PPC Numbers? How do we compare? CPC and CPL

[umer.autojini]

18% is pretty good...

BTW checkout the Google ReMarketing stuff... why let a ctr go to waste.

 

[joe.pistell]

Nathan,

FYI, I built my own PPC campaign and realized I needed help. I hired Umer (above) he gave me a turn-key solution based on my needs and I am glad I did.

My PPC work is >20% of my sites traffic, yet it's 10% of my ad budget! Here is another way to look at it. My PPC campaign costs as much as AutoTrader.com and Cars.com, but PPC out performs AT and Cars by 100:1

 

[Nathan Carr]

Thanks again Joe, Ryan and Alex! Looks like I have my work cut out for me!

 

[Alex Snyder]

Now, remember when I said "it's a lot of work"? It's A LOT of work. If you have the time and know how or you can hold your ppc company to the fire and ask that they will do this work for you. They should want to because that will promote better numbers for them thus allowing you to post on forums like here and promote their hard work.

The problem is you have many companies using machines to write ads and well....its efficient and bodes well for the ppc company it certainly doesn't yield better results than if you and I were to sit down for a few days and write our own ads while doing some 30 day a/b testing.

Just my two cents

I think it is obvious that we are listening to Nathan - two of his PPC company's employees are in this thread (with a few more watching). I can tell you from personal experience at Checkered Flag that I could not beat the Dealer.com "machine". In fact, when I got my hands dirty in PPC I didn't make the numbers better.

Call the machine bland or whatever you like, but it works off the numbers and not off the gut. You're right about the fact that it takes A LOT of time and effort to manually do a PPC campaign and I will admit that was part of my problem.

 

[umer.autojini]

@Ryan... you are right on.. I would add the {kewword:} insertion tag can be used in all boxes... title, description and URLs. Plus the case of the keyword tag also make a big difference.

I don't know if I would agree that it takes lot of time and effort to manually do a PPC campaign... you need 2-3 weeks to get it up and then 3-4 hour a week to manage it. Granted that you spend some time to learn the basics... best way is to just do the the ad words certification training online...

This is what I would normally do.
1. Review my competition. (jott down any adverts I like... go to west cost... with city at similar size... do the same... get more ideas for advert... run the top bidders... on keyword spy or spyfu.. get ideas for keywords)
2. Split my city into four squares.
2. Create campaigns for Make (sub group by model, multiple adverts in each... varry my destination URL)
3. Create Campaign for Generic Terms. (sub group by body types)
4. Create Campaigns for my competition (AutoTrader/Cars.com/InfoUSA) at NE,NW,SE,SW
5. Make sure site can do converstion tracking... I have some kind of analytic (GA,Yahoo,ClickTrack,Omni)
5. Build one campaign out... (run.. test)
6. Test conversion tracking... print my stats for reference.
6. Build the other... (while build cycle to first... run reports... find my best adverts... refine...)

repeat 5 & 6 as many times as needed... once campaigns are all build... keep refining my adverts... until I reach a winner...

If my conversion is too low... plug in google website optimizer... test headings... layouts... etc... until I find something that works.

Hmm... looks like bit of work... but if you know bit of HTML... and website provider gives you access... it is all doable... in 2-3 weeks.

 

[Alex Snyder]

Thanks for the clarification Ryan. I just assumed you weren't paying attention to the fact that Nathan is using Dealer.com. No worries. However, you should take a look at this: Superlatives - AdWords Help

On another note it is really hard to take our car business hats off and look at things through a consumer's eyes. We do get hung-up on what we feel is right, and we have a tendency to let our experience gets in the way. I'm very guilty of this myself. So, when it comes to PPC we should all understand that Google has some specific rules that are always shifting and consumers respond differently than seasoned retail veterans do. But that doesn't really matter.....

You've all heard the saying "nothing matters until a car is sold" - well, if you're happy with the number of leads you're getting from PPC and the Cost Per Lead is good, I would say it is perfectly okay to be happy (which is another problem we have trouble admitting to).

 

[joe.pistell]

Sorry Alex, I forgot he was a Dealer.com customer. Umer built mine because I don't have a Dealer.com site.

 

[umer.autojini]

one thing I would add... trademark your business name... so someone can't use the business name for the title of their ad or in the description.. and be vigilant about this... file complaints ASAP to g/m$

 

[umer.autojini]

@Alex are you using the dealer.com managed SEM service or just TD?

 

[ryanlucia]

I believe there is always "better". I also believe if you collaborate with yourself you can always find better and more effective ways to improve. Even more so if you collaborate on a forum with others who may have experience you may learn faster. My life is about change and doing things better. I am never satisfied and I push until....well, i die. I personally would never be satisfied with how many cars I am selling. When I sold 32 I was pissed I didn't sell 35. Most people never see 32 cars sold much less at a hyundai store in 2003 when Hyundai's weren't even cool.

I believe my post was read out of context. Nathan wanted to improve. I truly hope with the information I offered him will allow him the opportunity to improve his campaign.

Before anymore damage is done and I piss anyone off......I will now remove myself from this conversation and delete my previous post.

Thank you and have a great time!