When we take on a new PPC client, we see the same issue time and time again: ads being the clicked, but not the converted. Before I begin making any changes to a client’s PPC account, I always follow a particular order of finding the answer to the question of why. It’s usually a concern that is not even in the top 5 things people think where to begin looking.

I start looking at the data and reports in the opposite order most people assume. I begin with the search queries report and not the keyword report. The keyword report is where people think most of the issues will be, and where most people begin. The search term report tells you exactly what your audience searched to be shown your ad. This is typically where I find the source of the leak. I’ve even seen thirds of a client’s PPC budget being spent on completely irrelevant searches to the client’s service offering. An example of this would be someone bidding on kitchen design, and capturing clicks for kitchen design courses, not kitchen design services. You must go looking for the problem to find these issues. They do not correct themselves.

I then look at where the clicks are being directed to. You would be surprised at how often an ad will promise one thing, but the landing page will have completely different, unrelated content, or a landing page that is completely broken and not fit for purpose on a mobile device. If more than half of your traffic is coming from phones and your Form does not work on a mobile, there is no amount of spending that will fix that.

Here’s the part that people find the most difficult to hear: I verify that conversion tracking is implemented correctly. Many of the accounts we take over are considered to be “underperforming” due to broken tracking as opposed to poorly executed campaigns. Ad performance cannot be accurately assessed with tracking that is inherently incorrect.

I only begin looking at ad copy, structure, and bids once the three issues I described are resolved. People do tend to want to jump the gun and begin making changes to ad copy, but that only exacerbates the problem if search term bias and broken tracking are present.

You have to treat each of your paid ads with the assumption that it can always be optimized, as you never know the truth of the situation. The accounts that stay healthy are the ones somebody’s actually looking at regularly. The accounts that are left to fend for themselves quickly become neglected.

These are the three primary issues that address the vast majority of accounts that are performing poorly. If you feel like your PPC spending is uncontrolled in comparison to the number of incoming leads, then it is possible one or more of these issues are present and deserve your attention. I would be happy to take a look at your account and let you know what we find. Often, these issues are relatively minor and can be resolved quickly, or they can be complex and require a large scope of work, but at least you will have an understanding of how complex the situation is, before we undertake any work.