Based on our experience, pay per click advertising (PPC), also known as Google Adwords, has become a necessary part of any successful home performance company’s marketing mix. Placing ads based on search terms is cost effective, reaches customers that have buying intent, and is inherently measurable. If used correctly, PPC can drive quality leads to your website and grow your business. Used incorrectly, it amounts to handing your credit card over to Google.
While PPC is an inherently performance based type of advertising--you only pay when someone clicks your ad--what ultimately matters is whether that click turns into a lead and then a job. "Wrong" clicks, as you'll see below, can be very costly and have zero chance of ever producing revenue for your company.
We've evaluated over a dozen PPC campaigns that are either self-managed by home performance companies or handled by generic Internet marketing firms like ReachLocal and Yodle. Here are the top mistakes we’ve found:
1. Using Google's Default Settings
Beware of default settings when creating campaigns! Google's default settings optimize the number of impressions on their end, but do not necessarily help to optimize your specific campaigns. In particular, you should avoid the use of broad match keywords. Broad match keywords allow Google to match similar terms to your specific keywords. This is good for Google, but bad for your PPC Adwords. For example, we recently noticed a search query of “solar system projects third grade that moves around” triggered a broad match ad for “solar power systems.” The bid for “solar power systems” was $42. Google gets your $42, and the searcher goes straight back to their search results. If you use broad match keywords, you will likely end up paying for searches like this that do not relate to your services. Try to use exact match keywords or broad match modified keywords in order to attract relevant searches and get the most out of your clicks.
2. Structuring the Account & Keyword Lists
In the same vein as using broad match keywords, using too many keywords in your ad groups and accounts makes it difficult to optimize the account because at different times different keywords could be triggered by the same search query. To get the most out of your keywords, it is best to have a core set of phrases (1-5) for each ad group. This ensures your ad will be relevant to the search and can help increase conversions per click by displaying relevant content in the ad and then linking to relevant content on your site. On accounts that use numerous keywords per ad group you often see small amounts of spend across all the keywords, which add up in the long run and typically result in few conversions.
3. Conversion Tracking is Not Set Up
If conversions are not being tracked, there is no way to evaluate whether you are bidding the right price for your Adwords. Conversion tracking is essential in PPC optimization. Once you’ve created your keyword ad groups, you need to monitor which groups and keywords are effectively creating conversions. An important step in the tracking process is linking your Google Analytics and Adwords accounts. This will give you a more comprehensive view of how your keywords are performing. Tracking conversions allows you to set accurate PPC bids at the keyword level, rather than setting the same bid for all keywords. Different words have different values, and in order to optimize your PPC campaign, you need to track conversions, determine which words are effective, and bid the right price for their clicks.
4. No Call Tracking
Across the campaigns Energy Circle manages, on average about 70% of PPC leads use the telephone vs. completing a form on your website. If you are not using a call tracking program, most of the leads coming from PPC are not getting counted. Tracking the origin of calls contributes to correctly tracking conversions and, as stated above, assigning proper values to keywords.
5. Set & Forget
Understandably, most self-managed campaigns are not optimized regularly. Successful PPC requires constant monitoring and tweaking. Experiment with new words, get rid of ineffective words, create new landing pages and then analyze the data. Tools like Google Analytics and Adwords are there for a reason: use the info they provide and adjust accordingly.
6. Failure to Use New Tools
For the better, Google continues to ad new features to adwords. But, in doing so, they are also adding to the complexity. One example: there are a multitude of extensions you can use to beef up your ads. You can add location information, phone numbers, site links, social media links and info on promotional offers. In addition to spicing up the look of your ad, extensions can be monitored like keywords. When used correctly they help to optimize your PPC and drive the right kind of traffic to your site.
7. Setting up Proxy Websites
The big internet marketing agencies typically set up a separate website in order to specifically track leads generated via Adwords. This is a terrible practice. Even when done properly (no index, etc), splitting your website visitors between two websites hurts your ability to grow a strong, authoritative website over time. Read our previous reviews of these lead generation services and our evaluation of Yodle (particularly paying attention to the real world experiences of home performance contractors in the comments.)