PPC Search should be the cornerstone of all your online marketing efforts, because it can provide immediate results and immediate pin-point data to determine the effectiveness of the search campaigns:

• In mid-April 2001, the CFO for one of my clients called me to complain that “my” PPC spending was ruining their budgeting process. “In February we spent $1,500 on PPC, in March we spent $2,500, and in the first two weeks of April we’ve already spent $3,000. How can we set a budget for our PPC spending?” My reply: “You can set any budget you’d like. For every dollar I spend on PPC, we generate $5 in sales. Where would you like me to cap our sales?” His reply: “Never mind.”

• In 2005, a new client was spending $20,000 per month on PPC Search, to generate only $10,000 in monthly revenue. After discussing their situation briefly, I proposed a simple arrangement: I would reduce their PPC spending to less than $10,000 per month while increasing the revenue generated. If I failed, I’d charge no fee at all. A few months later, after I exceeded that goal, that happy client gladly paid my fees.

• Another new client called me in 2007, because they were spending nearly $10,000 per month on Google AdWords but couldn’t determine the effectiveness. I quickly determined that 90% of the client’s spending was completely wasted. A few months later, the client was spending less than $2,000 per month and could clearly see the results from each dollar spent on each keyword.

Of course, many merchants fail to set up proper ROI tracking for their PPC Search campaigns, and as a result those merchants can’t determine which part of their PPC spending is wasted and which is effective.

The results from your PPC Search campaigns can also provide unique insight to focus your other marketing strategies, including Search Engine Optimization (SEO, organic search, where results can only be reliably measured after several months).

Comments are closed