Why Doesn't PPC Traffic Convert?!

[ClickNinja]

First off, I'm not new to IM and only semi-new to ppc (I've ran a few minimal campaigns in the past). I'm an affiliate and have a program that I promote through organic seo.

The organic traffic converts anywhere from 1 in 40, 1 in 60 or 1 in 80 people – it varies. Yet, with ppc I haven't gotten 1 conversion so far. I've only sent around 200 or so people so far (and I realize that it's not a huge number for testing) but not one conversion.

I make around $100 per conversion, and I was sending Google ads traffic (at $1.00 per click) and now trying Microsoft (at .50 per click) – So I don't want send too much traffic that doesn't convert just to get one $100 conversion.

My campaign settings are:

US only, English only, no mobile or tablets, 18-24 and 65 plus both decreased by 90%.

I have a huge list of negative keywords, including all 50 States, freebie words, info words (“how do I” “should you”) and I'm monitoring my search terms daily and always adding more negative keywords from them.

I'm getting clicks from a few of the main 'top level' type keywords as well as a lot of junk searches. By junk searches I mean people's names and locations - if the niche was for contractors it would be searches like:

“Bob Johnson Contractor New York City” or “Smith and Jones Contracting”

Also getting a lot of misspellings as keywords.

I started at first copying some ads that were already running from other companies and jumbling them together, but since reading more on PPC here I've since created my own ads that do two things:

1 – Contain the main relevant keywords

and

2 – Use the same wording, phrases and offers that are on the landing page

I've tried sending traffic directly to the website that I'm promoting, creating my own targeted landing pages and sending traffic to some targeted landing pages directly on the website that I'm promoting (which is what I'm currently doing).

I've also included the price in the ad's description. For example: “Only $99.95” (to discourage freebie seekers or those who won't pay that amount).

So why does it seem so impossible to get a single conversion / sale? What can I do to improve my campaign? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[StealthPTE]

You are really going to need to A/B test this and maybe A/B/C/D test things.

That is honestly the best way to see the error of your ways.

 

[Deleted member 1362253]

And you sure no one is clicking your ads , just to keep you away from the competition?

 

[ClickNinja]

You are really going to need to A/B test this and maybe A/B/C/D test things.

That is honestly the best way to see the error of your ways.

A/B testing would be something to try if it had ANY conversions. I want to get why ppc traffic isn't converting at all.

 

[AkshayF]

if you are not getting converstion but getting clicks and your your CPC is good then you need to work on your service (means landing page, pricing, or offers) but If you are not getting clicks, then you should do A/B testing and see that you are improving or not.

 

[arc323]

There are a bunch of reasons why this isn't converting.

First: Are you using automated bidding? If so, max click or max conversions? Are you setting a target CPA?
If you are not using this strategy, you may consider it because it can work well once the campaigns get rolling.

Second: Are you tracking conversions inside Google Ads?
This is critical. I know it's an affiliate offer but you gotta measure conversions. If you measure conversions you can use automated bidding a heck of a lot better.

Third: Try using all phrase match keywords. Like, "plumber near" or "solar panels"
Doing this stops google from going wild and trying to show your ads for weird queries that they THINK are aligned with the traffic you want.

Fourth: Your organic search converts really good, right? What don't you figure out which keywords are converting via organic. Then target those via paid search, but send the traffic to the same exact landing page that organic traffic goes to.
This goes against PPC fundamentals, but the idea is that you are replicating the same exact conditions from organic search. You might have to use exact match keywords for this. It's like you're buying the number 1 slot for your best converting KWs.

Fifth: Are you using performance max? Display expansion? Search partners? If so, consider not using them. Try to have as few variables as possible when you are testing.

Sixth: Don't start dropping your bids for 18-24 unless there is a REALLY good reason (your intuition is not a good reason). Why are you targeting desktop traffic? Unless you're doing some b2b offer, it doesn't make sense. Almost all of our conversions across all ad accounts come from mobile - even for our own campaigns targeting clients for PPC services. I actually drop the bid 40% for desktop because lots of bots, crawlers, and spys are on desktop connections. I increase the bid 20% on mobile. May not be relevant to you but that's what I do anyway.

You only spent like $200. One sale is worth $99. You need to spend more since you can make it back really fast once you get dialed in.

And yes, PPC traffic converts. Maybe this offer in particular is not good for paid traffic, but paid traffic works. Just gotta get really good at buying the ads and you'll be fine.

 

[Chris Newman]

For PPC traffic to convert, 2 things are critical : 1) Effective landing page and 2) Effective (properly setup) ad campaign (along with ongoing ad campaign optimization).

 

[ClickNinja]

First: Are you using automated bidding? If so, max click or max conversions? Are you setting a target CPA?

No, don't want to throw too much money into this at first. I'm using manual max CPC.

Second: Are you tracking conversions inside Google Ads?

I'm only running it on Microsoft ads right now, and Yes I'm using conversion tracking.

Third: Try using all phrase match keywords. Like, "plumber near" or "solar panels"

I'm already doing this, I only use phrase match on all keywords.

Fourth: Your organic search converts really good, right? What don't you figure out which keywords are converting via organic. Then target those via paid search, but send the traffic to the same exact landing page that organic traffic goes to.

That's a great idea, I'm going to try it. My organic traffic comes in from long articles, so you think I should use those same articles as landing pages then?

Fifth: Are you using performance max? Display expansion? Search partners?

No, only straight ahead search traffic. Not sure what you mean by display expansion, I do use some ad extensions though.

Sixth: Don't start dropping your bids for 18-24 unless there is a REALLY good reason (your intuition is not a good reason). Why are you targeting desktop traffic?

Just would think that the younger demographic would be doing more info gathering type searches AND less likely to have money to use a service that ranges from $100 and up.

I'm not collecting emails or gathering leads, I'm focused on sales. I would guess that with desktop traffic people are much more likely to pull out their credit card, make an informed decision and BUY. I've never bought a single thing with my phone.

Almost all of our conversions across all ad accounts come from mobile - even for our own campaigns targeting clients for PPC services.

You talking actual sales or lead gen?

Thanks a lot for your help and look forward to hearing from you!

 

[ClickNinja]

There are a bunch of reasons why this isn't converting.

First: Are you using automated bidding? If so, max click or max conversions? Are you setting a target CPA?
If you are not using this strategy, you may consider it because it can work well once the campaigns get rolling.

Second: Are you tracking conversions inside Google Ads?
This is critical. I know it's an affiliate offer but you gotta measure conversions. If you measure conversions you can use automated bidding a heck of a lot better.

Third: Try using all phrase match keywords. Like, "plumber near" or "solar panels"
Doing this stops google from going wild and trying to show your ads for weird queries that they THINK are aligned with the traffic you want.

Fourth: Your organic search converts really good, right? What don't you figure out which keywords are converting via organic. Then target those via paid search, but send the traffic to the same exact landing page that organic traffic goes to.
This goes against PPC fundamentals, but the idea is that you are replicating the same exact conditions from organic search. You might have to use exact match keywords for this. It's like you're buying the number 1 slot for your best converting KWs.

Fifth: Are you using performance max? Display expansion? Search partners? If so, consider not using them. Try to have as few variables as possible when you are testing.

Sixth: Don't start dropping your bids for 18-24 unless there is a REALLY good reason (your intuition is not a good reason). Why are you targeting desktop traffic? Unless you're doing some b2b offer, it doesn't make sense. Almost all of our conversions across all ad accounts come from mobile - even for our own campaigns targeting clients for PPC services. I actually drop the bid 40% for desktop because lots of bots, crawlers, and spys are on desktop connections. I increase the bid 20% on mobile. May not be relevant to you but that's what I do anyway.

You only spent like $200. One sale is worth $99. You need to spend more since you can make it back really fast once you get dialed in.

And yes, PPC traffic converts. Maybe this offer in particular is not good for paid traffic, but paid traffic works. Just gotta get really good at buying the ads and you'll be fine.

Thanks for your suggestions, I replied with the answers to your questions. I quoted your post above because I had to split your post into sections in order to respond to them so I don't think it attributed the quotes in my previous post to you.

Please check out my answers and let me know how you think I should alter my campaign. Thanks!

 

[SilverClouds]

There are a bunch of reasons why this isn't converting.

First: Are you using automated bidding? If so, max click or max conversions? Are you setting a target CPA?
If you are not using this strategy, you may consider it because it can work well once the campaigns get rolling.

Second: Are you tracking conversions inside Google Ads?
This is critical. I know it's an affiliate offer but you gotta measure conversions. If you measure conversions you can use automated bidding a heck of a lot better.

Third: Try using all phrase match keywords. Like, "plumber near" or "solar panels"
Doing this stops google from going wild and trying to show your ads for weird queries that they THINK are aligned with the traffic you want.

Fourth: Your organic search converts really good, right? What don't you figure out which keywords are converting via organic. Then target those via paid search, but send the traffic to the same exact landing page that organic traffic goes to.
This goes against PPC fundamentals, but the idea is that you are replicating the same exact conditions from organic search. You might have to use exact match keywords for this. It's like you're buying the number 1 slot for your best converting KWs.

Fifth: Are you using performance max? Display expansion? Search partners? If so, consider not using them. Try to have as few variables as possible when you are testing.

Sixth: Don't start dropping your bids for 18-24 unless there is a REALLY good reason (your intuition is not a good reason). Why are you targeting desktop traffic? Unless you're doing some b2b offer, it doesn't make sense. Almost all of our conversions across all ad accounts come from mobile - even for our own campaigns targeting clients for PPC services. I actually drop the bid 40% for desktop because lots of bots, crawlers, and spys are on desktop connections. I increase the bid 20% on mobile. May not be relevant to you but that's what I do anyway.

You only spent like $200. One sale is worth $99. You need to spend more since you can make it back really fast once you get dialed in.

And yes, PPC traffic converts. Maybe this offer in particular is not good for paid traffic, but paid traffic works. Just gotta get really good at buying the ads and you'll be fine.

That post is so detailed, nice, thanks for sharing.

I'm not doing aff right now but gads campaigns for clients and I noticed the same thing, literally all sales come from mobiles. So that caught my attention too. Automatic bidding is good too.

How do you setup conversion tracking on aff offers?

 

[ClickNinja]

That post is so detailed, nice, thanks for sharing.

I'm not doing aff right now but gads campaigns for clients and I noticed the same thing, literally all sales come from mobiles. So that caught my attention too. Automatic bidding is good too.

How do you setup conversion tracking on aff offers?

You're saying that all of your sales are coming from mobile, are you talking 'pull out their wallet and actually enter their credit card info' types sales or something else?

To set up conversion tracking on most affiliate offers you need to (as far as I know) use a 3rd party tracking service, there are a few of them out their. They should help you to set it up properly.

 

[soa0611]

You're saying that all of your sales are coming from mobile, are you talking 'pull out their wallet and actually enter their credit card info' types sales or something else?

To set up conversion tracking on most affiliate offers you need to (as far as I know) use a 3rd party tracking service, there are a few of them out their. They should help you to set it up properly.

are trying typical e-commerce?

probably, your site could look not so legit..

 

[ClickNinja]

are trying typical e-commerce?

probably, your site could look not so legit..

As I said in my initial post:

"I've tried sending traffic directly to the website that I'm promoting, creating my own targeted landing pages and sending traffic to some targeted landing pages directly on the website that I'm promoting (which is what I'm currently doing)."

The site I'm promoting looks legit.

 

[mthuyet98]

First off, I'm not new to IM and only semi-new to ppc (I've ran a few minimal campaigns in the past). I'm an affiliate and have a program that I promote through organic seo.

The organic traffic converts anywhere from 1 in 40, 1 in 60 or 1 in 80 people – it varies. Yet, with ppc I haven't gotten 1 conversion so far. I've only sent around 200 or so people so far (and I realize that it's not a huge number for testing) but not one conversion.

I make around $100 per conversion, and I was sending Google ads traffic (at $1.00 per click) and now trying Microsoft (at .50 per click) – So I don't want send too much traffic that doesn't convert just to get one $100 conversion.

My campaign settings are:

US only, English only, no mobile or tablets, 18-24 and 65 plus both decreased by 90%.

I have a huge list of negative keywords, including all 50 States, freebie words, info words (“how do I” “should you”) and I'm monitoring my search terms daily and always adding more negative keywords from them.

I'm getting clicks from a few of the main 'top level' type keywords as well as a lot of junk searches. By junk searches I mean people's names and locations - if the niche was for contractors it would be searches like:

“Bob Johnson Contractor New York City” or “Smith and Jones Contracting”

Also getting a lot of misspellings as keywords.

I started at first copying some ads that were already running from other companies and jumbling them together, but since reading more on PPC here I've since created my own ads that do two things:

1 – Contain the main relevant keywords

and

2 – Use the same wording, phrases and offers that are on the landing page

I've tried sending traffic directly to the website that I'm promoting, creating my own targeted landing pages and sending traffic to some targeted landing pages directly on the website that I'm promoting (which is what I'm currently doing).

I've also included the price in the ad's description. For example: “Only $99.95” (to discourage freebie seekers or those who won't pay that amount).

So why does it seem so impossible to get a single conversion / sale? What can I do to improve my campaign? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

maybe, your bid is too low, and you should try setting up Google conversion tracker on your site.

 

[Digitalcitizen]

My campaign settings are:

US only, English only, no mobile or tablets, 18-24 and 65 plus both decreased by 90%

Any specific reason to avoid mobile traffic?

 

[soa0611]

As I said in my initial post:

"I've tried sending traffic directly to the website that I'm promoting, creating my own targeted landing pages and sending traffic to some targeted landing pages directly on the website that I'm promoting (which is what I'm currently doing)."

The site I'm promoting looks legit.

can i specify please - is it e-shop website or some aff product page?

 

[arc323]

That's a great idea, I'm going to try it. My organic traffic comes in from long articles, so you think I should use those same articles as landing pages then?

Sorry for the slow reply! Yes. that's exactly what I was suggesting. Not sure it will work, but if you are getting those conversions organically, it can't hurt to buy the number 1 position, see if the ROAS is enough to justify this strategy. This is similar to how a lot of affiliate create "buyers guides" and bid keywords, "best hair straightener." The link off to a buyers guide with the offer being the #1 best product. lol. Also, search "best tech gifts for 2022" and you'll see examples of this method.

Just would think that the younger demographic would be doing more info gathering type searches AND less likely to have money to use a service that ranges from $100 and up.

I'm not collecting emails or gathering leads, I'm focused on sales. I would guess that with desktop traffic people are much more likely to pull out their credit card, make an informed decision and BUY. I've never bought a single thing with my phone.

Depends on the service. Hot water heater repair, probably not. Dating service, cosmetic stuff, health/wellness supps - absolutely. Also, the Bing demographic skews heavily older, with many users being older folks who don't change their default search settings on their windows machine. But some young ppl use bing too. I would try it and if it's eating budget kill it off.

You talking actual sales or lead gen?

Both ecom direct to consumer and lead gen. We run PPC for our agency and I was decreasing the bid on mobile until I saw about 60% of our conversions coming from mobile.

I rarely buy anything on my phone too, but the vast majority of purchases are coming from mobile. I assure you of this. Like 80%+ of online purchases are made on a mobile device. I can say anecdotally, my wife and her friends (a demographic of mid-30s, stay at home moms) buy everything on their mobile devices. But don't listen to anecdotal stuff. There is lots of data out there that shows mobile-first optimization is the way to go, except in special circumstances.

You're saying that all of your sales are coming from mobile, are you talking 'pull out their wallet and actually enter their credit card info' types sales or something else?

This was addressed to me but I will reply. It's a hard YES. Almost all of our clients ecom and ecom brands that we own skew like 85%+ mobile purchases. We have access to a good bit of data across a variety of ecom niches and it's all mobile. Like so much that everything we do is optimized for mobile first.

One little nugget for mobile is to go in and manually remove all app categories from targeting. We find this traffic is plentiful but almost never converts and does actually burn budget.

That post is so detailed, nice, thanks for sharing.

I'm not doing aff right now but gads campaigns for clients and I noticed the same thing, literally all sales come from mobiles. So that caught my attention too. Automatic bidding is good too.

How do you setup conversion tracking on aff offers?

Thanks.. I'm always happy to help.

Yeah, we use target cpa or max click. It takes minute to optimize but it's been working well.

You need to a 3rd party tracker. Most networks will use them but setup may vary. Ask your affiliate manager when you sign up with a network. They will have the solution. If you start really scaling an offer, they might even let you place your own pixel but at the very least you can use your own lander to measure up to the point the user clicks off to the offer.

Good luck!

 

[ClickNinja]

Any specific reason to avoid mobile traffic?

Because my thought (and some articles that I've read) are that people may be more likely in the info gathering phase and not the actual BUY phase on mobile. Possibly more younger people (who don't have real money to spend) on mobile. Also 70% of my Google Ads traffic was mobile and didn't convert.

can i specify please - is it e-shop website or some aff product page?

Neither - It's a page to sign up for a service.

 

[ClickNinja]

One little nugget for mobile is to go in and manually remove all app categories from targeting. We find this traffic is plentiful but almost never converts and does actually burn budget.

Thanks for your reply. What do you mean by this, I'm not aware of any 'app categories' - could you please elaborate on how / where to do this?

 

[GenesisOne]

The problem with ppc traffic is that you need to do a lot of testing and fund that testing.
With 100 clicks you are far from having gathered enough info to make a decision yet.