Discussion
Setup some Google AdWords ads last week and they seem to be doing the job, driving people past my front door so to speak.
What I cant get a handle on though is how to measure the success of particular ads.
For example, what is classed as a good click through rate?
Happy with the spend etc, just looking for a frame of reference really.
Thoughts?
What I cant get a handle on though is how to measure the success of particular ads.
For example, what is classed as a good click through rate?
Happy with the spend etc, just looking for a frame of reference really.
Thoughts?
It's different for all companies, keywords and industries so you won't get a definative answer.
If you are finding your ad ranking rising without spending any more money then your CTR is better than the competition so google is rewarding you in a sense. The reverse is also true should your CTR be low.
As a guide I aim for 5% and above, with some of my best ads getting around the 10% mark.
If you are finding your ad ranking rising without spending any more money then your CTR is better than the competition so google is rewarding you in a sense. The reverse is also true should your CTR be low.
As a guide I aim for 5% and above, with some of my best ads getting around the 10% mark.
CTR does affect ranking wuite a bit. If your ad gets a much better click through rate than one from your competitor then even though you may be paying half as much for the position your ad could appear above theirs. It's Google's way of keeping the adverts relevant, otherwise some large company with bags of money could bid high for any unrelated term and still be at the top.
One way to test CTR for different ideas you have is to make two almost identical adverts with only the one change between them. Run each of the ads for 50% of the time and let the market decice which ad is better. Once you can see one gets a better CTR then promote it to 100% coverage.
One way to test CTR for different ideas you have is to make two almost identical adverts with only the one change between them. Run each of the ads for 50% of the time and let the market decice which ad is better. Once you can see one gets a better CTR then promote it to 100% coverage.
Sounds like it, and now that you are mastering AdWords give its rivals a go:
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/
and
https://adcenter.microsoft.com/Default.aspx
The MSN version is only a few months old so not many companies are using it yet, so I'm currently coming top for all searches for pennies. The downside is the number of clicks in a week can be counted on your fingers.
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/
and
https://adcenter.microsoft.com/Default.aspx
The MSN version is only a few months old so not many companies are using it yet, so I'm currently coming top for all searches for pennies. The downside is the number of clicks in a week can be counted on your fingers.
slapmatt said:
Matt - how is your natural search engine ranking going nowadays?
Good on some terms, for the company name (without the Ltd) for instance I am number one on all the search engines
Still havent been picked up by DMOZ which is the big one I suppose but some stuff seems to be working.
Trouble is my field has a LOT of hobbyists and most traffic appears to come for either google, when I've been lucky on search terms or from links on well known portals for this technology.
Your advice did help massively though I have to say.
Its an iterative process on the whole I guess.
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff