Blogging Heros
Running pay-per-click (PPC) ads for your blog helps you reach more of your market through social media and search engines, but it can be difficult to measure your results.
Impressions don’t always result in clicks, and clicks don’t always equal sales. If you’re not generating sales, should you care about clicks? For instance, according to PPC.co, less than 25% of PPC ads produce conversions. In this case, you can’t measure success solely by your click-through-rate. However, there are several reasons your CTR is a good measurement of your foundation for success.
A high CTR is the foundation for PPC success
Many people measure PPC success only by the end goal: conversions. More specifically, sales. This is a correct assessment, but conversions aren’t the only form of success. Clicks – even without conversions – also indicate success.
When you run paid ads, you’re working with multiple components and strategies that need to be addressed both individually and together. For instance, you’ll need to generate impressions, clicks, and finally conversions. Even though conversions are your ultimate goal, you can’t get conversions without clicks. In other words, clicks drive the traffic that has the potential to convert. Without clicks, you can’t have conversions.
Should you really focus on clicks?
The popular rhetoric is that generating clicks doesn’t mean anything unless those clicks convert once they land on your website. For instance, a 27% CTR sounds impressive until you realize your conversion rate is less than 0.3%. While this disparity between clicks and conversions is vast, a high CTR still holds immense value.
According to marketing expert Neil Patel, a high click-through-rate is one of the biggest factors in a well-performing PPC ad campaign. A high CTR will affect your cost-per-click (CPC) and quality score in positive ways. For instance, higher CTRs generate a lower CPC, which means you’ll spend less money acquiring each new lead.
A high CTR means your ads are engaging
Regardless of your conversion rate, a high CTR means your ads are generating enough interest for people to click. This is a big achievement since many businesses struggle to generate clicks at all.
The only consideration here is whether or not your ads are relevant to the offer on your landing page. If your ads generate interest, your landing pages should generate an equal level of interest.
Although you’ll still need to improve your conversion rate, that’s a separate strategy. A high click-through-rate means you’re generating traffic to your site, and without traffic, you won’t get conversions.
When does a high CTR indicate your ads need improvement?
There are some instances when a high CTR can be detrimental. For instance, if your ads are misleading or being shown to the wrong market, you might be generating clicks that are just wasting your money.
If your CTR is high and your conversion rate is low, it could indicate one or more of the aforementioned possibilities. If that’s your situation, try the following:
· Tweak your audience to target a narrower market and see if your conversion rate improves.
· Check to make sure your chosen target market is correct based on market research. The market you’ve chosen may not be ideal.
· Verify that your ad copy and images match the offer on your landing pages. Sometimes people bounce and don’t convert when ads feel like clickbait,
· Verify that your landing page offer isn’t full of barriers like intrusive pop-ups, registration requirements, or other hoops people need to jump through (especially if you’re offering something for free).
· Do your ads provide a specific offer, or are they general? General ads can generate plenty of clicks, but tend to convert less than ads that offer something specific.
· Make sure your checkout process is easy and smooth without hidden fees or high shipping costs.
These are just some ideas you can use to troubleshoot a high CTR that may be detrimental. Ultimately, you’ll get the best results by hiring a professional marketing agency to run your entire PPC ad campaign.
A high CTR lays the foundation to improve conversions
Everyone wants conversions, and getting those conversions begins with clicks. Increasing your CTR is just as important as increasing your conversion rate. In fact, you can do both at the same time.
Although some experts might recommend honing your conversion rate first, it really depends on your strategy and current campaign. If you want to test one element at a time through split-testing, you may want to work on your conversions first.
In summary, knowing your CTR allows you to measure the effectiveness of your ads. A high CTR means you’re successfully generating clicks. From there, you can work on improving your conversions.
