Only getting 0.3 % conversion

Is adwords misreporting

[lgn1]

I finally added Google adwords conversion tracker to my exit page (thank you for payment), about two weeks ago.

At this time of year, I am getting half my traffic from organic sources and 1/2 via Google adwords. My conversion rate is around 2%. I would expect google adwords to have a 2% conversion or higher, however my adwords conversion is only showing 0.3% or 1/7 of what it should be.

My adword campaign is highly targetted, and I have good copy, so I believe that I should be getting much better conversion from adwords, so is adwords misreporting. Has anybody else seen this type of result?

[AdjumperGuy]

Hi lgn1,

It depends. Some visitors coming to your site via organic sources might have read a nice review, or a good recommendation. In that case, your product has been pre-sold, which definitely has a (good) impact on your conversion ratio.

Your adwords ad might attract some visitors who aren't comfortable with your product yet. Maybe after clicking on your ad and exploring your site, they might decide to look for a review of your product via other sources. If these sources convinced them, they buy your product...(without the sale being analysed as a result of an initial click on your ad)

[lgn1]

Actually google leaves a cookie on the users site, so if the user comes back within 30 days (before the cookie expires), then the conversion is recorded as the date the user first clicked on your adwords ad.

I have confirmed this with Google. Of course a user could clear all his cookies, but only a few percentage of users, wipe their cookies after every session.

[AdjumperGuy]

Thanks for the update Lgn1. In that case, I have no explanation at all.

[onlineleben]

Wouldn't this mean that your organic traffic cconverts better than adwords traffic?
If adwords places a cookie in your visitors browser on arrival on your site and reads it again from the thankyou page, it is recorded as a conversion. Your organic traffic doesn't receive the initial cookie from adwords so when the adwords conversion tracker wants to read a cookie, there is none. Therefore the reported conversion is lower.

[lgn1]

a google adword cookie is only placed on the customer site, if our adword ad is clicked, and since our ads are highly targeted I would expect adwords conversion to be higher than organic.

It does not look good on Google part to show adwords converting at 1/7 of the rate of organic. 0.3% conversion really sucks.

Is anybody using adwords conversion tracker, and what is your adwords conversion rate (not ctr, actually adwords conversion)?

[eWhisper]

I find that on average the Google conversion tool underreports at least 10%.

In more tech related fields where the searchers are much more experienced with browser and privacy settings, the tool can underreport 50% or more.

With some browsers its easy to turn off scripts, java, activex, have 3rd party images not rendered, and flush cookies/cache upon closing out each browsing session. (How many of you have had problems logging into Overture/AdWords and flushed your cookies/cache to see if that resets the problem?) There are other systems out there specific to other industries where people do this all the time as well.

Some of the underreported figures are from people who don't accept cookies, have cookies blocked, or don't allow sites to access 3rd party cookies (ok - I don't know the tech behind the last one - just know that I've heard this discussed).

Another reason it's often off, is how people search. Many times people search for products at work. Send the link to themselves or friends in email, and then buy from home/another computer. Since it's on another machine - Google has no idea that it's the same person.

I've heard several times, 'Google just isn't converting for us' and they stop/lower their PPC use. A week later I hear 'Why are our sales down'? Many of the times, this is due to 800 numbers on sites - which are difficult to track, and other times it's conversions not being properly associated to the origional lead source.

[Robsp]

lgn1

I would see the 0.3% as a starting point and start weeding out words, groups and ad texts that are not performing. We are a PPC management company but typically make sure that conversions go up every month.

Next to that there are 3 main reasons why the actual reported amount is not accurate:

1) Cookies as eWhisper mentioned
2) users that surf at their work and order at home (happens a lot in adult business)
3) Repeat sales from customers are also not measured

We have cases where the reported amount is more than 50% off. Conversions can also come in up to 30 days later as some users bookmark and order later (some cases more than 10%).

My advice, do not look at the absolute numbers (unless you are making a bottom line loss) but use the relative data to get your campaign(s) to run better.

Good luck!

[cline]

Another reason for underreported conversions are long sales cycles. Those cookies are only good for 30 days. In the sales cycle analyses I've done for various clients in every case the client was surprised at the length of the cycle. The client usually correctly perceives the median cycle, but not the average cycle. The cycle is usually -- and unexpectedly to the client -- long tail left skewed -- meaning that some small but significant fraction of the buyers spend far more time shopping (or at least procrastinating on a decision) than the median buyer.

So, if your sales cycle is 2 weeks or more, you're going to have a substantial number of expired cookies.

[lgn1]

I have asked google to make the cookies persistent or at least make them good for 90 days. They are looking into it. 30 days is definitely to short to track customer sales.

Also my buisness is seasonal, and it appears no matter what you do, free shipping, promo offers, they are just not interested in buying this time of year.

[good2go]

If you just started conversion tracker 2 weeks ago you haven't given the users 30 days yet to make the conversion. You'll notice if on Oct. 5th you run a conversion report for Oct. 4th visitors, your conversion rate will increase if you rerun the same exact conversion report one week later because many Oct. 4th visitors converted AFTER Oct. 4. In our industry, only 42% of converters convert on the first visit.
But more importantly, you said 50% of your traffic was organic and 50% was Adwords. So 0% of your traffic came from bookmarks? 0% type in your URL and came to your site? You have 0% repeat customers?
Your best converting is not organic or Adwords, it's existing customers. Our Adwords traffic never converts as well as users who come directly to the site. But that's ok, because we know a year from now, many of those Adwords customers will become repeat customers.
Are you sure you organic traffic converts at 2%? My guess would be that many of those conversions are from existing customers, not people who just found you yesterday from an organic search.

But even with that said, we expect Adwords to convert at least 50% of the rate of overall traffic.

[RedWolf]

I'll add that the issue with people sending links to themselves or others is a big one in some industries. If you are doing giftable items like I do, you will run across this a lot more. I have had a number of people put in the how did you find us field that their girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/child sent them the link as something they wanted for a gift.