In my industry, the holiday keywords are very competative and get really expensive. If I keep the cpc high and the budget low, the ads are seen only occasionally, but it does keep costs down a bit. However, I am missing 50% of the shoppers by doing that and I keep feeling like I shouldn't be doing that. Also, I'm sure people come back and do not necessarily order the same day they see the ad. On the other hand, it is extremely costly to have them running at full tilt until they start buying in earnest! The traffic we are getting is incredible, but sales are not matching the traffic. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I realize people will have many different opinions on this, but I would like to hear your thoughts anyway.
In my industry, the holiday keywords are very competative and get really expensive. If I keep the cpc high and the budget low, the ads are seen only occasionally, but it does keep costs down a bit. However, I am missing 50% of the shoppers by doing that and I keep feeling like I shouldn't be doing that. Also, I'm sure people come back and do not necessarily order the same day they see the ad. On the other hand, it is extremely costly to have them running at full tilt until they start buying in earnest!
JenniferL, I know this is probably not the answer you were looking for, but since no one else has picked up on your post yet, I'll say it anyway. ;)
It boils down to this, IMO:
Basically, it is really important to track your ROI (Return On Investment) as effectively as you can, since this will tell you whether or not you are making money with your advertising. If you are making money, then daily budget isn't really a concern - because as you spend more, you're making more.
On the other hand, if you're not making money, that tells you it is time to start making changes to your keywords/ad copy/landing pages/budget/Max CPC, etc.
The traffic we are getting is incredible, but sales are not matching the traffic. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
This is actually a really big topic, and there are lots of past threads in this Forum that speak to it in greater detail. But, again IMO, and very briefly stated, the keys to success are:
* Begin with well chosen keywords, that are very specific to what you have to offer. Then group these keywords in Ad Groups that are about one thing. This way, when someone sees your ad, they are looking for the same thing that you have to offer. In other words, the person who clicks on your ad is to some extent a prequalified customer.
* Write really excellent ads, about the very same thing the keywords in the Ad Group are about - so that the prequalified customer sees that you have what she is looking for - and that your business appears professional.
* Send that prequalified customer to the right page on your site (this is your 'Landing Page'). As often as not, this will not be the home page. Instead, it should be a page about the same thing as the keyword. AdWords allows you to specify a different landing page for each keyword, if you wish.
Often, if you are getting lots of traffic and not much business, your landing pages are the first thing to look at. But also spend some time evaluating/improving the user's experience on your site.
* Are users able to find what they already searched for?
* Is this site easy to navigate?
* Is the site inviting, and does it inspire trust?
* And so on...
Hope this helps a bit.
AWA
I would really rather be on the second page for the highly competitive terms because after thousands of people type in "blue widget", they probably don't have a clue what they are going to find. By the time they have gone to the second page or by the time they type in "wide angle blue widget", they have a better idea what they are looking for and are probably closer to being in the "buying" mood.
Of course, I REALLY prefer to bid on 2nd or 3rd level terms like "custom blue widgets" or "personalized blue widgets" that have less impressions but better conversions.
And use negative terms, negative terms, NEGATIVE terms! If you don't want people looking for "free blue widgets" or "blue widget associations" then be sure you block those searches by using the appropriate negative terms. You will increase your CTR, rank higher, pay less per bid and maybe even give your competitors (who are less AdWords savy than you are) a run for their money!
Note...if you are selling a holiday widget the the pay day cycle thing isn't applicable. It's credit card mania out there right now.
[Added] Almost forgot. One client has a B2B widget. Turning his ads off over the weekend doesn't seem to hurt sales but definitely helps reduce costs. Read...better ROI.
And finally. I can't remember where I read this study, but it said women tend to shop online at night, and men tend to shop in the morning. I know a widget I sell primarily to men usually generates a rush before 12 noon PST.
my unscientific 2 cents...[/added]
