[SuperiorPainter]

I am interested in using google pay per click and I need some advice from the pros that have used it with success. I am also looking for any experience with pay per click.

Here are my questions:

1. Was it worth it?
2. Did you receive wasted leads that didn't convert well?
3. Were there more residential leads versus commercial?
4. What is your average cost per click?

If anyone can answer these questions, that would be excellent for all those that view this thread.

 

[WarlinePainting]

Hi There Superior,

Here is my take on Google PPC and my answers to your questions:

1. Yes it is worth it - IF you have a good website that it at the other end of the click. If not, don't waste your money.

2. It is a learning curve. You have very limited characters in your ad to get your message across and a potentially huge audience you are talking to. You can spend a lot of money while you are learning what works and getting useless leads. My advice. Hire a professional marketing expert (that understands your business well) to do this for you. What you will spend in their costs you will save in bad leads and more importantly, wasted time. Don't also forget that your ad needs go to a landing page that is designed to convert into leads. Again something I would work with a pro to do.

3. Almost 100% residential.

4. Depends completely on your location and demographics. If you are in a very competitive area your leads will cost more. Also when calculating your cost per lead, you need to average your unconverted click throughs, telephone call leads that originated from an ad as well as any leads through your online requests for estimates, etc.

We launched our website in January. I pay my web/marketing firm to do my SEO and my PPC campaign. Looking back, I would skip the money I have spent on SEO (other than properly setting up a website for it) and spend the money on PPC and traditional advertising. If you are in a highly competitive area like I am, SEO is a long process with no guarantees of success. The energy and money I have spent on trying to get on the first page of google seems like a complete waste of money considering I can simply PAY to be there and I think few consumers care anymore if they are clicking a google ad or an organic search result.

I am no expert on any of this so I can only tell you from what I have learned in the short time I have been doing this. There are some pretty knowledgable guys on this forum that can certainly give you very specific and good advice but if you are at all busy with your business, running an PPC campaign with a hit or miss attitude can be both time consuming and money sucking.

 

[One Coat Coverage]

Why would I pay for people to click on my site when I get the same thing for free?

Drive people to your website through other forms of advertisement. Kill two birds with one stone.

 

[PressurePros]

PPC done right can be effective when done correctly. Done haphazardly, which most people do, it is a money drainer. If you don't understand the terms landing pages, multiple campaigns, conversion tracking, and CTR percentages, then it may be best to looking into someone to hire to produce your ads and campaigns.

I attempted to start a campaign last night for increasing some facebook fans on my biz page. Some general and localized CPC's were $4-$7. No thanks. Its much easier and cost effective to rank locally. That is money that will give a great ROI in a short time.

 

[Whajado]

Something tells me you’re not being completely honest with the folks here at Paint Talk.

Why go to a contractor site seeking info about PPC when the web is loaded with internet marketing forums like warrior?

Honesty is always the best policy

 

[One Coat Coverage]

No doubt, now that I re- read the op, he/she sounds like a Google spy.

 

[One Coat Coverage]

I'm a true believer in NOT pumping money into the Internet except to maintain my own website.

 

[RGordon]

As many have already said, before even thinking about doing PPC you need to make sure you have a good website/landing page to capture the traffic. What's the point of spending money to send people to your site if they will not fill out a form or call because your website is ugly or unusable or does not sell.

Also, a better question than "what is your cost per click" is "what is your cost per LEAD?" After all, if clicks cost $10.00 a click, but every one turns to a lead, that's a pretty great deal. But if clicks cost 25 cents, but it takes you 1,000 clicks to get a lead, not so great...

 

[Mod Paint Works]

How would someone without adwords experience know the terms in the OP?
Sketch-y!
But, I will offer this: adwords can be a money eating marketing campaign to get salespeople to call you to sell their stuff, especially SEO companies.

www.mpwdenver.com
facebook.com/modpaintworks

 

[Coat It!]

1. Yes, it works if done correctly. If you don't have experience consider hiring a PPC consultant or company. They should be able to show you ROI goals and actual ROI.
2. Yes, you'll always have a mix of good and bad leads.
3. It depends what keywords you target. You would want to setup separate campaigns for each if you were interested in both.
4. Varies, our strategy is to be in the top 3 paid listings for certain keywords so we get less hits and it's a bit more expensive but the leads are much more qualified.

AdWords is a part of an overall Internet marketing strategy. It can be especially useful for a new website, where you have to buy website traffic to get noticed. Investing and/or learning about SEO is a much better long-term strategy for success in my opinion though.

 

[PressurePros]

Google offers free consultation. It may be worth what you pay for it, but it might be a good place to start. From an email I just got regarding my above post: (bold and text are by them)

________________________________________________________________

Hello from Google!

I’m an AdWords specialist with Google and I've noticed you’ve created an AdWords account (Customer ID: 3040830197) but haven't yet started running ads. I can help you get launched and get more out of AdWords.

Call me at 1-877-721-1743* for a free consultation or if you have any questions about Google AdWords. Our experts can even set up your entire first campaign for you.

Note: Our service is completely free of charge. How much you invest is up to you. No minimum spend requirements and no minimum terms.

A little more information about our service: We’ll set up a basic campaign structure, help define your targeting strategy, choose keywords and write a couple of ad texts - all designed to drive as many visitors to your website as possible. My job is to get you off to a successful start with Google AdWords.

Looking forward to your call,

Tiffani Erickson
Google AdWords Setup Support Team
1-877-721-1743 (Mon - Fri, 9am - 9pm ET)

 

[RCP]

I got one too for another site I created and set up a campaign using the $100 gift card I got from Google. Have not used it, let me know how it works out if you do it.

 

[vermontpainter]

Google is sending spies into painttalk. How totally freakin kewl is that? :shifty:

 

[pacificpainters.com]

Google is sending spies into painttalk. How totally freakin kewl is that? :shifty:

Nerds as spies, what happened to spies being cool?

 

[pacificpainters.com]

Something tells me you’re not being completely honest with the folks here at Paint Talk.

Why go to a contractor site seeking info about PPC when the web is loaded with internet marketing forums like warrior?

Honesty is always the best policy

 

[palmerjerr]

I have used Google adwords, for my website (which is into homemade baby products) and I think I am getting my return on investment. I say this because I see my leads and conversions go up. However, I keep a tight track on the spend and have been able to target relevant customers.

 

[straight_lines]

AdWords is a part of an overall Internet marketing strategy. It can be especially useful for a new website, where you have to buy website traffic to get noticed. Investing and/or learning about SEO is a much better long-term strategy for success in my opinion though.

This its just part of the pie.

 

[SuperiorPainter]

I was being honest and at the time, I was on the first page of google, but there weren't a lot clicks on the site. I figured using pay per click would put me on a variety of sites like home and garden or any sites that have ads on them. I wanted to be in more places than one.

Something tells me you’re not being completely honest with the folks here at Paint Talk.

Why go to a contractor site seeking info about PPC when the web is loaded with internet marketing forums like warrior?

Honesty is always the best policy

 

[chrisn]

I was being honest and at the time, I was on the first page of google, but there weren't a lot clicks on the site. I figured using pay per click would put me on a variety of sites like home and garden or any sites that have ads on them. I wanted to be in more places than one.

Sooooo , it took 3 years for that come back?:blink:

 

[SuperiorPainter]

Yea, I don't come by here much, but if you be nice, I might come back sooner.

Sooooo , it took 3 years for that come back?:blink: