When two companies work together in a partnership, there has to be an understanding for it to go smoothly. There’s a reason the two are working together; each company stands to benefit in one way or another.

Company A is good at this. Company B is good at that. Bring them together, and now we’re cooking! Unless Company A tries interfering with what Company B does well, or vice-versa.

Choosing a digital marketing agency to manage online advertising, specifically pay-per-click, is no different. True, I can’t tell the forklift dealer what the new Toyota skid steer’s outside turning radius is. (Did I even say that right?) I also can’t explain to our telecommunications client how net neutrality is going to impact the industry.

I can, however, tell them which keywords to target, how much to spend per day, the time of day their ads perform best, and so much more thanks to a working knowledge of Google AdWords, Google Analytics, and other great tools. There’s a reason we’re the PPC advertising company, and they’re the client.

Below are common misconceptions some clients believe when it comes to pay-per-click advertising.

The More Clicks the Better!!!

Yes, more clicks on your ads will result in more people landing on your website. But, are 100 clicks always better than 70 clicks?

It depends.

Of those 100 clicks, how many visitors converted? How many filled out a contact form, called your business, made a purchase, or did anything else of value? If the 70 clicks resulted in more conversions, why spend more for those useless clicks? Just to inflate your numbers on the next report? It may be time to reevaluate keywords, ad copy, targeting or something else.

An awesome tool to use in AdWords is the Search Terms filter. This tells you exactly what users searched for before landing on your ad. Having the ability to look at those search terms and keywords can help you determine if you’re targeting the right online audience. If 50% of your clicks stem from a keyword that has nothing to do with your business or the services you offer, make it a negative keyword.

SEMrush is a favorite tool of ours when it comes to competitive research. It breaks down your main paid competitors by listing their top keywords, ad copy and more.

Not sure about a particular keyword or phrase? That’s okay; it’s time to play one of our favorite games here at Site-Seeker: The Google Image Game! Simply search for the keyword and go to the image results. If you see similar products or services to what you offer, you’re using the right language. If the results come back completely different from what you offer, don’t bid on that term!

My Budget is Just Fine!!!

No. No, it’s not.

Believe it or not, you’re not the only one in your industry using a PPC strategy. Shocking, I know.

Speaking of your industry: what do you sell or provide? Is it a relatively expensive product or service? If so, you can expect stiff competition, especially from national brands that have 10x the advertising budget.

Take this for example: if your average cost per click is $12 and your daily budget is $30, how many clicks can you expect in a day? SPOILER ALERT: it’s not many clicks (less than three on average).

Using the Keyword Planner Tool gives you a good idea of what keywords will cost per click. A good strategy is to find keywords that yield high search volumes and little competition. Rather than bidding for the same keywords your eight competitors are trying for, find niche keywords that will get more qualified users to your site for less money!

Your budget can also be affected by quality score. While Google is a competitive market, the advertising platform giant does try to keep things fair for everyone. One way to ensure the big spenders don’t get every top position is through quality score. Just because a company bids the highest for a certain keyword doesn’t mean their ad appears on top. Google looks at your bid, your quality score, and an algorithm known by only four Google employees (yes, that’s a joke) to determine ad positioning. Quality score is made up of good ad copy, relevant keywords, expected click through rate, landing page copy and experience, and more.

Which brings us to our next point:

There’s Nothing Wrong With My Website!!!

Haha, that’s a good one.

There’s so much that goes into Google’s rankings and its quality score. True, the selections you make in AdWords (budget, keywords, ad copy, targeting) play a huge role in determining your ad’s positioning. Another factor is quality score, (see above). The remaining piece to the quality score puzzle – aside from budget, keyword relevance and AdWords performance – actually stems from the user experience on your site.

Mobile

Is your site mobile friendly? Sales on a non-mobile friendly site are like running into a teenager who doesn’t have a Snapchat: hard to come by. Google favors sites that are responsive and mobile friendly for any device. As mobile traffic continues to increase – it’s over 50% of all traffic by the way – Google will only get harder on sites who don’t boast a functioning mobile experience.

Landing Page & Content

If your landing page isn’t relevant to the search terms or ads users clicked to get there, Google will penalize you. The platform takes into account bounce rates and how long users stay on your page. If the average time visitors are on a certain page is only a second or two, the majority of people are leaving almost immediately. That’s not okay!

Not only should your landing page be relevant, but it should be easy to use and navigate. The content should be valuable (and relevant to the ad copy and original keyword search term). After all, you did just pay for someone to get there.

You could have the highest budget in the world and target every single keyword imaginable. If your on-site experience isn’t a good one, your PPC program will suffer.

Looking for a PPC advertising company that’s right for you? Contact us today and we’ll get you started in the exciting world of pay-per-click!