Is 'Pay Per Click' a good idea?

[fanthony]

I've been considering a Google adwords campaign and have tried a limited one over a few days. I wonder, though, what the conversion rate of clicks to contracts will be. I know I sometimes click on these ads just out of idle curiosity and the fact is some people might find the photos on our site amusing and therefore worth the click - even though they'd never have a use for us. I'd be interested in what others think.

 

[kyber]

We have found adwords to be very effective but it took us a while to focus the ads correctly so that we got well qualifies clicks (and were not paying for a lot of people that came for the wrong thing). If you have decent web stats, you can work out how much of the site people coming via google ads look at. If they only look at pics rather than some of the supporting content pages then you may have your pitch wrong.

Stuart

 

[SillyJokes]

I wonder if your best source of work is referrals from satisfied clients and from people who have seen your work.

As such I would have thought a good links page would be a start so that you can exchange with happy clients.

Also there are a couple of sites you should be on if you are not already - www.Entsweb.co.uk
http://www.missinglinkproductions.co.uk/

and there are probably others.

pay per click needs a lot of testing and attention and if you can't accurately track conversions it will be hard to know if it is working.

Presumably you aleady network with major events organisers and perhaps you could contact The Party Magazine and see if you can get them to do an article on you for some free PR.

To convert better I would suggest you make testimonials a more prominient part of your main menu as they really say something about your work that no amount of photos of you can.

 

[fanthony]

Thanks. We are with Entsweb and Missing Link. I don't know the Party Magazine though - I'll look into that. You're right in supposing that our main source of referrals is people who have seen us. We tend to do certain festivals, like Brighton and the Winchester Hat Fair for free because they have a tendency to throw up paid bookings elsewhere. I agree with your point about testimonials - we do have a good stock of credits.

I had a look at your site - which is very interesting. We sometimes use joke products so I'll draw it to the attention of our artistic director and we'll keep you in mind.

 

[top-click]

Hi fanthony - I run a ppc company and can only tell you that testing and learning is your only way to get a answer to the conversion issue. - Your site is great, so thats a hurdle out of the way.

Am not sure if it helps, but a credit card company that use use us generally aim for a 4:1 conversion on visitors while a mortgage company work to 6:1. You can increase your ratios by keeping your copy and keywords highly focussed and tight - if you need some help don't hesitate to shout

Cheers
Rob

 

[SillyJokes]

Those conversion rates seem absolutely mad. I'm sure that is their aim but do they really achieve that? Frankly I can't quite believe it.

I would have thought it might be nearer 4:100 and 6:100 and then you'd be doing well.

 

[top-click]

I hadn't really considered it to be 'absolutely mad' - but thanks!

The conversion rates are 'click to application' - with the right target groups, ad architecture and focussed keywords - it is achievable - this said, we are in this business so our survival depends on it!

As the actual cpc is so high, it would not not be viable to work to lesser ratios. With 'credit cards' the appropriate keywords can cost anything up to £10 each. Working on your 4:100 - it would mean each application would cost £250 each!

Rob