What is “Doing Better” When it Comes to Pay Per Click?

Jon C. Coward, VP of Internet Marketing Strategy

It’s actually hard for me not to laugh when I hear a client say they were doing “better” in their Google Pay Per Click before coming aboard with my company. Yes, I know that’s rude and no, I’m not cruel. Really, I don’t laugh, I listen intently because it’s time to educate.  Most of the time, I have already discussed or seen their previous efforts or heard their ideas on what keywords they think we should be using. Some input is very very valuable… most is not.  But I will always seek it becasue if it’s not valuable, it opens up something even more valuable… dialogue.

Usually a client thinks they are doing better because on their own (or a with previous company) they got more clicks or more impressions than they seem to have gotten from me.  So naturally they assume they themselves or the other company did better and I must be doing something wrong. To that… there are two places my brain goes.

1. If the either a company, or yourself were bringing in so much business, why did you switch to me? Ahhh. Now they start thinking. Just maybe those clicks and impressions weren’t so good for relevant impressions after all. Anyone can get clicks. Just launch a campaign – keywords are easy… right? Google will even give some to you. Chances are you will spend lots and lots of money and then cut your budget, completely choking your campaign, For example, if you are a car dealer and want words like “Ford” and “Chevy” as keywords… go right ahead. You will get mass views and get many clicks. Most of the clicks will be anyone looking to actually buy a car. If you want to buy the world Austin TX because you are a restaurant and travelers may want to eat, go right ahead. Virtually none are looking to eat right now. If all you want is traffic… congrats. You did it. If you want qualified traffic, call me (oh… you already did).
2. 2. The client has no idea what their goal for their campaign is. How do you hit a target you can’t see.  How do you know what weapon you need to hit the target. Imagine having a bow and arrow, then pulling off your blindfold and seeing the target is 500 yards away. You might need a bigger bow or a rifle!

Good Pay Per Click isn’t about bringing in mass numbers and sorting them out in the end. It’s about harnessing the power of Google and targeting your traffic. After that it is endless refinement. You may see traffic go down at times, but your conversions go up. Then you can focus on the real beats Return on Investment (ROI). ROI is the only number to count and the only comparative number that means anything.

For the un-initiated,  “better”… means higher numbers – more impressions and more clicks. Google likes it that way and will help you do it. For pros it means TARGETED clicks and TARGETED impressions. But that takes work and skill.