PPC Numbers? How do we compare? CPC and CPL

[Nathan Carr]

Hi all,

Hopefully some people can contribute to this thread and shine some light on an issue that has me scratching my head.

Basically we're trying to judge how we are doing with our Pay Per Click numbers. I've found a few topics that discuss PPC campaigns but nothing that's directly related to the costs. I'll run down our numbers and if anyone is willing to post theirs up to compare (or just let me know how were doing) that's be tubular!

• We are on Dealer.com Total Control Dominator but have a considerable amount of customization to it.
• We are located 15 miles outside of Chicago so it's a rather competitive area.
• We do advertise our own name.
• Currently focused on New and Used searches but also have a percentage going to parts and service.

Last 60 days:

• Average CPC - $1.33
• Average CPL - $7.71 (estimated by Dealer.com and whatever their standards are)
• Average Position of ads - 2.71

I feel that the campaigns we have running are doing pretty well and (of course) could use improvement. But I was requested to feel out how well we are doing currently and to plan a course of action to improve our numbers further.

If you need any more information please let me know!

[Matt_Murray]

Hey Nathan,

First, I really like seeing people be open with their numbers and asking for feedback in a forum setting like this, not all are comfortable with doing so. Second, congratulations. Your numbers are very impressive. In fact, given that you've shared these numbers publicly I should also point out that you can derive website conversion rate from CPC and CPL by doing the following:

CPC/CPL = Conversion

What does this mean for you? Your website is converting at 17.25%. I don't have to tell you how great that is. While I understand the need to focus on continuous improvement, part of me wants to use the old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it". You have resources here at Dealer.com if you would like to dig in and see if there are areas that you improve on. First though, give yourself a hand.

[Jerry Thibeau]

Joe and Alex would also be two people who could give you some good feedback.

[Nathan Carr]

Thanks for the input Matt!

And yes Jerry, I'd love to hear from Joe and Alex!

[Alex Snyder]

I can tell you that I'm with Matt - those are some great numbers

If you're ever worried about them, you know we're just a phone call away.

[JoePistell]

Nathan,

Not familliar with the TD platform. With a cost per lead of only $7-8 I assume its long tail keywords you're fishing with. If I am right, you're looking at a low low volume of traffic.

Question:
How much of your overall traffic is from your PPC spending?

[Alex Snyder]

Nathan,

Not familliar with the TD platform. With a cost per lead of only $7-8 I assume its long tail keywords you're fishing with. If I am right, you're looking at a low low volume of traffic.

That or a very low amount of competition in his market.

[JoePistell]

Alex, Hes only 15 miles outside of Chicago.

Nathan, Because your in an expensive market and your inventory is heavily skewed to Infiniti, I'd run 3 campaigns to allow you to work your brand strengths.

1. Low volume Long tail keywords with a wide radius.
2. Medium volume Infinity based keywords with a smaller radius.
3. High volume very general keywords in a very small radius.

Regarding "wide radius", here's how I manage it. I break my wide radius campaigns into sub campaigns so I can watch the local home market and far away "conquest markets" separately. I break my far away conquest markets into quadrants. North of me, south, east and west of my market. These far away markets under-perform your local market, so I expect higher costs. I watch the performance of each conquest quadrant and I balance it against the income potential and adjust as needed.

HTH.

[Alex Snyder]

Joe - I know he's right outside of Chicago. That doesn't always mean the brands he's up against in that market are the most competitive in PPC. However I would like to offer up two words:

Intention & Expectation

By making your PPC ad copy speak to consumer expectations consumer intention then leans more towards conversion. This is something TCD (Dealer.com's PPC product) is more geared to.

[Nathan Carr]

Thanks a bunch for all the input guys! I'm still digesting it all and figure out ways to best put the money to use.

Here are a few more stats from our October reports:
Position: 2.89
Impressions: 216,534
Clicks: 1,305
CTR: 0.6%
CPC: $1.38
Leads: 239
CPL: $7.56
Conversion: 18.3%

Now currently about 1/3 of our money is going towards protecting our name so I can see how this would generate a higher conversion percentage and lower our CPC and CPL as this number is heavily skewed in our favor.

I'm sure we should expand our budget a bit and focus more on new and used cars and more long tail searches.

One problem that we are experiencing is finding the time to really map out a good campaign and work towards creating it and monitoring it. I'm sure I could do it but it's just a matter of finding enough quiet time to do it.

Thanks again for the input again, I'm still looking it all over.