sometimes it takes a bit careful analysis and fine-tuning to optimize an ad campaign to weed out the junk clicks. Too many, however, don’t know to overcome the junk click pitfalls and give up on their ads, thinking that PPC doesn’t work when really, all they needed was the ability to eliminate the junk to find the gems. With the right campaign settings you can avoid 60-90% of the junk clicks that the default campaign settings usually yield and turn your marketing into one of those success stories. - Too broad market targeting:
people don’t know how to narrow their search properly or create ads that really get the perfect target. When this happens, you get the dreaded “bounce” – the person who clicks (read: costs you money), goes to your website but immediately concludes they didn’t find what they wanted. No sale. Just wasted click spend. Industry average bounce rates range from 70-90%. That means MOST people are doing PPC WRONG because most clicks are bounces! Ouch. We hate bounces as much as you do. Bounce rates differ by product type and company, but we see bounce rates as low as single digits with our clients! That means virtually EVERY click is a real lead and interested party. - Bad Landing page:
Many times people simply take the customer to their home page. This can be a good strategy in many cases. But most of the time, clicks should be directed to a landing page on the site that has continuity with their search and has a clear way to convert the user to a lead or customer. If the person doesn’t immediately realize that they are on the right page, they won’t take the time to hunt for information and they’ll bounce and you’ll lose a potentially good lead. Landing pages (http://dynamicwaveconsulting.com/ocean-city/) are proven to improve the efficacy of a campaign. - Bad lead capture/conversion system:
People often don’t have a clear call to action or lead-capture/conversion plan to capture leads from PPC. Or they don’t have good analytics to understand what the customer is doing once they reach the site. We can help put the tools in place to capture leads and convert sales.
The great news is that we can help you succeed with your digital marketing. We want you to be one of those success stories; and we’ve helped countless other companies build their success. Take advantage of our free consultation. We can help evaluate the right strategy and develop a path to success that works for your company and budget. Schedule your free consultation today at www.dynamicwaveconsulting.com!
Bruce Leto, Jr. (MBA – Villanova University)