Ways To Cut PPC Advertising Costs Without Affecting Campaign Performance

If you are a B2B or B2C brand, you probably run Pay-per-click (PPC) ads across advertising platforms. Every month, round table discussions are held regarding budget apportioning depending on ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) and perceived profitability. 

With the threat of recession looming like the proverbial Damocles sword, you might want to consider trimming the fat off your paid ad strategy without affecting conversions and results. Wondering if that’s possible. Sure, it is! 

Here’s what today’s blog is going to walk you by;

• An insight into why your PPC campaign might be turning out costlier than it should be
• Strategies to realize a lower CPC (Cost Per Click)
• Tips and tricks to get the best out of Google Ads’ dynamic cost-cutting features

Let’s grab the proverbial bull by the horns now, shall we?

1. Pause low-performing keywords

This may seem like the easiest and most practical way to cut spending on PPC campaigns, but it is also quite effective in getting maximum bang for the minimum buck. You can run analytics to identify poorly performing campaigns, keywords, or ad groups. When you identify and pause a not-so-optimized ad campaign, you save on spending, and when you choose to let go of the low-performing keywords or ad groups, you ultimately end up spending less on the overall campaign. Begin the spring cleaning ritual by cutting off keywords that convert at a disproportionately high CPA or those that are not converting.

2. Leverage some expensive high-volume keywords with SEO

 If your bank reserves are running low and you don’t wanna lose traction on high-volume keywords as well, fret not; there is a way around this dilemma too! No, we are not suggesting that you get rid of them entirely; all you need to do is consider deploying those high-volume yet expensive keywords (with crazy CPCs) in a well-thought-out content plan with multiple topic clusters. This way, you save precious ad dollars and enhance your website content strategy for maximum traction. Content is king, after all!

3. Try reducing funding on upper-funnel keywords

Upper-funnel keywords are those that drive customers towards your brand with the intent of creating awareness and pushing them further on toward the buying journey. With them, the intent is to educate and encourage them to try going deeper down the funnel. However, since they are not “conversion-focused” per se, they may not directly affect conversions. Pausing such upper-funnel keywords might lead to a short-term campaign performance boost with lower spending. A word of caution here, though: when you choose to pause upper funnel keywords that were directing prospective customers towards lower funnel keywords (those with a buying intent), you might be susceptible to a drop in conversions. So it is imperative to carry out a fine analysis of the resulting situation and choose your odds to suit the resources and goals at hand.

4. Keep in mind the timing of ad campaign visibility and the portion of the month

The portion of the month and the time of the day, when your ads are visible, does impact conversions. Here’s how! In general, enhanced conversion rates have been observed during the end and beginning of the month. Though this may vary across different industries and niches. The general thought behind this observation is that most people’s salaries get deposited around this period, thus leaving them with cash to spare. It is recommended that you deep dive into your Google PPC account and strategize spending according to the CVR (Conversion rates) during different days of the month. This should help you chalk out a better plan wherein you can spend more on periods when the CVR is high and less during windows when it is low. This research will also help you zero down on the timings of the day and the days of the week when you register the largest number of conversions or website hits.

5. Targeting location based on campaign performance

Analyze your location data deeply to identify geographical areas that perform poorly. This can help you strategize your campaign by either reducing bids on low-performing areas or eliminating spending on them completely. However, before you do that, ensure that you have sufficient data to back your decision, as you might end up reducing bids in low-volume locations that might have given high ROIs.

6. Organic traffic to save the day!

When your content game is on point, chances are that you will be ranking high on SERPs for some keywords organically. Identify those keywords that organically draw traffic to your site and then consider stopping spending on them. Keep a sharp eye on the reports though as PPC performance may drop while the SEO reports may show a field day! Ensure that even when you pause spending on such keywords, traffic still hits your website through organic listings.

7. Try your hand on YouTube Ads

1. Here are some solid reasons why you should consider giving YouTube ads a shot;

• A straight-up affordability advantage with a CPC of $0.10 — $0.30, over Google Ads ($1 — $2 CPC for Search Network)
• Harbours an evergrowing billion strong user base that can amp up your marketing efforts
• YouTube gives you the option to run highly personalized ad formats to reach the targeted segment across demographics and locations.

This helps you save dollars while having the option to explore different audience possibilities. 

8. Set the filter up for negative keywords

As the words imply, negative keywords are meant to stop wasteful expenditure on clicks that will never convert. For instance, if you are an ecommerce apparel brand that specifically sells men’s clothing, you might want to list out negative keywords such as women’s clothing. This will prevent useless clicks and thereby prevent needless expenditure that ain’t relevant to your brand’s offerings. 

9. Work on your landing pages

While this may seem like a no-brainer, it is important to fix those broken links and ensure that the landing page the customer arrives at when they click on your ad, is exactly where you want them to be for realizing conversions. For instance, if you run a B2B venture, the landing page should give them the relevant information they seek about the services on offer and ways to get in touch with you. In case your link directs them to your homepage or another irrelevant location, then even those with a clear buying intent, to begin with, may choose not to buy from you. This will lead to wasted PPC dollars, dealing a significant blow to your marketing endeavors. 

Summary

We are now privy to a multitude of strategies to help you reduce spending on PPC ad campaigns whilst maintaining a steady flow of conversions. It is essential to have a deep understanding of the buyer’s journey through the sales funnel as this will help you to lower bids on keywords according to their propensity of converting into tangible value.

If you require assistance with PPC services or want to enhance the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns, please reach out to us.