Google ads can be a highly effective way to drive business and get customers visiting your site, especially when you’re advertising locally. But what criteria can you measure against to say you’ve had an effective Google Ad campaign?
To get you started, a quick Google search will tell you what sort of Google Ads benchmarks are the average in your industry. Once you’ve got something to compare to, you can start to drill down into the specifics of your own ad campaign to see how effective it is. Here are some benchmarks to consider. Remember that these are quite vague, so you should really delve into your specific industry after this.
Click through rate
Click through Rate (CTR) is the first indicator of how successful your Conversion rate might be. It’s basically a measure of the percentage of clicks your ad got out of a total number of impressions. So, were people just scrolling past your ad, or is it engaging enough for people to click?
The average CTR across all industries is 5.06%, but different industries have different variances. For example, dining and nightlife has a higher CTR around 6.63% as people want to click on lots of different options when choosing a new restaurant to visit.
To improve click through rates, try and add a special deal in your headline to entice customers in. And don’t forget to display your main keyword in your URL.
Cost per click
This is how much you’ll be charged every single time someone clicks on your ad. The average across all industries is $2.41. This can be a difficult score to analyze, because it all depends on how many conversions you’re getting at the end of it.
You can try and weed out customers that aren’t going to convert by better targeting your keywords, and even using negative keywords. These are words that are deliberately excluded and prevent your ads from showing up to users who search for certain phrases.
For example, you might sell black hiking boots, but don’t want your ad appearing to people looking for other types of boots, then clicking your ads and costing you money. So you can exclude your ad from any search that doesn’t contain the word “hiking”. This is a metric you’ll need to keep an eye on and track over time.
Conversion rate
This is the big one. The metric that tells you how many people who clicked on your ad actually bought your product, and the conversion rate averages 4.40% across all industries. If you’re finding your conversion rate is much lower than this, it might be a problem with your post-click experience. What do customers see when they click your ad? Is your website easy to navigate? Are they taken straight to a chance to purchase or are they presented with confusing options?
Make sure the site your ad links to is completely clear, making it obvious for you customer how to purchase.
Cost per conversion
This is the total cost of the Google ads it took to generate one sale, and the industry average is $56.11. If you’re finding that your cost per conversion is higher than the value of your actual sales, then you might be in trouble. For example, if it’s costing you $60 to make a sale, but customers are only buying $30 worth of products, then you need to change your tactics.
Your cost per conversion will tend to be higher for those with longer sales cycles, such as high end electronics or other expensive items. Make sure you keep a close eye on this metric, or you could start to hemorrhage cash.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the success of your Google Ads campaign is going to be measured in conversions. It’s completely possible for you to have a high cost per click or cost per conversion rate, and still have a successful campaign. Remember to start out by benchmarking against those in your industry, before regularly reviewing
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