Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an extremely effective digital marketing method with an average return on investment (ROI) of $2 for every $1. It allows you to place ads at the tops of search engine results pages, on social media sites, and on various other websites.

One of the most important factors in a PPC campaign is the conversion rate — the percentage of customers that perform the desired action, such as making a purchase, after clicking on an ad. Your PPC conversion rate is closely related to the amount of money you make from your ads.

In this guide, we’ll answer all your PPC questions like:

• How do you calculate your PPC conversion rate?
• What is a good conversion rate for PPC?
• How can you improve your conversion rate?

As a leading PPC management agency, the team at WebFX has managed more than 650 client PPC campaigns. To learn more about PPC, check out our free PPC resources.

PPC conversion rate meaning

What is PPC conversion rate? It’s the percentage of people who convert after clicking on your ads. Depending on your goals, a conversion may mean they make a purchase, complete a contact form, request a free trial, or take another desired action.

In general, a higher your conversion rate means your campaign is driving results for your company.

How to calculate your PPC conversion rate

The easiest way to calculate your PPC conversion rate is to use a PPC conversion rate calculator. When you use a PPC conversion rate calculator, you don’t have to do the math yourself, and you get fast, accurate results!

Calculate your PPC conversion rate instantly!You can also use the same PPC conversion rate formula that a calculator uses to do the calculations manually. The PPC conversion rate formula is:

• (Conversions / number of ad interactions) x 100 = conversion rate

So, if users clicked on your ad 100 times and 10 of them converted, your calculations would look like this:

• (10 / 100) x 100 = 10%

What is a good conversion rate for PPC?

The average conversion rate for PPC is 2.35%, and the average conversion rate for Google Ads is 3.75%.

For a good conversion rate, aim for a higher rate than the average. A good general number to aim for is about 10%. For reference, the top 25% of advertisers on Google Ads have an average conversion rate of 11.45%.

While these benchmarks can be helpful, it’s important to remember that the definition of a good conversion rate for PPC varies according to your industry, your location, and numerous other factors.

In the next section, we’ll look at some tips for increasing your PPC conversion rate.

How to increase your PPC conversion rate

You can use numerous conversion rate optimization methods to get more value out of your ads and increase your conversion rate.

Here are five tactics to try:

1. Make sure your ad copy and landing pages align

One way to increase your conversion rate is to make sure your ads and landing pages align closely. They should focus on the same offer so that users get what they expect when they click on your ad and go to your landing page.

You want to use the similar language in your ad and on your landing page, so it’s clear that the two are connected.

So, for example, if your ad says “Buy running shoes now,” you don’t want to take users to a page where they can buy cleats or a page where they can learn about the different types of running shoes. They should land on a page where they can do what the ad says — buy running shoes now.

Here’s an example of a Google search ad from Nike and the corresponding landing page. The ad says “Shop Running Shoes,” and it takes you to a page where you can browse all of the company’s running shoes.

In addition to improving conversion rate, aligning your ads and landing pages also increases your quality score in Google Ads. Google uses this score when calculating how much advertisers pay per click and how it ranks ads. A higher quality score means lower costs and better rankings.

2. Adjust your audience targeting

If your ads aren’t converting as well as you’d like them to, the issue could be that you’re targeting the wrong audience or targeting too broad of an audience.

PPC ad platforms provide advanced targeting options, so take advantage of them and see if an adjustment to your targeting increases your conversion rate.

For example, you may target your ads to users above 40 years old when most of your customers are actually in their 20s or 30s. Perhaps, you’re targeting your ads to sports fans when you should really be targeting them specifically to football fans or sports fans in a particular location. You may need to adjust your parameters for your ad to drive better results.

3. Segment your audience

Here’s another useful targeting tip for increasing your PPC conversion rate: segment your audience. Segmenting your audience into groups based on characteristics such as their interests, demographics, or location helps you target people more precisely. Then, you can create different ads and landing pages for each group based on their unique characteristics.

This approach allows you to create ads and landing pages that are more personalized, increasing conversions. About 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that provides a personalized experience.

For example, if you offer business software, you could create different ads and landing pages for people in different industries with images and copy specific to their sector.

4. Perform frequent testing

One of the best tips for increasing your PPC conversion rate is to A/B test your landing pages.

In an A/B landing page test, you create two variations of your landing page. Then you show each version to a different randomized audience to see which one performs better. You can use the highest-converting version and use the insights to inform future campaigns.

You can test many aspects of your landing pages, from your images to how you phrase your CTAs to your offers themselves.

Many marketers test slight variations of their landing pages, such as different colors for their CTAs. While these tests can be useful, it’s often better to experiment with more significant changes like adjustments to the overall design of the page or the offer provided.

5. Use remarketing

Customers may not convert the first time they visit your website, but that doesn’t mean you lost those leads forever. With remarketing, you can get them back on your site and boost your conversion rate.

Remarketing, also called retargeting, is an ad targeting option that lets you serve ads to users who previously visited your website. This tactic is excellent for getting conversions from users who haven’t yet made a purchase decision, got distracted during the buying process, or abandoned their shopping carts.

If a user looked at a specific product on your site or placed an item in their cart, you can create an ad and landing page featuring that product. This highly personalized targeting approach can help you recapture leads and increase your PPC conversion rate.

Boost your PPC conversion rate with WebFX

At WebFX, we have more than 20 years of experience in digital marketing, and we’ve provided PPC management services and conversion rate optimization services to clients across a wide range of industries.

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To learn more about how we can help you boost your PPC conversion rate, get your free quote today!