Often times we see companies running Google AdWords campaigns blindly. They set up their campaigns, determine keywords, decide on a budget and hit go. Then they “track” the results. They look at impressions, clicks and cost – and then hop over to Google Analytics to look at their increase in overall traffic. And look, they sold a few more items this week. They put A and B together to determine that yes, the ads are working.
There is so much wrong with this way of thinking.
We call this the billboard strategy. Tim Hortons puts up a billboard for their newest menu item, raspberry scones. They then count the number of cars that drive by the billboard in a week, and then compare it to the increase in scone sales in that region. A little bit of misguided math later, they determine the healthy ROI of their billboard ads. Suffice to say, this is flawed.
Intel over Instinct
These are words to live by. We live in a world where we have tools and data at our finger tips that will tell us exactly what is happening with our online efforts. Instead of jumping to conclusions about what you think is happening, why not use this data to determine the true meaning and value of your efforts?
What is your conversion?
The first thing you need to determine is what your conversion is. What are your ads trying to accomplish? For some, it is the sale of a product on their website. For others, it’s the download of a white paper, signup for a newsletter or application to a job posting. Whatever your conversion is, it is important that it is attainable and clearly defined.
Tracking your conversions
Google AdWords offers a free tool called Conversion Tracking that shows you what happens after your ad is clicked on. Did the user follow through with a conversion? By tracking your conversions you will be able to improve your AdWords campaigns by determining which ads, keywords and campaigns convert the best. Sometimes the keywords that cost you the least convert the best. Sometimes not. But by implementing conversion tracking into your AdWords campaigns, you will know. You will have the intel, and will not have to rely on your instinct.
Example
You own a website that sells athletic gear and you’re currently running an AdWords campaign for a high end running shoes, where a conversion occurs when a user buys a pair of shoes on your site. After a purchase is completed, the user is brought to your “Thank you” page. This is your conversion page, as only visitors that bought something will end up here.
As a marketer, you want to know if the keyword “long distance running shoes” or “marathon running shoes” leads to more sales. By implementing conversion tracking on this page, you will be able to track which keyword is the most effective. As you let data accrue, you’ll quickly see that while “long distance running shoes” sends a good deal of traffic to your site, a very small amount of those visitors convert. However, visitors that arrive via the keyword “marathon running shoes” purchase very frequently. What do you do? You invest less is “long distance running shoes”, putting more emphasis on “marathon running shoes.” You use intel over instinct. You become a smarter marketer.
Are you using conversion tracking? You should be. Not only will it help you determine the value of your ads and keywords, but it will also help you optimize your AdWords campaigns for conversions, improving your ROI. Implementing conversion tracking involves a little bit of proactivity and the addition of a small snippet of HTML code to your conversion page.
Need assistance? Our team of Google AdWords certified individuals can help bring your Google AdWords campaign to the next level. Contact us today.
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