Pay-Per-Click: Why Clicks Aren’t That Important

Like most Pay-Per-Click (Google Ads) account managers, I used to be obsessed with clicks.  I looked at clicks as a quick measurement of success when reporting to clients but there is a deeper understanding that needs to be acknowledged when reviewing clicks and there are so many other metrics to take into consideration.  So I was met with a problem, how do I effectively communicate successes or areas that need improvement to my clients?

Here are some problems when just reporting clicks…

A lot of clicks could mean money is being wasted on broad match keywords or we could be running a display campaign.   This type of campaign and keywords could give you triple the number of clicks, but it isn’t going to be the traffic you are looking for so you will end up wasting a lot of money.
Your budget might be tight, and your business might be in a competitive industry.  For example, a restoration company in Florida during hurricane season might have a $5,000/month budget, but the average cost per click could be around $200.  That’s approximately 25 clicks.  Why is that not always a bad thing?  The traffic for a restoration company during this time has a need based on an emergency, so searchers are clicking with an intent to convert.  Every one of those 25 clicks might have converted into jobs meaning success! But if the client just sees 25 clicks, they might see that as a failure.  This is why I believe communication is critical between myself and the client when reviewing numbers.
Depending on the industry, there are phases or trends in the consumer buying process.  For example, a roofing company will see an increase in clicks in spring and a decrease in clicks in winter.  This is important to understand because it is helpful when you need to plan your marketing budget for the year.

What numbers should you look at when reviewing your pay-per-click campaigns?

This is a tough question, and the best answer I can give you is to hire an experienced digital marketing company to manage your pay-per-click campaigns.  It is also essential to hire a digital marketing company that has built and managed campaigns in your industry so they have an understanding of the data related directly to what your business does and they know how your target audience searches.  There are so many metrics you can review to determine the performance of your campaigns, but all the metrics interact together so there is a more in-depth story to the data that you might be missing out on.  Hiring someone that is constantly reviewing the data in your account is going to lead to long term success.

If you’re ready to hire a digital marketing company to manage your pay-per-click campaigns, then call SCM Marketing Solutions at 920-788-6600 to learn more about how we can improve your internet presence.