Pay Per Click Search Engine Reviews :: Increase your ROI!

Too many small business owners today run ad campaigns that get

little to no results, and they have no idea why. When you have

the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you also have

the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next time

- your sales improve! Let’s take a look at the breakdown of

an ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong.

Response vs. Results

It’s important to understand the difference between response

rate and results. When a customer takes the action you want

him/her to take (i.e., clicking to your site, calling your 800

number, etc.), then you’ve achieved “response.” This does NOT

mean you’ve made a sale. The response rate of your ad campaign

can be high without ever selling one product or service.

“Results,” on the other hand, are the sales you make in

conjunction with the response rate. When a customer takes

the action you want him/her to take AND buys your

product/service, then you’ve achieved results.

No Response

When you get little to no response, chances are that one of two

things happened. One - your ad was poorly written and didn’t

generate enough interest to excite the customer to take action;

or two - the ad didn’t reach your preferred target customer.

How do you determine which one is the culprit? Test!

Use the same ad, but place it in a different ezine or on a

different Web site. If response rate improves, you know the

ad is most likely fine, but the audience exposure was off.

If the response rate does not improve, it’s probably best

to rewrite the headline, the ad, or both.

Response But No Results

If you run an ezine ad, banner ad, etc., and get responses

without making any sales, the most probable theory is that

your supporting ad copy or offer is not doing its job. Ezine

ads, banner ads, and the like will never make a sale on their

own. The customer is almost always going to be directed to

click back to your Web site. If the copy/design of your ad

is working, but no sales are being made, take a good look at

the copy or design of your site. Chances are that *it* could

be costing you sales.

Again, testing is the key. Change a headline, add links that

direct to “more information” pages, and so on. Run the ad

again, and see if your results improve.

You’ll notice that in either case, testing is the recommended

course of action. So many small business owners get in a hurry

and neglect to test their ads. While it may seem costly to run

an ad, change an ad, and run it again - the truth is that

running unproven ads all across the ‘Net without gaining any

return on investment (ROI) is a huge waste of money.

Yes, it does take a good deal of time. Yes, it can cost

additional money. However, once you’ve taken the time to

test an ad, and the copy on the supporting Web site that

customers will be directed to, you’ll be in a much better

position to ensure consistent sales from your campaigns.

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Diane Hughes is an accomplished internet entrepreneur and

editor of the popular ProBizTips Newsletter. Subscribe to

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