PPC Condition 2:   Disengaged

Get in the game!  Don’t sit on poor ad positions, below market bids, and an underspent ad budget.

This PPC condition is coincident with poor ad positions.  It’s possible that for some advertisers, poor ad positions (double and triple positions) as a planned sort of ad position strategy might work.  It might be particularly interesting to consider as an odd ball sort of strategy when a primary ad space is hypercompetitive, or overrun with buffoons.  Most often however, a disengaged condition correlates with a poorly maintained account.

When we first started managing ad accounts four years ago, we could buy clicks in many industries for nickels, dimes, quarters.  Some of those same ad spaces have moved forward to dollars and even fivers.  Some accounts which used to purchase clicks for $5 have since moved north of $25 or $50.    Anybody falling behind on bid maintenance over this period might now inadvertently be purchasing triple digit ad positions.  We generally take exception to positions which fall off the first page, because it can result in the arbitrary display of ads.  This contrasts with being in a bargain hunting mode where we are selectively purchasing those terms and elements which offer the best value.  No doubt, sometimes a disengaged approach can result in the display of ads for only long-tail keywords, but unless the account is structured to exploit this approach, it is unlikely to be trending up on its quality score.

Aside from all that, most often when we find an account which is disengaged, its overall condition is a shambles.  In such cases, it may require a complete restructuring, new ads, and an overall critical reevaluation.  In such cases, historical data might offer only limited value, and we would expect to reforecast conversion rates