CTR or Conversion Rate?

CTR is low but conversion is high

[karim0028]

Hi Guys,

I have a campaign running right now with 3 ads, 2 with CTR below 1.8% and the 3rd with 3.8 % CTR....

The 3.8 ad has 0 conversions... The other two ads have around a 2-3% conversion... What the hell do i do? Should i keep running the high CTR ad or should i keep running the low CTR ad?

All 3 ads are IDENTICAL except the header line on the high CTR ad is "40% Off Widgets"

The other two ads are along the lines of "Buy Widgets - Wow" or something like that....

Thanks,
Karim0028

[buckworks]

How many impressions have each of those ads had? That would be useful to know.

If the numbers are large enough to be statistically significant, an ad that gets clicks but not conversions is not doing the job you need.

Suggestion: pause the non-converting ad, keep the other ones going, and create some new ad variations to test. (Don't delete anything yet, just pause.)

[SEMblahblah]

how does the ctr even matter if its not getting u any conversion!pause the high ctr-zero conversions ad!

[dkanderson]

Do you have a large enough number of impressions and clicks to be statistically reliable? In my reckoning, until your clicks reach about a thousand or so, you can't consider your comparative conversion rates between ads to be carved in stone. Just a few conversions one way or another will make a pretty big percentage difference.

If you do indeed have a statistically-valid number of clickthroughs, then the higher CTR ad is definitely not performing correctly. Is the deep discount message of the high CTR ad raising expectations that aren't being met? Is that discounted price a genuine bargain those widgets? If the price isn't compellingly low, hyping a big discount is going to look scammy to people. The more generic headline of the better converting ads isn't as compelling, but it isn't failing to meet user expectations, either. Just a thought...

You haven't mentioned position. Are the better-converting ads landing in positions similar to the poor converting ad? If they're positioning lower, that may explain their poorer CTR. You might be able to bid them into a better position, improve their CTR, and reap the benefit of their better conversion.

[PPC Consultant]

you need ad copy ctr to establish account QS. Once you do that, get rid of KWs that do not convert, and bid only KWs with expected levels of conversions. If you really want to do it the right way, do not look at conversion but look at ROI. I have many KWs that have .8% ad CTR, .1% conversion but are yet PROFITABLE.

[Nefig]

I'd look into relevancy first - if your ad says 40% off but there's no such thing on the website, of course it will not convert!

I would suggest running a small split-test, for example increase all prices on page, by 40% or so and put a huge image saying 40% OFF - LIMITED TIME OFFER and calculate the exact savings ("You Save #*$!, 32 items left at discounted price" style) and this might work better.

Or do no increase any prices, just make sure 40% is visible on the page, and put some proof beside it, people want to see it since they click like crazy (well, almost like crazy) - it might work. There are things on landing page you can change and increase conversions twice or even 3 times sometimes!

Bottom line - always split-test your landing pages. Titles, sizes of "Buy Buttons", text on them, positioning.. Lots of stuff you can do and eventually increase your profits multiple times.

HTH