It is a funny thing with pay-per-click marketing…

Marketers spend significant time and money increasing their traffic volume (click-throughs) yet very little on the performance of their individual pay-per-click keywords.

Why is this funny?

Because in essence, a “click-through” places money in the pocket of the pay-per-click search engine --- while only a sale or lead generates money for the marketer.

Your “click-through rate” is really the percentage of times your “FREE LISTING” (an “impression”) is clicked on to generate a “PAID” visitor. By increasing your click through rate and correspondingly your traffic volume, you pay more money to the pay-per-click search engines.

You literally BUY each Visitor from the Pay-per-Click Search Engines.

When you “buy” something - don’t you try to get the best for your money?

For example, when you are buying fruit at the market – don’t you want to buy the juiciest and freshest fruit? You search through the stand for the fruit with the best shape, color, and texture so that only the most refreshing and exceptionally tasting fruit ends up in your shopping cart, right?

Of course you do! (or you waste a lot of money throwing out bad-tasting and rotting fruit.)

So why not “qualify” every potential visitor BEFORE you exchange money with the pay-per-click search engines?

In a marketer’s utopian world, every “click” produces a value-oriented action on their website. But in reality, “success” is simply when…

The money generated from the clicks is GREATER than the cost of the clicks.

NOTE: In the beginning of your pay-per-click campaign, ALL visitors have an “intangible value” because they tell you which keywords not to bid on, how to write your ads to negatively-qualify visitors and how to effectively bid on keywords by the value they produce on your website.

Initially your Click-Through Rate is IRRELEVANT.

When you are first setting up a pay-per-click campaign, you should not be overly concerned with your click-through rate unless you fall below the pay-per-click search engines’ minimum requirements. Instead your focus should be on determining your “web’s conversion rate.” This is when your “paid-for” visitor becomes a sale or lead - the “point of economic tranistion” when YOU make money.

After you determine your web conversion rate and the keywords that sent the visitors who converted to sales or leads, then your focus shifts back to increasing only these specific keyword click-through rates.

Think about it as a valve on a water faucet. You turn it on slightly until you reach the right temperature and then you turn it up to get more water at that temperature.

Likewise, for your pay-per-click marketing, you slightly “turn on” your pay-per-click traffic (without regard to CTR) to identify which keywords produce the right web conversion rate and then you turn up the click-through rate to produce more visitors that convert to sales or leads.

How Do You “Turn-Up” Your Click-Through Rate?

Here is a quick “how to” list for increasing your ads’ click-through rates:

1. Stay within the boundaries of the pay-per-click search engine’s editorial guidelines. Some of the most common editorial problems (outside grammar and spelling) are:

• Do not use superlatives like “best” or “lowest”

• Do not use excessive capitalization

• Do not write misleading titles or descriptions that do not describe accurately what you are offering a customer.

• Do not include contact information in your title or description like “call 1-800.”

• Do not use numbers in place of words like “4” instead of “for”.

2. Always use the keyword in your title (and if possible, description). Industry research indicates that the “perceived” quality is approximately 60% higher in listings where the search term is included.

3. In the description, include short, concise statements communicating your customer benefits. If you have limited room, then prioritize the benefits.

4. Because you have limited character space, you must choose your words wisely. Certain words like, “Maximize”, “Exclusive” and “Indulge” have a positive persuasion affect on potential visitors versus negative ones like “Difficult” or “Expensive”.

5. If you have an e-commerce website Include a product’s model number, your shipping incentives and shipping reach (nationwide or international), any guarantees, the price, potential inventory restrictions or other specific product or service information.

6. Test and track your results - you simply never know what one word will have a powerful persuasive appeal for your most qualified visitors.

Your mission is to “negatively-qualify” clicks on your “free ad” by explicitly stating discriminating product or service attributes. For example, if you sell luxury watches like Cartier, you may add a price qualifier, like “starting at $2,100” to minimize bargain shoppers who may not be familiar with the brand name.

Marketers tend to let their websites negatively-qualify visitors instead of their ad.

Although you cannot avoid all poorly qualified click-throughs, you can reduce their burden on your marketing budget and directly increase your web conversion rate as an outcome.

What happens when a specific keyword regardless of how the ad is written and tested still does not generate a sale or lead?

The answer is simple…GET RID OF IT!

Unless the keyword has some significant and justifiable “brand appeal” then do not continue fueling the pay-per-click search engine’s revenue machine without ever having a chance of fueling your own.

In summary, focus on “qualifying” your clicks BEFORE buying a visitor who has no intention of putting money into your pocketbook. The pay-per-click search engines may get a little upset but your accountant will certainly pop a smile.


About The Author


Kevin Gold is CEO of Enhanced Concepts, specializing in turning website visitors into leads or sales, co-editor of WebSalesability.com and published writer. Get a free report, “12 Sure-fire Ways to Increase Your Website Sales” and an exclusive 5-day website conversion email course by visiting www.enhancedconcepts.com.

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