PPC Decoded: Industry Jargon for Humans
Ever get a report from your PPC manager laden with terms that you’re sure were created in the 21st century? Maybe you’ve started managing your PPC account and are faced with data and statistics more confusing than a Tom Hanks movie. This month, NetSearch Direct thought that we’d take a step back from trends and optimization techniques and bring things back into focus – we’re decoding the top ten PPC jargon words in hopes of shedding some light on your campaigns.
1. Keyword
Okay, you probably know by now that this is the term a user types into a search engine. But truly think about keywords as what they do: they fuel search engine results. As a business owner, you need to think about which words fuel your business; that is, the words that your customers are using to find your products and services.
2. Click
The actual number of times that a user clicked on your ad. Seems simple enough, but clicks are the foundation for a number of more complex PPC terms and pieces of data; we just want to make sure we’re all on the same page here.
3. Impression
This is the number of times your ad was shown when a user’s keyword search fueled search results. Impressions are not clicks. However, they are a key to unlocking data and give particularly valuable insight into a campaign’s performance.
4. Click-Through Rate
Stat alert! This data point will give you insight into your ad’s performance. By dividing the number of users who clicked on your ad by the number of times the ad was actually shown (or impressions, see #3, above), you can tell whether potential customers are responding to your ad…or whether you need to go back to the drawing board.
5. Negative Keywords
Say you’re a dentist running a PPC campaign. Your office probably does dental bridge work. However, when a user is searching for “bridge”, you probably don’t want your ads showing since they’re likely looking for that useful architecture structure that allows safe passage over water. Negative keywords work to make sure the traffic coming to your site is the most qualified traffic possible.
6. SERP
Acronym standing for Search Engine Results Page, this is the page where search results, fueled by keywords (see #1, above) will be shown. This is also the space where PPC ads appear, within the top shaded box and right-hand side of the page.
7. Cost-per-Click
Stat alert! CPC’s are the amount you are paying, per keyword, when that keyword fueled the ad that your potential customer clicked on. CPC data should be reported so that you know exactly what amount you are having to pay in order to get your customers into your virtual door aka website.
8. Cost-per-Lead
Important Stat Alert! This calculation is based from the number of conversion your ads received divided by the overall cost that you paid for advertising. Important for several reasons, CPL data can you if the PPC budget you’ve set is appropriate. If it’s costing too much to convert your web traffic into leads, you need to stop and do some re-evaluation and campaign optimization.
9. Display Ad
An ad that uses graphics including logos and pictures instead of a majority of text.
10. Conversion
We thought we’d end on a high note here. Conversions are the number of times a user has performed the desired action of your PPC campaign. Conversions can infer a sale, but can actually be other actions like an appointment form completion, email signup, or even a download.
We hope these PPC terms clear up any muddy water where your campaigns are concerned. This year, the SEM industry is buzzing about data reporting and forecasting new statistics and data points that will have PPC campaign managers, and companies, looking at performance on analytical platforms like never before. At NetSearch Direct, we guess we’re ahead of the curve. Monthly reporting, complete with statistical analysis and data mining on all levels has always been the pillar of our standard operating procedures. If you’re new to reading data from your PPC campaign, or you’re ready to start seeing results for paid search advertising, give our specialists a call today!