AdWords are too expensive! We no longer participate
As companies are increasingly using AdWords campaigns, they are driving up auction-based click costs (CPC) through demand. And the first complaints about excessively high click costs are already being heard. However, these complaints are only justified when the campaign no longer breaks even despite exhausting the CPC optimization options.
The CPC for AdWords has undoubtedly soared. However, the CPC is a relative value. Anyone who looks at the CPC in isolation in order to make campaign decisions is wrong. The maximum CPC for a keyword is defined by the CPL (cost per lead) or CPO (cost per order) to be achieved. Since the introduction of the Google Quality Score, the CPC is also an individual value. Price comparisons with competitors are therefore not possible; the price development can only be measured for your own campaign.
CPC influencing variables Quality Score and CTR
If you believe that the CPC of your keywords is too high, you must be sure that the keywords in your campaign achieve a quality score of 7/10 or more. If this is lower, the costs will increase simply because Google demands a higher CPC. The quality score is essentially influenced by the quality of the landing page, in particular its content and loading time. The click-through rate (CTR) also has an influence on the click price. The higher the CTR, the lower the CPC. The CTR is influenced by the ad position and the ad text.
Niche keywords are cheaper
Excessive click costs can also be avoided by switching to long tail keywords. Usually, the popular, generic and expensive fat head keywords are courted. If you focus your campaign on the long tail and therefore on niche keywords, you will benefit from more qualified visitors and lower click costs.
Quality of the landing page
Focusing on an attractive CPC does not guarantee the ROI of the campaign. The conversion rate on the landing page is decisive for the ROI. The better it is tailored to the visitor's needs, the better the conversion.
AdWords are still an attractive and efficient online marketing tool when used correctly. Tougher competition and rising click costs require both the monitoring and optimization of the quality score and click-through rate (CTR) as well as the management of landing pages. Anyone who joins in the moaning about the high AdWords click costs should be sure that they have sufficiently exhausted the optimization possibilities.
Imre Sinka, dotpulse web agency
CPC influencing variables Quality Score and CTR
If you believe that the CPC of your keywords is too high, you must be sure that the keywords in your campaign achieve a quality score of 7/10 or more. If this is lower, the costs will increase simply because Google demands a higher CPC. The quality score is essentially influenced by the quality of the landing page, in particular its content and loading time. The click-through rate (CTR) also has an influence on the click price. The higher the CTR, the lower the CPC. The CTR is influenced by the ad position and the ad text.
Niche keywords are cheaper
Excessive click costs can also be avoided by switching to long tail keywords. Usually, the popular, generic and expensive fat head keywords are courted. If you focus your campaign on the long tail and therefore on niche keywords, you will benefit from more qualified visitors and lower click costs.
Quality of the landing page
Focusing on an attractive CPC does not guarantee the ROI of the campaign. The conversion rate on the landing page is decisive for the ROI. The better it is tailored to the visitor's needs, the better the conversion.
AdWords are still an attractive and efficient online marketing tool when used correctly. Tougher competition and rising click costs require both the monitoring and optimization of the quality score and click-through rate (CTR) as well as the management of landing pages. Anyone who joins in the moaning about the high AdWords click costs should be sure that they have sufficiently exhausted the optimization possibilities.
Imre Sinka, dotpulse web agency
