Want to improve your Google Adwords CPC by 200%? Ok, let’s go.
What if you could maximize your Google Adwords budget and double your Adwords ROI average? It’s not rocket science. It’s simple search science that anyone can manage. Here are a few basic strategies that you can start using today. If you have questions, our phone number is below, or email me at: hello@seolos.com
Target multiple high-intent audiences with lower CPC keyword terms.
Buy keywords that show higher intent to purchase, with lower CPC averages. Say a client had historically bought the term “hiking boots” for their outdoor footwear company. That term averages about $2.19 CPC at 74,000 searches. Now that I’m the campaign manager, what if I instead bought “best hiking boots” for $0.79 CPC at 15,000 searches, AND “best hiking shoes” for $0.98 at 12,000 searches, AND “best waterproof hiking boots” for $0.94 @ 1,3000 searches… and, so on, until I achieved a similar volume of 74,000. Now, I’m paying less than 50% for the same clicks. Plus, I’m probably getting more high-intent buyers looking for new boots. Why? Because “hiking boots” is a general category that could include people looking for tips to maintain hiking boots, how to lace hiking boots, etc. Whereas, “best hiking boots” starts to target people researching the best boots. And those people are more likely to be buyers.
What’s the catch? I need volume and availability. Sure the CPC is lower, but if there’s not enough search volume, then I can’t hit the impression numbers required to even spend my budget. Ex., “walmart hiking boots” has a $0.53 CPC at 1,600 searches. If I had been purchasing a term with 74,000 searches per month, I probably can’t achieve the same total clicks when purchasing a lower CPC term with only 1,600 searches.
Average CTR is barely related to ROI.
Let’s reduce the cost per click by 50%, not improve the click-thru rate. I avoid worrying about click-thru rate (CTR). If I’m only paying for clicks, then my goal is to get twice as many clicks for the same budget. If I manage to get 1000 impressions and 10 clicks, or 5000 impressions and 10 clicks, they’re both the same in the world of CPC.
What’s the catch? A better CTR helps me get more clicks with lower search volumes. Like I mentioned above, if the total search volume is low, and Google has limited impressions to show an ad, a better CTR becomes essential to get my clicks. However, this can be addressed by buying more terms to increase my campaign’s total search volume opportunity.
Avoid buying branded keywords, if you already rank #1.
If you already rank #1 organically in a branded search, then paying for a branded keyword is largely wasted budget. Fun fact, the first organic search result placement gets 30% of the clicks. The first paid ad placement gets ~1.5% of the clicks. To offer the customer the “convenience” of clicking on a paid ad is nice, but it may not result in the best ROI for a campaign.
What’s the catch? Big budgets and brands may be looking for more search volume. If part of my challenge is simply buying enough search volume opportunity to get my desired clicks, then the minimal advantage of getting an additional 1.5% CTR or less may be something to consider.
Retarget and remarket to improve ROI even more.
A remarketing campaign is a clear way to improve your ROI. All the data shows that people who have been to your website are far more likely to come back and purchase, sign-up, or contact.
What’s the catch? Google will set your retargeting timeframe to 30 days from visiting your website. In some cases, this might be too long for your audience. Some decisions have to be made within a shorter window from when a person searches, to when a person purchases. (An easy example is an ad for tax preparation. If your retargeting ads are continuing to run after Tax Day, that’s probably a waste of money. Unless, you’re strategically advertising to those people who have already filed for an extension.)
Help Google like your ad by including target keywords.
Put the keywords you targeted into your ad copy. If my ad targets searches for “lightest carbon bicycle”, then I want to include the term “lightest carbon bicycle” somewhere in my ad copy. This reassures Google that the ad is relevant to the targeted search term, and makes Google slightly more likely to serve up my ad to users. After all, Google is trying to help searchers by showing the most relevant ads to their search.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
I’d love to hear more about your experience on Google Adwords buys. Leave a comment below, call our phone number at (310) 869-9840, or email me at: hello@seolos.com