If a pay-per-click (PPC) account and the advertiser’s business model are functioning reasonably well, we often find that a business owner becomes heavily dependent on the PPC channel.
“Max the volume!” and “We’re down from last year, I’m very worried” are typical (if vague) remits from clients and bosses deep in the thrall of this perennial growth-driving channel.
If you’ve arrived late on the PPC scene, you might not be aware that previous account managers assumed the channel was “naughty” and that PPC needed to be reined in. Sure, there are sources of cash bleed in any PPC account, but there are downsides to an overly defensive stance.
Pursuing volume in the context of an “over-tightened” account can cost even more (in the form of high bids, excess use of remarketing and overzealous attempts to find new inventory in other channels that can be enabled via PPC platforms — say, in Display).
Even the savviest of us might overlook some of the excess tightening that has crept into an account. Some of this is obvious; other times, it’s nearly impossible to dig up.
Here are five ways your PPC account may actually be blocking out perfectly acceptable traffic.
1. Unreasonable dayparts
Businesses that rely on a retail store or phone interactions might reasonably adjust bids downward in off hours.
Business to business (B2B) campaigns might seem to be better suited to run during normal business hours, targeting people at the office.
I get it. The problem with this is that none of it is 100 percent true; people do research (especially, now, on their phones and tablets) during off hours. In AdWords, the time zone you use is fixed, so assumptions around your coastal bids will be three hours off.
[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.
About The Author
Andrew Goodman is founder and President of Toronto-based Page Zero Media, a full-service agency obsessed with PPC performance since 2002. Current clients include Well.ca, Princess Auto, and Nuts.com. Andrew wrote 2 editions of Winning Results With Google AdWords (McGraw-Hill), a pioneering book on PPC strategy and tactics. He continues to speak regularly at SMX and other events. He was also an adviser to (and later, co-founder of) a consumer review startup, Toronto-based HomeStars, acquired by HomeAdvisor in 2017.