Measuring PPC Returns – ROAS vs ROI

Return on Ad Spending (ROAS) and Return on Investment (ROI) are often interchanged as though they mean the same thing.  In this respect, Google is the biggest culprit.  While Yahoo characterizes Pay per Click (PPC) spending as “Spending!” Google glibly refers to it as an “Investment.”  Calling Pay per Click spending an investment is like calling a joy ride on a ferris wheel an investment.  The return lasts for one revolution of the wheel.  Enjoy it while it lasts, but don’t expect to derive a lasting benefit from the experience.

PPC Versus SEO

Pay per click (PPC) or Search engine optimization (SEO)?  It’s a question every Internet Marketing professional answers in one form or another almost everyday. For most companies, we recommend doing some form of both.

Managing Shooting Stars

Aside from your predictable actual Geo Market Competitors, Ad Spaces can sometimes be littered with blundering passers-by who have unwittingly purchased 20 short, 8 digit broad match keywords nationwide with no negatives.  While it may only take each such Shooting Star 20 minutes or so per day to torch through his $100 ad budget, still, for that glorious 20 minutes your Ad Space will be cluttered with an inappropriate ad.

Applying the Adwords API

We’ve been an MS Gold Certified Partner for the past few years, and sometimes we are rich in developers. We assigned a couple of our developers to apply the Google Adwords API in developing some tools for use by our PPC Ad Managers.

If you loved the book . . .

then Position Preference is the feature for you! Google transforms the otherwise mundane job of applying position preference into (when applied to an online store) an epic adventure.

Coping With Shooting Stars

Aside from your predictable actual Geo Market Competitors, Ad Spaces may be littered with passers-by who obviously don’t belong, either by virtue of having set the wrong geo-scope for their ad campaigns, or by having chosen to purchase ridiculously general keywords. We call these Advertisers, Shooting Stars. While it may take a Shooting Star only 20 minutes or so per day to torch through his $100 ad budget, still, for that glorious 20 minutes your Ad Space will be cluttered with a bogus ad.

SEO: a Game of Musical Chairs

Those companies pursuing search marketing programs don’t need us to tell them that the competition for listings on the 1st page of organic search results is intensifying. Seven years ago, there were 10 first page organic search listings per search phrase.  Today there are still just 10.  However, during that period, the number of active websites has increased by over 600%.

Improve Your Landing Pages

A conversion occurs when a visitor performs a specified beneficial act, such as buys something online, submits a contact form, or calls a phone number found on a webpage. A Conversion Lever is the means by which a conversion is initiated by the visitor to a website. Improving your website, particularly as it affects conversion levers, can significantly impact return on your pay per click advertising.

What’s a decent CTR for a PPC campaign?

A little over 25% of clicks on Google searches go to Sponsored Ads. Since there are a maximum of 8 to 12 ads per page, then the par value for CTR is about 2.5%. Professional Adwords advertising companies are sometimes able to consistently achieve double digit click through rates in the most inefficient business segments. In the more competitive ad spaces, advertisers should consider a 5% click through rate to be exceptionally good.