A low conversion rate is frequently a death sentence for PPC campaigns—but it doesn’t have to be.

Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are great tools for generating quality traffic to your website. But along with that investment comes the expectation for conversions, and many advertisers pull the plug when ad campaigns have a low conversion rate.

This is a mistake.

This article will outline three data sources that can prove the quality of the traffic your campaign’s receiving. Whether you’re running ads for someone else or responsible for your advertising program, these sources of information can help you understand what is working according to plan when you have a low conversion rate.

Low conversion rate

The tolerance for an acceptable conversion rate differs for campaigns. Take a look at the two extremes: a lead generation search campaign can have a much lower reasonable conversion rate than a shopping e-commerce campaign. 

It comes down to the expected income generated from each conversion. For example, an e-commerce campaign selling shoes for $100 will require much more conversions than a lead generation campaign where each potential conversion can net over $10k.

Tied in with the conversion rate is the cost per conversion. This measurement considers how many clicks and how much each click is worth, calculating how much each conversion costs.

Each business has different tolerances for their conversion rate—a low conversion rate for some might be stellar for others. If you’re advertising for yourself, you can see how much money your conversions bring to your business and compare it to your ad spend. If you’re advertising for others, make sure you have transparent conversations about what the client expects from your services.

Prove traffic quality with three metrics

There are three useful data sources you can utilize when dealing with a low conversion rate. These recommendations aren’t meant to “get you off the hook” from improving the low conversion rate; instead, they’re helpful bits of information that can help you demonstrate the work you’ve done so far.

In the end, these three data sources might save your campaign from cancellation.

The three segments you can use as evidence of your quality traffic—despite a low conversion rate—are:

1. Auction insights
2. Search Terms
3. Location Data

Let’s take a look at each and discuss their impact.

Auction insights

The auction insights screen is where you can see how your ads fare against those of the competitors. 

This screen is a goldmine of reasons why you should continue advertising.

Seeing the potential uptick in search impressions the competitors will receive if you, or the business you run ads for, pull the plug on the ads campaign is a powerful motivator to weather the low conversion rate. 

Search terms

The search terms are where you can see the type of traffic going to your website. Ideally, these terms are all well-aligned with your business. If they are, a low conversion rate can turn around, given time.

Proving the type of traffic generated on a consistent basis is excellent proof ads are working, despite a low conversion rate. Writing blog articles and getting them to rank for the specified search terms could take months, which is why paid traffic is a good idea in the first place.

As the search engine learns what type of traffic visits your website, the data carries over to your organic rankings as well.

Location data

The third source of data that can save a campaign from cancellation because of a low conversion rate is the location data.

For brick and mortar stores, inspecting the location data can prove the extension of their reach into the surrounding areas and neighborhoods. Taking advantage of those living close by, otherwise known as maximizing local traffic, pays off in the long run with increased word-of-mouth.

The benefit for service-based businesses is even more significant—often, service areas extend far beyond the physical address. Seeing the location data and knowing people from all corners of the service area are being made aware of the business is a powerful reason to continue advertising despite a low conversion rate.

PPC management with Algorithmic Global

A low conversion rate isn’t ideal. When encountered, take steps that raise the conversion rate—this leads to more money going into the business and a better return on ad spend.

But, when the issue of a low conversion rate does arise, there are data sources you can look at that demonstrate the quality of your efforts. Auction insights display information about the competitors, search terms reflect the quality of your website’s traffic, and location data provides insight into your geographical reach.

Are you interested in expert Google ads management? The team at Algorithmic Global can help! Give us a call or reach out to us via our contact page, and our experienced team will follow up with you and find out how we can work together on your digital marketing!