Ever run around your house destroying everything in your path in a huge panic looking for your keys, phone, etc? As you frantically search every corner imaginable you may have even accused your kids, significant other or anyone in the general vicinity of misplacing it only to find that the item was right under your nose the whole time. Well, if you have had this experience or something similar then maybe you can relate to the topic of discussion on today’s agenda.
In my profession I am often given the opportunity to work closely with many PPC marketers who share with me their experiences, both good and bad. Just recently, I spoke with an advertiser who stated that he was on the verge of ending all of his PPC advertising efforts due to what he believed was bad traffic quality. He said he didn’t want to continue spending money only to see little to no return. The more we discussed his concerns I began to realize that he felt this to be true about many of the paid search engines he had been using to promote his website. When you consider the odds of 3-5 search engines all delivering sub-standard traffic to one specific advertiser, it doesn’t seem to be a very likely occurrence. I am, however; inclined to agree that it is possible for maybe one or two out of five search engines to deliver consistently bad traffic quality. In the case of this advertiser, I would still question why he has not seen better results from at least two or three of the search engines he has tried.
Much like the scenario referenced at the beginning of this article, the solution to most PPC conversion problems is often pretty obvious yet the most overlooked. Many advertisers spend so much time blaming their inability to convert on poor traffic quality that they never even stop to consider the possibility that the problem just may be IN-HOUSE. By in-house I am referring to their own website. Even if it receives the highest quality traffic, a website with a list of unflattering issues will still find it hard to see any real success. Here is a list of the top 5 reasons why many websites fail to reach pay-per-click marketing success:
1. Slow loading pages– Who has all day to wait for your site to load? Not I, and neither do most of your visitors. People are impatient so even if you get a ton of clicks on your ad it won’t do you a bit of good if most of them abandon the site before the landing page is even done loading, so get the lead out!
2. Appearance – Make it easy on the eyes. Super bright text colors and funky font sizes simply scream amateur. Random, irrelevant images and sparse content can drive a potential sale right out the door. Keep it clear, concise and consistent.
3. Deliver as advertised– Let’s see, your ad says you offer the wonder widgets in blue, now that you have a visitor on your site ready to buy them, they are out of stock! Big no-no. Never mislead web surfers into clicking your ad only to have them arrive and not find what they thought you could provide. Can you say “a waste of their time and your money”?
4. Market awareness– Why does the same product or service cost so much LESS on other sites than it does on yours? In this economy, the higher pricing strategy is definitely a bad idea. It’s a great idea to make sure your pricing is just as appealing or more than your competitors.
5. Functionality – How can people sign-up for your service or buy your product if your site doesn’t function properly? Links that lead to nowhere or redirect to unwanted places are almost guaranteed to give your visitors the wrong impression. This is a simple fix that can definitely have a positive impact on your bottom line.
The point is clear. Before simply assuming your ad is not converting as a result of bad traffic quality, consider the possibility that the problem may be even closer than you may think.
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