A Manual for Improving Search Advertising (Fundamentals)

You started search advertising, but the results are not what you expected.
Does that sound familiar?

This article attaches, as slides, the material we use in our own advertising management.
Use the enlarge button at the bottom right of the slides to read them.

1. Where to look

Search advertising not delivering results usually comes down to

not getting the number of enquiries you hoped for (conversions, from here on)
or exceeding the cost per enquiry you hoped for (in short, it is expensive)

one or both of these.
Breaking that down further gives
[volume] [rates][costs]
three areas in all.

Here is a diagram.

Breaking those three down again, into seven cases, 1 to 7, we set out the causes and the remedies for each.

2. Volume

On volume, the three that matter are too few impressions, too few clicks and too few conversions.

⇓Too few impressions⇓

Review those five points. Bids, how fast the budget is spent and search demand are the main things to look at.

Next, the case where the ads show but nobody clicks. For that, work through the checklist for too few clicks.

⇓Too few clicks⇓

This is the work of solving the problem of being seen but not being relevant.

A note on ad extensions as well.

What are ad extensions? A full guide to what they do, how to set them up and how to use them well

If the ads show and get clicks but conversions are few, use the checklist below.

⇓Too few conversions⇓

We hope that was useful. Do use it whenever the volume comes in below what you expected.

3. Rates

On rates, the two that matter are a low rate of clicks after the ad shows (a low CTR), or a low rate of conversions after the click (a low CVR).

⇓Low CTR⇓

As above, a low CTR points to things like not matching the search intent, having no claim that stands out against competitors, or too little ad space, so review those.

Next, CVR.

⇓Low CVR⇓

As above, apart from the minor case of invalid clicks, this generally comes down to reviewing the quality of the landing page.

We hope that was useful.
As a guide to what counts as a normal CTR or CVR, the going figures are a CTR of 1-3% and a CVR of 1-2%.

4. Costs

Last, costs. Even if you win enough volume, the cost still has to add up.
Costs divide mainly into two: a high cost per click (a high CPC) and a high cost per conversion (a high CPA).

For the first, a high CPC, review the following.

⇓High CPC⇓

Improving keyword quality scores is one remedy, but the main issue is money: bids are high and competitors are strong.

Typical CPC figures are included too, so use them to compare against your own.

Last is the checklist for a high CPA.

⇓High CPA⇓

The strongest candidate here is to review the landing page.
In our experience, reviewing the main visual and the form on that page tends to pay off most.

5. In summary

We hope that was useful.
When you have put money into search advertising and the results are not there, start from where the figures diverge from what you expected. From there, take the recommended fix for that point and build up trial and error.

There is no single right answer in search advertising, but there is a best option, so keep at it.

If we write an advanced edition, we will mention it in this article. Thank you for reading to the end.