Crafting the perfect PPC campaign may feel like a daunting task from creating an effective, yet unique ad copy, to mastering the power of keywords.
It’s extremely important to put both the time and effort into deciding the right PPC budget for you. Whether you are a huge corporation or a small mom and pop shop, settling on a reasonable and realistic budget is essential for having a successful PPC campaign.
According to a study released by Hanapin, advertisers plan to beef up budgets on AdWords by 75% in 2017.
But remember, paid search campaigns can only be as successful as it’s protection. Whether you protect your campaigns with a DIY method or seek out third party assistance with service providers like ClickCease.
Advertising online makes you extremely vulnerable to click fraud, which is when a fraudster, usually your competitor, click farm, or a bot, click on your ads with the malicious intent of draining your advertising budget. Click fraud is something to definitely keep in mind when deciding on the right budget.
You may ask yourself, should I be advertising at all when under attack? How much will click fraud really affect my ROI?
First, let’s get the low down and learn about PPC budgeting 101.
It’s A Numbers Game
Although there are many factors, at the end of the day there is power in numbers.
Here are a few equations to help better define your objectives, in a numerical way to give you a better idea of the right budget for you.
(Revenue / Sales Period) / Average Sale = Number of Customers
Number of Customers / Conversion Rate = Number of Leads
Number of Leads / Conversion Rate on Traffic = Amount of Traffic
For a more simplified version try this per 100 clicks min…
(# of keywords you want to test) (cost per click) (100 clicks) = PPC budget
CPC (Cost per click)
If you’re feeling lost figuring out your cost per click this may be a good place for you to start.
How much are the keywords you are bidding on? This will be a huge driving factor when determining your PPC budget.
By defining these objectives you’ll have a better idea of how to decide on the right budget for you.
Budgeting for Everything Google Has To Offer
Unfortunately, it is not so simply just to choose an ad budget for AdWords and be done with it. The platform has a lot to offer so it’s crucial to consider all of your options.
Display – cheaper clicks but not as direct of conversions. Billboards, but with better targeting and analytics.
The three main goals are to increase brand awareness, showcase the product and to hopefully help with the sales funnel.
Remarketing – e commerce people listen up, this is for you. Reshowing products to customers will yield results. Budget this by calculating the percentage of conversions that come from returning visitors. This will give you a better idea.
Testing 1, 2, 3 Testing
Once you have an idea of your objectives we recommend you test out a budget to see how it goes for you.
Remember, during this time you shouldn’t necessarily be expecting a huge increase in profits. The initial goal during the testing should be to break even or making a slight loss is considered acceptable during this probation period.
Keep your eye on the prize, which is to gain knowledge so that your campaigns can be successful down the road.
Not only should you be testing budgets but ad copies and keywords as well.
After a budget is set nothing is set in stone so you can test out which one works best for you.
If during this time your ad budget seems to be drained everyday but it isn’t being reflected in an increase in business then you may be a victim of click fraud.
Your competitor, bot, or click farm may be maliciously clicking on your ads.
One way to check is to check out the click themselves if they’re all coming from the same IP or from outside your geo targeted location, these are some of the warning signs.
One thing you can do is go in and exclude those funky looking IPs from clicking on your ads but this process can be extremely cumbersome that requires extra time you might not have to spare. So consider seeking third party assistance with services like ClickCease.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’ve numerically defined your objectives and gotten a better feel, then is it’s time to set up your PPC budget.
Make sure you account for everything AdWords has to offer and don’t limit yourself.
Remember, treat the testing period as a time to experiment and define what will work best for your business. Don’t forget to go the extra mile and protect your campaigns from malicious fraudsters either by taking a DIY approach or seeking our help.