hiswill1133
Expert
- 31
I know it is expensive, but anyone have success using googles adwords ppc?
Ppc Work
- Thread starter hiswill1133
- Start date
PPC is a bit tricky especially based on the competition. What I would do is figure out what are your "buying" keywords vs. you "research" or information keywords. The buying keywords will bring you more sales and the research keywords will usually bring you more traffic but not as many sales.
- 1,432
I put close 20k a month into PPC in 2008. I wish I could still justify the same ad budget, but I can't get the same ROI today.
I still put a few thousand dollars a month in PPC. It still works, but it is a lot harder to make a buck with PPC than it was way back in 2008.
I can give you a couple of tips however:
This way if someone types in your company name, you should show up on the top both in the organic listings and the paid listings.
It is far better to pay 10 cents to get a click than it is to give that click away to another company.
I still put a few thousand dollars a month in PPC. It still works, but it is a lot harder to make a buck with PPC than it was way back in 2008.
I can give you a couple of tips however:
- Limit your ad spend monthly or daily. This is especially important for newbies but everyone should do it. After I considered myself a pro, I made the mistake of bidding $80 on a phrase I meant to bid 80 cents on. Ouch!
- Separate your content and search campaigns so that you can bid differently on each. Content is an entirely different animal. You may want to stay away from it entirely in the beginning.
- Geo target your ads if you are advertising a local agency.
This way if someone types in your company name, you should show up on the top both in the organic listings and the paid listings.
It is far better to pay 10 cents to get a click than it is to give that click away to another company.
- Thread starter
- #4
hiswill1133
Expert
- 31
Thnx guys!
BenHFuller
New Member
- 3
I would definitely agree that the PPC has become far more competitive. A few of my friends work for a very large PPC agency and they say that most of the big insurers put a large part of the cost down to branding, especially if they are running other marketing campaigns (they need to be up there for terms they are advertising for). I think for most the cost is too high to make a decent return, I'm sure many insurers are making a loss in year one.
- 1,016
I agree Ben. your last sentence is understatement of the year. The big companies are bidding outrageous amounts. Who can afford to spend $30.85 per click for such a generic term as "auto insurance"? Only the big companies can play at that table. Small agents like myself certainly can't compete with that. I have to cherry pick the $1 and $2 click phrases that are left over.
A small agent can make money on google adwords if they've done their homework and keep their bids low. But they won't get rich off of it because of the competition driving up bid prices on keywords. I think in the long run, SEO on your website is a better investment.
A small agent can make money on google adwords if they've done their homework and keep their bids low. But they won't get rich off of it because of the competition driving up bid prices on keywords. I think in the long run, SEO on your website is a better investment.
Last edited:
marketingmarvel
New Member
Hi,
This subject is right up my alley. I am a Google certified Search Advertising AdWords (Google's PPC system) marketer, with 15 years of Internet advertising/marketing experience.
I've heard a saying about the game of Hold'em Poker which reminds me very much of the PPC industry... "it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master."
It's very easy to create an account, read some available tutorials, give them a credit card and take your chances. I often meet people that have taken this route to PPC advertising early on, becoming thoroughly discouraged with their efforts and spending lots of money in the process, turning them away from PPC advertising usually for good.
If you are considering PPC advertising, and have not yet started, here are some suggestions:
1) Start small. Choose no more than 3 keywords/phrases that you would like to be found under. The more you choose the more difficult it becomes to manage, especially for a first-timer.
2) Try to focus on keywords/phrases with three words or more. The fewer words in your keyword phrase, the more likely you are going to be up against a lot of competitors, who likely are long-term advertisers willing to battle to keep their existing traffic. There's nothing wrong with battling, mind you... it's just best to pick your battles when starting out. The more experience you have, the bigger the battles you can fight and win.
3) Google's PPC advertising offers a way to help level the playing field for those with small advertising budgets to those with large. They do this using something they call "Quality Score". The more relevant the advertisements you (or your marketer) create, to the keywords/phrases you are selecting to be found under, the more likely you will receive a higher placement in relation to your competitors as well as a lower cost for your advertisement.
4) Be sure to write a unique "call-to-action" or place an offer within your advertisements. You can lead a horse to water, but without a good offer you may not get him to drink.
5) Build a unique "landing page" to which your advertisements are linked. Sending your advertisement links directly back to the "home page" of your website is very rarely effective. The individual page to which you send your prospective customer should talk about the very subject of your individual advertisement. This not only helps with improving the relevance of your advertisement but also in securing a contact from your prospective customer.
I could go on all day, but this is my first post on your interesting Insurance forum and I think its best I walk softly, for now.
I hope his helps someone.
Diran
This subject is right up my alley. I am a Google certified Search Advertising AdWords (Google's PPC system) marketer, with 15 years of Internet advertising/marketing experience.
I've heard a saying about the game of Hold'em Poker which reminds me very much of the PPC industry... "it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master."
It's very easy to create an account, read some available tutorials, give them a credit card and take your chances. I often meet people that have taken this route to PPC advertising early on, becoming thoroughly discouraged with their efforts and spending lots of money in the process, turning them away from PPC advertising usually for good.
If you are considering PPC advertising, and have not yet started, here are some suggestions:
1) Start small. Choose no more than 3 keywords/phrases that you would like to be found under. The more you choose the more difficult it becomes to manage, especially for a first-timer.
2) Try to focus on keywords/phrases with three words or more. The fewer words in your keyword phrase, the more likely you are going to be up against a lot of competitors, who likely are long-term advertisers willing to battle to keep their existing traffic. There's nothing wrong with battling, mind you... it's just best to pick your battles when starting out. The more experience you have, the bigger the battles you can fight and win.
3) Google's PPC advertising offers a way to help level the playing field for those with small advertising budgets to those with large. They do this using something they call "Quality Score". The more relevant the advertisements you (or your marketer) create, to the keywords/phrases you are selecting to be found under, the more likely you will receive a higher placement in relation to your competitors as well as a lower cost for your advertisement.
4) Be sure to write a unique "call-to-action" or place an offer within your advertisements. You can lead a horse to water, but without a good offer you may not get him to drink.
5) Build a unique "landing page" to which your advertisements are linked. Sending your advertisement links directly back to the "home page" of your website is very rarely effective. The individual page to which you send your prospective customer should talk about the very subject of your individual advertisement. This not only helps with improving the relevance of your advertisement but also in securing a contact from your prospective customer.
I could go on all day, but this is my first post on your interesting Insurance forum and I think its best I walk softly, for now.
I hope his helps someone.
Diran
Last edited:
- 1,016
Alston,
pardon me for being nosey, but I am very curious as to why you still spend several grand a month on PPC, while you come up at the top as far as SEO organic search is concerned?
I guess what I'm asking is..... why spend that kind of money to be at the top when you're already at the top at no cost?
I'm not trying to snoop, just trying to understand the logic, as I'm new to this online insurance marketing business.
pardon me for being nosey, but I am very curious as to why you still spend several grand a month on PPC, while you come up at the top as far as SEO organic search is concerned?
I guess what I'm asking is..... why spend that kind of money to be at the top when you're already at the top at no cost?
I'm not trying to snoop, just trying to understand the logic, as I'm new to this online insurance marketing business.
Thats a good question for Alston. What about Facebook ppc? Is BING doing ppc also?
- 14,808
Something else not touched on, but you have to do that math. Although buying leads is much derided, they still work.
For a PPC campaign to drive prospects to your site, you really need to track conversion.
An an example; $4.00 per click converting 1:4 to leads with a 1:6 closing percentage and $2,500 average per copy:
$16 per lead and $96 per client for for health at $300 per app average you're at a $200 net.
The question is, could you buy leads with the same acquisition cost.
Where PPC goes south is when conversion is low; both hits to leads and leads to clients.
If you're not careful you'll convert 1:10 into a lead and 1:15 into a client. At $4.00 per click you've just spent $600 to write a deal.
When buying leads, you get credits for bogus leads and can filter. With a PPC campaign you'll suck up all the single 19 year old moms hitting your site, all the uninsurables and people typing in fake info.
With an average lead costing $7 and figuring in 20% returns, that lead is actually costing $5.6. To match that price on PPC figuring $4.00 per click you'd need near 100% click to lead conversion.
Now, you can target long tail phrases all you want. The issue there is next to no hits. Before launching into a long tail campaign, make sure you estimate the monthly traffic - this is a feature Google offers. You'd be surprised when you type in keyword phrases and the result is "Zero."
For a PPC campaign to drive prospects to your site, you really need to track conversion.
An an example; $4.00 per click converting 1:4 to leads with a 1:6 closing percentage and $2,500 average per copy:
$16 per lead and $96 per client for for health at $300 per app average you're at a $200 net.
The question is, could you buy leads with the same acquisition cost.
Where PPC goes south is when conversion is low; both hits to leads and leads to clients.
If you're not careful you'll convert 1:10 into a lead and 1:15 into a client. At $4.00 per click you've just spent $600 to write a deal.
When buying leads, you get credits for bogus leads and can filter. With a PPC campaign you'll suck up all the single 19 year old moms hitting your site, all the uninsurables and people typing in fake info.
With an average lead costing $7 and figuring in 20% returns, that lead is actually costing $5.6. To match that price on PPC figuring $4.00 per click you'd need near 100% click to lead conversion.
Now, you can target long tail phrases all you want. The issue there is next to no hits. Before launching into a long tail campaign, make sure you estimate the monthly traffic - this is a feature Google offers. You'd be surprised when you type in keyword phrases and the result is "Zero."
Last edited:
Similar threads
