PPC, Is It Worth It?
That’s a tough question. I don’t really know you, but if I was a bettin’ man (or woman, or neither…I generally identify as “website”), I’d wager that you’re in charge of a small business. But if you’re making decisions for a large business, this blog is for you, too!
Small company, large company, whatever. You’re busy as hell and need to know if pay per click (PPC) advertising is worth your time and money.
Salesperson Answer: Yes, it’s worth your time and money and it’ll give you a bajillion leads instantly. GIVE IN TO YOUR FOMO NOW!!
Honest Answer: It can be worth your time and money, but it depends on multiple factors and results vary.
You don’t have to be a big company to have success with PPC. We’ve had clients with budgets smaller than $500 per month and they still got conversions.
Yes, really. In 2018, a client asked us to run campaigns during their busy season (about 3 months total). The catch was that their monthly budget only allowed us to spend $3.20 per day.
If you clicked on a blog with this title, there’s a chance you might not be familiar with daily PPC budgets. I’ll put it this way: Most of the time, $3.20 per day will get you jack sh*t for results.
Google’s recommended bid prices often exceed $3 per keyword click depending on the industry, so having a daily budget lower than the average cost per click can be a pain.
But hey, we don’t get paid to make excuses. So, we created a strategy to bid around $0.50 per keyword regardless of the recommended bid prices. The quality scores, ad relevance, and landing page took care of the rest.
Here are the key learnings (Gross. I literally shudder when I hear that expression…let’s try that again). Here’s what happened:
- This campaign brought in 76 conversions for less than a dollar per click.
- The conversion rate was over 12% (average across all industries is 3.75%)
- The total amount spent was about $141 per month. Not bad, right?
Now, I’d be a fool to promise you that your company can have these exact same results. Some big reasons for this company’s PPC success are:
- A fun and transparent brand voice. No corporate jargon or vague copy.
- A clear, simple service offer.
- An easy user experience with a clear path pointed to the desired end goal. Simple overview –> Straight-forward call-to-action –> Form with a clear result.
All of these things made it possible to spend very little and still get results. The ads weren’t #1 in every search, but the ad copy and landing page content drew people in and got conversions.
Pay Per Click, Cost Per Click, Search Engine Marketing, {Insert the latest keyword}. Whatever you wanna call it, paid advertising is a good way to get results. But you need to manage your expectations and carefully plan your campaigns.
About Us
CG Marketing Group is a talented team of creatives and strategists who can make your business awesome. We like to have fun, but we’re very serious about digital marketing.
To sum us up in a single word — Scrappy. We’re always eager to branch out and apply new tactics to create successful campaigns. Our crew works hard to bring value, get results, and keep our clients happy.