Most digital marketers agree that organic strategies like eCommerce SEO can be highly effective at ramping up traffic to your online store, and when these strategies target appropriate keywords, can improve organic conversions and sales too.
But there’s a catch. They also agree that these strategies usually take a long time to develop a head of steam.
By contrast, strategies like eCommerce PPC do not.
That is, when they are run effectively and target appropriate keywords and buyer personas.
Here are 5 key metrics in PPC that can tell you whether or not you are doing just that, along with a few ways you can rectify any potential errors with the help of an eCommerce PPC agency.
Impressions
This metric will tell you how many times your ads actually get seen by online shoppers. For instance, one impression means your ad was seen once in the search results.
Low impressions are a problem no matter what because if your ads don’t display, no one can click on them.
However, a high number of impressions with a low click-through rate (see below) is also a problem, because it means that no one’s clicking and therefore no one’s converting, either.
Click-Through Rate
Click-through rate, or CTR, refers to the percentage of shoppers that see your ads and then click on them.
A high click-through rate is good only when a fair portion of those that “click-through” take the desired action, generally of buying something on your website.
If your click-through rate is high but your conversion rate is low, you’re paying for clicks that don’t result in sales.
Conversely, if click-through rates are low, this is a separate but equal problem for obvious reasons; you won’t be paying for clicks, but won’t have sales, either.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate refers to the percentage of visitors to your website (through your ads) that take the desired action for the campaign – this can be signing up for a newsletter, a buyer’s program, or setting an appointment – but usually, conversions in eCommerce PPC are equivalent to sales.
No matter how you split it, low conversion rates are a problem because without conversions there’s no revenue to finance the campaign.
Cost per Conversion
Cost-per-conversion (sometimes referred to as CPC, although it is also applied to a separate metric, cost-per-click) refers to the average cost it takes for your campaign to result in one conversion.
Generally, an eCommerce PPC agency will work to keep your cost-per-conversion low,
Return on Ad Spend
Return on ad spend, sometimes referred to as ROAS, is one of the most important metrics in all of eCommerce PPC.
It refers to the amount of money earned for each dollar you spend on the overall campaign, so it gives you a concept of how much you make for how much you put into the campaign.
As a general rule, you want a higher ROAS – that is, more back on each penny spent – but a low ROAS is not universally a bad thing. This is because some campaigns that generate enormous amounts of money may need to invest heavily to do so.
So, it is still possible to be highly profitable even with a low ROAS score – but that is something that a preferred eCommerce PPC agency can explain in more concrete terms if you have questions.
How Can an eCommerce PPC Agency Help?
Many eCommerce PPC agencies specialize in running highly strategic campaigns that are not only profitable but are optimized for the metrics mentioned here, as well as others.
An eCommerce PPC agency can:
- Refine targeting to improve impression score and CTR.
- Optimize landing pages for UX and conversions.
- Improve keyword research and marketing strategy and exclude negative keywords to eliminate high CTR/low conversion scenarios.
- Refine PPC ad copy to make it more appealing to your target audience.
- Focus on key targeting criteria that are sometimes overlooked, such as interest, behavior, location, and device use.
- Implement ongoing optimization strategies that automate the process of targeting.
All of these things (and more) can improve the leanness of your marketing campaigns as well as the profitability.
For more information, reach out to a team of eCommerce PPC experts today!