Did I Approach the Campiagn Wrong (FULL DISCLOSURE)

W

writtenstyle

newbie taking action
Nov 3, 2008
666
11
0
I tried Adwords for the 1st time. I used a zip submit and used the content network.

I choose the $250 grocery offer at Neverblue. I think it is on the other networks, as well.

I tried to be creative. Instead of targeting groceries or recipes, I tried targeting a specific grocery...Chocolate.

I created a landing page. I have no design skills and do not know how to make a banner. Here is my landing page www.freechocolategroceries.com

I thought this was good thinking on my part. Turns out, I was wrong.

Here is a screenshot of my ads:

gc3.jpg


My CTR was terrible. We are talking .01 - .03.
I had 195,000 impressions and 39 clicks. My adspend was $20.00

I had two conversions. I dont know if I can show the screenshot from Neverblue
92 impressions
22 clicks
2 conversions
EPC: $.11
Total $2.40

From what you see above, what all am doing wrong? This is only the 4th ppc campaign I have ever ran, so I really have no idea what I am doing. But, at least I am trying.

Most importantly, am I thinking creative, or just stupid?

Thanks
 


That was a good angle. It probably would have worked a few years back before quality score came around.

Your CTR sucked because it was most likely displayed on the right side column. Google only throws ads that it deems highly relevant right above the fold (ie exact matching domains or hella content to convince them it's similar). Try putting the search phrase as the target Keyword as the title.
Also how many impressions did you get for day? If it's keyword that gets a shitload of impressions/day your CTR isn't as bad as you probably think.

As for your lander. Think about the thought process of the user. I am searching for chocolate... oooh free chocolate... A FUCKING ORANGE? You see the inconsistency there?

I'm going to probably get a lot of hate for this but: stop trying to be creative. Especially while trying to get your first profitable campaign. When you get a feel for what actually works, and a couple extra $$ under your belt, you can start getting creative. Right now it's all about getting profitable no matter what.

Stay strong.
 
^^^ Thanks. I dont like the orange either, but I cant make banners. All the impressions 195,000 came from Today. My CPC was .50, though. I dropped it down to .25, and stopped getting impressions
 
writtenstyle said:
^^^ Thanks. I dont like the orange either, but I cant make banners. All the impressions 195,000 came from Today. My CPC was .50, though. I dropped it down to .25, and stopped getting impressions
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- "Acquire" Photoshop
- bing image search chocolate and get something high res
- open in photoshop
- Add text : "Get FREE $250 Chocolate Giftcard"

You REALLY can't do that? and holy shit i procrastinate a lot. i should be working on my own shit right now >.>

And if your impressions came in today, i'm guessing you're bidding one broad ass keyword. Go longtail, try to get a few profitable for you. Then just cookie cutter onto many others. Then you'll have like 100 keywords each making you 1-2 bucks a day. You'll be ballin in no time.

Also as for CPC, it gets easier with bigger budgets. Google WILL reward you with cheaper clicks eventually (assuming it's your keywords arent too competitive). Just keep optimizing bro.
 
^^^ I think I can do that.

I was bidding on a few keywords I selected, but then I let google place my ads on sites it found relevant. All those impressions came from site placements google selected without keywords for a guide. I dont know if that makes sense.

Thanks
 
didn't read the whole thread but that lp sucks -big time.

you want something with a BIG call to action,straight to the point,chocolate feeling all over the place.

also keep an eye on your placements. google offers a report for that. block placements with shitty ctr's/negative roi.
 
juntao65 said:
content network? good luck bro. im strictly search. i just hope you have the two in SEPERATE campagns.
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Yes, I ran the campaign for contnet only. I never really did anything with the search campaign. I accidentally deleted my ads instead of pausing them. My QS on the search was 7/10 and 8/10 on the keywords while I was running it.
 
For running a successful PPC campaign, you need to have your keyword researched properly. Since you’re a beginner at PPC, I suggest you keep a tab on the most cost effective keywords where the cost and the competition is less. Not to forget, it also matters if you’re running campaign at times when there is heavy volume. Beside, I strongly believe that I should chose where my ads should be put up and not let Google place my ads on sites it found relevant. Another suggestion from my side would be to look at competitors ads for the keywords you've chosen. PPC campaigns require a lot of tracking and monitoring. What works for me may not work for you. So hold your breadth and try to research your keywords before you start placing the bids on adwords.
 
writtenstyle said:
^^^ I think I can do that.

I was bidding on a few keywords I selected, but then I let google place my ads on sites it found relevant. All those impressions came from site placements google selected without keywords for a guide. I dont know if that makes sense.

Thanks
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It is not very clear to me what exactly you were bidding on. How EXACTLY did you structure your ad groups? There are only three ways:

1) Keywords-only: How many keywords (per group)? How broad they are (# of organic search results, AdWords seach CPC)? Did they form a theme?

2) Placements-only: Which specific sites/URLs did you select? Are they relevant to offer and ads? Who is your competition there?

3) Keyword/Placement combo: Both above criteria apply - helpful for sharper targeting within huge placements with diverse content.

So could you tell us, what exactly did you target?

You should also have been using P202 to collect your referrals and see which sites are sending traffic. You might be able to get some of that data from AdWords Placement Report. That should tell you where the ad has actually run and maybe you'll look at these sites and find that most of your clicks came from one or two crappy sources. For example a pedobear fanclub with content about how he loves chocolate to attract children. You get the idea.

There are other factors, like demographic refinements, CPC vs. CPM ads, re-targeting, etc. but start with reviewing the most basic content targeting.
 
Content Network FTW
That Offer FTL
Nice angle with the chocolate though

take that exact mindest, and test 10 offers (higher paying). 1 will work
 
^^^Im running out of money to test with at this point. Content Network has Ate my lunch! I did get really good at getting good ctr's. My banner campaigns on the GCN were getting an average 1.45% ctr. My LP to Offer ctr's are in the 30%-60% range. None of my offer converted though, so it doesnt matter how good I am at LP's and banners.

For instance, I ran a Neverblue offer about a free baby stuff membership. It had high network epc's. I carefully site targeted my ads, and the campaign had a 1.85% ctr and my LP to offer ctr was 80%. Out of 100 clciks to the offer, none converted. So far that has been the story of my life with this newbie testing of PPC

Sales and Ad copy, FTW!
Blowing throough my budget with no conversions, FTL.
 
writtenstyle said:
For instance, I ran a Neverblue offer about a free baby stuff membership. It had high network epc's. I carefully site targeted my ads, and the campaign had a 1.85% ctr and my LP to offer ctr was 80%. Out of 100 clciks to the offer, none converted. So far that has been the story of my life with this newbie testing of PPC
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Do you know about scrubbing/shaving on email and zip submits?

Read my post on it here before running any more submit campaigns:

Shaving/Scrubbing and Email Submits – What you Need to Know. | The Micro Affiliate

Having run hundreds of submits campaigns I don't remember doing well with Neverblue submits. They're a good network with good offers, but their submits suck.

Your angle is ok, but as mentioned above, your lander sucks.

I don't normally recommend this, but if you're set on continuing with submits, join PPC Coach, at least for a month. The month 1 methods is about using the google content network with submits, using polls. The method is a bit dead (doable), but the forums have TONNES of info on everything you need to know on running submit campaigns, like how to make good landers - people have written nice detailed guides and posted heaps of great case studies. Instead of blowing more money on adwords spend a month just reading the forums, takes notes, make more landers, learn to use tracking properly and maybe use some of their campaign building tools. THEN try more campaigns.

However get off submit campaigns asap - they're good to learn PPC with but a pain in the long run. Even the days of killing it with submits on Facebook are gone, let alone on Adwords. Its still possible to find winners, but you need to know where to look and know how to drive quality traffic - which your campaign would not have done, leading back to problem one - you'll get scrubbed to oblivion.

Regarding using the content network. You're on the right track, but need to optimize. CTR of 0.03% on content is to be expected for a complete newbie. These days its hard to make a submit work even on content. Keep split testing ads etc, work on getting the cpc down - look for cheaper keywords, ctr does not matter much on content as far as cpc is concerned. BUT. Google hates on those campaigns. Your domain will be slapped likely in a matter of days. As its wordpress throw an autoblog in there - your domain may at least last a few weeks then. A thin lander (like in the old PPC Coach poll method) will get you slapped in a couple of days now. Your one would likely last a tiny bit longer.

Also - you registered a domain for this campaign. Probably a waste, as I said - it WILL get slapped. Use a generic domain and throw landers in subfolders or subdomains and test test test different ones.

Ideally you want to throw a bunch of submits into the same campaign to split test and find any not getting scrubbed and converting best. Use prosper202 for this.

Lastly. Keep doing this shit on google and you'll probably get your account banned. Google hates these kind of campaigns.
 
^^^ Thanks

I am not set on submits, I just dont know what to run. All these low payout downloads, dating, or the high payout sales for teeth whitening type stuff. On FB, I have been breaking even on dating.

I just dont know what to run on Google PPC. I thought from reading that submits were the way to go.

Thanks
 
writtenstyle said:
^^^ Thanks

I am not set on submits, I just dont know what to run. All these low payout downloads, dating, or the high payout sales for teeth whitening type stuff. On FB, I have been breaking even on dating.

I just dont know what to run on Google PPC. I thought from reading that submits were the way to go.

Thanks
Click to expand...

If you're breaking even on dating on FB, then work on that right now. Won't be difficult from that point to turn over positive figures.
 
I don't know why you created this thread, zip/e-mail submits one of the hardest thing to make it work on Google adwords, people have accounts banned for that. As well as for rebills. If you are doing bad with G on submits - it's normal, don't be depressed.

Ops, looks like you have even expirement with it

Google

Those 3rd page with "hello world" in it's url (needs to be fixed too) btw will work better than your one page wonder, it's a big no no, since you don't have any real content. Landing page quality sucks big time

Then ad relevance, people already told you about orange lol, and include keywords in title/description of ad! it's fucking important!!!!

And play with creativity to get this great CTR. Even if all will work out, Google will not give you good ROI with submits.
 
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