PPC a waste of time?

Hi David

Hope you don't mind, I moved your post over to the PPC forum as you've raised some interesting points and I think PPC could be an effective route for you.

It sounds like you have been doing PPC for a while, so should have built up a good bank of data, ie what key words work well for you, which negative ones to add.

Surprised why you think it's been a waste of time over the years though, because if a PPC platform isn't performing for you, drop it and move on.

If multiple platforms aren't working, and you are generating traffic but no conversions then that sounds more like a landing page issue, or untargeted traffic.

Most platforms these days are fairly straight forward to tune. In Facebook you can very quickly get granular targeted information, whilst Google relies on some tuning, keyword performance, adding in negative terms so they won't trigger any ads.

Each PPC campaign should be (assuming that's the objective) tuned to leads and conversions. Every click needs to be highly targeted, rather than paying for browsing web traffic!

So that leaves your landing page(s).

Have you done any landing page analysis? Do you send everyone to your home page, or to a particular landing page per campaign? Have you tried any split testing?

Check your analytics which will tell you everything you need to know about bounces, how long people were on your page and where they went next.

If you are sending people to your home page, imho when landing on it as a fresh visitor it comes over as very busy.

There's lots going on, lots of things trying to grab my 3 seconds of interest before I carry on surfing.

But your own data will tell you that. Compare the years of PPC data, analytics and customer conversion data and see which pages are working and which may need a tweak. Rinse and repeat until the leads start coming in.

Stats wise, if you set up each PPC's relevant tracking code for conversions, then this should match roughly any analytics. 

For your industry, I'd be surprised if PPC didn't work, it should be more a case of making leads viable with enough margin for profit.

Does that help?

Hi Steve, ta..  Re moving in .. I have actually been dabbling with it over the years on many different sites with many different services or shops etc. (Googles prices are now just plain ridiculous.. unless your a massive Company)

Re landing pages.. I think for some reason this is the problem.. Funny enough the Smarter Business Choice one above is one I haven't used as much re ppc etc..

I am using (again) different sites and different services.. examples. www.smartbizutilities.co.uk  www.nigreenenergy.co.uk  http://www.nigreenenergy.co.uk/Free-Solar/  www.cashontap.uk  etc

Re too busy etc.. so you think I have too much on a landing page and should maybe make these easier on the eye?

Re my industry and ppc not working.. out of approx 400 hits lately ..at a cost.. I had had Zero enquiries mate so that says it all?

I thanks you for your input here Steve..  and will look at the Start up Surgery.. but to be honest its getting to a time when I think all of this including dabbling with websites etc and directories and search enginesand SEO etc (and I have done it all) is a waste of time for me.. that's how I feel at the min anyway

Thanks David

No worries David, and don't just take my word for it. Always react to your own data and analysis. No one knows your business or what you have done marketing wise as well as you do.

Ref your landing page, it's not so much easier on the eye, it's less is more. If you are paying for a lead via PPC to land on that page, then you want a specific outcome or action. If you have to decipher and interpret lots of competing calls to action, you invite confusion or user lethargy. That paid click then goes cold.

Instead you want every paid click funnelled to a specific targeted action, presumably 100% related to whatever they clicked. Once they are in the funnel, then they will start to drop off. Measuring how many drop off where will lead you to improve any relevant pages.

Time is always an age old problem. That's why you need a strategy, not a dabble. A bit of SEO here and the odd directory over there could actually do more harm than good. Plan all marketing activities. Select ones that work for you and ditch what doesn't.

Marketing is a key part of business, so allocate some time. But remember to leave time to run your business! If you can outsource elements, then consider it. But do it on research and results not on cost.

An Indian SEO company who sends you a sales spam email may be cheap as chips, but there's a reason why 

You can do most things yourself and there is plenty of help out there, just needs planning and scheduling. Dabbling is for hobbies. Keep the faith