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“Good Conversion Rates?

Before we start, we must understand what exactly PPC advertising is.

Instead of spending money on estimated impressions, with PCC, you only pay when someone clicks on one of your ads. Meaning that you only pay for the traffic your ads generate.

So, what about PPC conversions?

Well, this is the next step, the action you want to be completed after someone has clicked on your ad. In other words, once they have taken the desired action, they are defined as a “qualified sales lead.” After all, they have shown interest in your products/services and have a high likelihood of becoming a customer or client.

On average, the PPC conversion rate across all industries is approximately 3.75% for search. But, to reiterate, this number is average. Naturally, there will be some variation when considering different markets and industries.

And always keep in mind that just because the bar for your industry is set, it doesn't mean you shouldn't put in the effort to improve your conversion rates.

So, what are some aspects you should improve to increase conversions?

The Two Battles: Part 1

There are two battles when it comes to converting leads: 

Battle Number 1: Driving qualified traffic to the landing page from your PPC campaign. 

Unclear and Forgettable Messaging

It may seem obvious, but you must remove all unclear messaging, as it will only compromise your conversion rates. We mean messaging that isn’t consistent across all aspects of your campaign and branding: the ad, landing page, the messaging your sales team uses, etc.

If you find this to be the case, take a step back, revisit your funnel, and realign your messaging.

Now let’s consider forgettable messaging. If you’re getting less-than-average conversion rates for PPC, you may not be crafting indistinguishable ads from your competitors. While it’s always great to look at what’s working for the competition - especially as you’re competing for the same search intent - creating an ad that’s almost the same won’t do anything for your conversion rates.

Instead, focus on creating standout copy that offers a solution to the pain point your target audience has. Emphasize the particular problem and address how you can help.

Always keep in mind that people are searching for solutions to their problems. If you demonstrate your ability to understand the problem, they will be more likely to trust you to fix it. 

Bad Keyword Targeting

Building on messaging, let’s consider keywords. After all, your ad is only as effective as your keywords.
So, how do you know which keywords will result in the most conversions?

Naturally, the generic, high-traffic keywords, known as Broad Match Keywords, that you’ve been bidding on won’t do much to help your rates. They are too broad, don’t focus on your target audience, and, as a result, don’t produce great click-through rates.

Therefore, you’re not only spending time and resources on keywords that aren’t aligned with your goals but also aren’t driving ROI.

So, how can you fix this?

• First, think like a customer! What search queries would you type into search engines if you had the specific pain point your business is trying to solve? Use a tool such as Google Ads Search Terms to discover the search queries that trigger your ad - this will provide your business with insights into your current keywords and identify any gaps between the search terms and your keywords.
• Competitor research: it’s always important to see what keywords direct competitors are bidding on.
• Analyze your current campaigns in AdWords and shortlist the keywords that drive the most traffic, also make note of the keywords to exclude from your campaigns to keep track of your efforts.

Once you’ve built a list of keywords, weed out the broad and irrelevant ones - irrelevant to your campaign goals, intent, target audience, product, or service - until you’re left with Exact Match Keywords.

Remember, the more specific you get, the better - as it’ll guarantee that your target audience is seeing the ad. And you’ll improve the number of clicks, the quality of leads reaching your landing pages, and hopefully, conversions.

Doing the Maths

Another major element that will determine the success of your campaigns, and in turn, conversion rate, is budget. 

Whether you’re hesitant to commit more resources to your PPC campaigns, or you’re a small business that doesn’t have the funds, always remember: as is the case with so many other things in life, to make money, you have to spend money. 

But how do you know how much to spend? 

There’s no correct answer to this, as no two businesses are the same. But here are some factors you should consider:

• Competition. Get a feel for the average Cost-Per-Click, demand, and competition in your industry to understand how much you should be looking to spend.
• Aims. Long-term vs. short-term. Depending on your goals and search intent, you may need to put down some more cash. 
• Other marketing avenues. Is PCC your only marketing channel? Probably not. So, take a moment to determine the value of PPC when compared to your broader marketing strategy. How much growth opportunity is there in your other marketing channels? If most of your growth comes from PPC, then consider spending more. 
• Return on Ad Spend. Before deciding how much you can afford to spend per click, take the time to figure out your break-even point. Only then you will know what the sensible number to put down is.

For those visual folk, here is a great infographic by WordStream:

But of course, this is only one example, and there are other ways to estimate your budget. 

The Two Battles: Part 2

Once your campaign is up and running, the job hasn’t ended. After all, clicks aren’t all that matter - remember, clicks don’t equal conversions. 

Battle Number 2: Converting post-click. 

If you focus solely on the campaign and gaining clicks, you’ll see an average PPC performance. To run a truly successful campaign, you need to start focusing on “after the click,” that is, converting those clicks into paying customers. This involves focusing on landing page conversion. 

Not Mobile Friendly

66% of all site visits come from mobile devices. Did you know that? So, considering this, it would make sense to ensure your site and landing pages are optimized for mobile. 

But it doesn’t end there! 53% of visits are abandoned if a site takes longer than 3 seconds to load. 

(source: CrazyEgg)

A few seconds may not seem like a big deal but think about it this way, even just a 1-second delay could potentially cost you millions in lost sales every year. 

So, do what you can to ensure your landing pages are easy to read, functional, and easy to navigate. 

Your Landing Page Isn’t Strong

Now that the leads have reached your landing page, you must drive them to convert. Various elements make up a successful landing page. Here are the building blocks you should optimize:

• Design: Keep it simple, easy to follow, and fast loading. 
• Copy: just like in your campaign, well-written copy on your landing pages is crucial for converting prospects. They are your chance to explain why YOUR service is the answer to the lead’s problem. So, display features and benefits in a way that’s easy to navigate and understand and present your business as the right solution. Remember, this copy should flow seamlessly with the rest of your campaign.
• Trust Strips. Help yourself come across as more trustworthy by adding testimonials from previous customers. After all, we don’t have to tell you how powerful reviews are. 
• Branding. Ensure your branding is consistent across colors, fonts, logos, images, and more.
• CTA. Guide your leads to act by including strategic call-to-action buttons throughout the landing page and social media marketing campaigns.

If you’re a little unsure how to accomplish this, our experts are here to help. Having created many successful landing pages, we know what to do to drive conversions.

You’re Not Following Up

Just because a lead doesn’t convert right away, it doesn’t mean they won’t convert at all - let’s be honest, in a perfect world, leads would convert upon the first contact, but that isn’t the case for most. 

Maybe they need more time and convincing, don’t have the budget allowance at the moment, or simply forgot.

Whatever the reason, it’s always important to follow up and remind them of your services. Whether this is through personalized email marketing campaigns, sharing your unique selling points or incentives in a remarketing campaign, conducting surveys, or any other method, reaching out to these leads is critical - and will most definitely help your conversions.

Learn and Tweak

When it comes to anything in marketing, there’s always room for improvement. There are so many different elements that go into a PPC campaign that can be, and should be, A/B Tested.

Take the time to learn what works best, what helps the campaign run optimally, and tweak accordingly! 

And this isn’t limited to just your campaigns - it goes for your landing pages as well. Continue on this path until you have found the perfect recipe for conversions.

How Ranky Can Help

With plenty of experience, expertise, and dedication, up our sleeves, our experts know just how to dive deep into your campaigns to deliver the results you seek. 

In this article, we’ve only touched upon some of the mistakes that could be hampering your campaigns, conversion rates, and bottom line. Discover what else you need to know about how to increase PPC conversions, as well as how our experts can help by contacting us today for a free consultation call. 

Our tailor-made strategies work to boost unreasonably low conversion rates, improve the quality of leads reaching your landing pages, ensure your landing pages are fully optimized, and more!