Category: Google AdWords

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What Happened to Conversions in AdWords in February?

Many clients have been complaining the first week in March about their low number of conversions in February. If you are one of them, you are definitely not alone. We saw a dip in clicks, impressions, and conversions across many business sectors in February.

Remember however that some of the lower numbers are due to the shorter month, but just the same there were losses across the board. I wish I had more answers as to why. Personally I just think that the shoppers weren’t buying in February.

Another trend I started to see this month is a drop in cost per click on many accounts. The bid that used to buy position 3 to 5 is now buying 1 or 2 which means it’s time to pull back your CPC.

So between low conversions and a drop in CPC, it tells me that some advertisers have moved out of the marketplace in Google AdWords. That means for the people who stay the course that there will be less competition for clicks and very possibly increased conversions in March.

What do you think? What have you seen on your AdWords account, any similar trends?

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Google AdWords Explained

Google AdWords is a pay per click program. Pay Per Click programs, PPC or Pay For Performance are all the buzz in Internet marketing. The growth in web traffic generated by pay per click services is growing and a marketing option to be seriously considered. With PPC, you pay each time a web viewer chooses your ad listing link and clicks into your website.

Pay per click targets a specific audience reaching up to 85% of all Internet users in a cost effective and immediate way. There can be as much as a $20 return of investment for each $1 spent.

The first step is to select which pay for performance agent to use.

Although Yahoo has more overall visitors statistically, due to their Web properties, than Google, Google AdWords is the most productive pay per click vehicle and the place you should start with when you decide to advertise using pay per click. In the United States, over 80% of all Internet searches will start on Google first. With Google AdWords, you can see your ads in several hours, and have the ability to start and stop campaigns easily. You will show your products and services to millions of viewers and active shoppers using the massive reach of Google. Additionally Google AdWords will typically out perform Yahoo and MSN adCenter when it comes to generating conversions and return on investment.

The second step is to select your targeted keyword or phrases.

At this point you may want to consider increasing the density of your selected keywords in your website’s HTML code, your site’s description, and title. However, we have found that you can still experience great returns using PPC without revising your website, as your PPC ads are triggered by the keywords you selected that are tied to your ad and not your web site’s content.

The third step is to select your monthly budget.

You select the maximum amount that you will pay each month for click throughs to your website. Once the maximum amount is reached your agent will halt click throughs to your site automatically. Additionally, you will select how much you are willing to pay by keyword.

With Yahoo! Sponsored Search, you will be charged your pre-designated budget amount on a monthly basis in advance of the clicks. Clicks are then deducted from your account balance on a daily basis. With Google AdWords, you may pause a campaign or update your settings at any time. There are no minimum monthly spending limits and no contracts or long term commitments. You can select to be charged for clicks after they happen.

How much should you allot for a pay per click program?

I suggest that clients should set a budget of at least $500 and better yet $800 to $1,500 for 30 days of clicks on top of our fees for the first month. This allows Google to have enough budget to not minimally serve the account and allows us enough latitude to find the sweet spot for a market competitive cost per click.

When you are ready to get serious about pay per click for your business we invite you to consider our AdWords services. Not sure which account manager to use? Review our client ratings and testimonials as you evaluate your choices.

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Top Google AdWords Questions

There are questions that we get asked by clients about Google AdWords frequently. Here are several and our answers to each.

I am looking for my ad at 8:00 PM on Google and can’t see it why?

When you cannot see your ad in the evening it is typically because your daily budget has already been spent for the day and Google has stopped showing your ads. The frequency of your ad being shown is all tied to your daily budget which is found by taking your 30 day click budget and dividing it by 30 days. Google may spend over 20% of your daily budget on any one day, but will never spend over your 30 day budget in a 30 day period.

My budget is $500 and Google spent $516 in December, why?

December is a 31 day month so Google could spend an extra day spend in December. Remember the budget you set is for clicks for a 30 day period. Some months will have 31 days.

I have reviewed my credit card and it appears that I was billed by Google several times why?

Google does not bill according to your credit card billing cycle or for that matter even on a set monthly basis. Google bills when you have spent your pre-assigned Google spending limit. Here are the limits from the Google help center:

The initial credit limit of $100 is incrementally raised each time an account hits its credit limit before 30 days have ended. The credit limit is first raised to $100, then to $250, then to $500 and then to $1000. The amount billed may be slightly in excess of the credit limit if an account accrues clicks very quickly.

So you may actually have several transactions to your credit card in the same month or straddled over two months appearing that Google is constantly billing you, but in essence they are following their credit guidelines noted above.

I thought it used to be $5 to set up an AdWords account, but I got billed $10

 Google has recently changed its set up fee. You are right it has always been $5 and just in the very recent past has Google started to bill $10 for set up.

As pricing and billing are some of the most asked questions about AdWords, here is a link to the AdWords help center to specifically additionally address some other topics you may find of interest.

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When Should You Raise Your AdWords Budget?

On Wednesday this week I wrote about when you should consider dropping your AdWords budget, now let’s talk about when you should consider raising it.

1. If you are not tracking conversions or leads I would not consider raising an AdWords advertising budget until those tools are implemented. If you are making strong conversions and leads I would recommend that you increase your advertising budget for a two to three week test period. In many cases doing so will bring more conversions, but not in all cases.

2. If you have very few impressions in your account you should consider not only increasing your AdWords budget but your maximum cost per click. In a case such as this, typically you have simply fallen out of the auction and AdWords will very slowly serve your ads. In other cases where you have very few impressions it is a possible problem with a high cost per click and a low daily budget. Raising your daily budget will allow you to identify where the problem really lies.

3. It is very important to monitor your AdWords program when you do increase your budget. Use all the tools that AdWords has available to monitor your activity. It is possible that you will need to raise your budget again if you are getting results or that you will need to lower your budget if you have not stimulated leads or conversions.

If you need an experienced Google AdWords account manager, don’t forget to check with me first.