PPC: Low CPC May Be Costing You

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is an auction, and as with any auction, the possibility of winning something for far less than it is worth is present. However, just because a click has very low cost-per-click (CPC), doesn’t mean it’s going to be the best thing for your business. Here’s a couple reason why.

Lower CPC can mean less relevant keywords.

Lets say you’re a personal injury lawyer and manage your own practice. Which term is more likely to get a customer in the door, “law firm” or “personal injury lawyer in Orlando”? The latter is much more relevant to your exact business, which means people searching with that term are much more likely to convert into one of your customers. Unfortunately, since that term is so likely to convert, it will be much more expensive per click. This is when you must decide if you want a larger amount of less expensive, less relevant traffic, or if you want more expensive but more relevant traffic.

Some terms may be cheap for a reason.

As with anything, you get what you pay for. In competitive industries, if a keyword is cheap, it is most likely not going to convert well. If it did, everyone would be competing for it and the price would be driven up. In some cases you may be able to find some niche keywords that apply only to your business that you can get for cheap, but in general, don’t be nervous if you see CPC’s that are a little higher than what you expected. If the campaign is being managed well and your quality scores are good, then these higher CPC keywords are most likely going to bring you more customers. That means a much better return on your ad spend.