Click Dealer’s Top Tips for Lowering Your Cost Per Click in Google AdWords

If you are running a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign, you will know that every click your advert receives comes at a cost.

The price you pay may seem minimal in comparison to the profit your adverts bring, but those pennies add up! To get the best possible ROI, here are our top tips for reducing your cost per click (CPC).

Tip the Scales

The ranking order of paid results is determined by two factors: cost per click (the maximum amount you are willing to spend for each click) and quality score. To lower your CPC, you will need to raise your quality score. This can be done by optimising your keywords and website landing pages.

Turn Negatives into Positives

Adwords allows you to add negative keywords when you create a PPC ad. These prevent your advert appearing when your selected terms are searched for. This helps to make sure you are not wasting money on irrelevant matches, which would decrease your click-through rate (CTR).

If you were bidding on the term “used Ford cars for sale”, you might want to add “new Ford cars” as a negative keyword, because if someone is searching for new Fords, they are unlikely to click on your advert for used ones, and a poor CTR can lower your quality score and increase your cost per click.

Be Specific

Generally, the most expensive keywords are those which are commonly searched for, so if you want to save money, try going for long-tail keywords, that is, more specific ones. For example, while the keyword “used cars for sale” may be pricey, “used Ford cars for sale” is less generic and is therefore likely to be cheaper.

It’s Not the Winning, But the Taking Part that Counts…

Not being in the top spot in the search results isn’t always a bad thing. It is true that people tend to click on the first result first, but studies have shown that positions two, three, four and five gain almost as many clicks as the number one spot and they are also less expensive. By aiming to place third or fourth, you could see a decent reduction in your CPC, without harming your visibility and CTR.

For more PPC tips from Click Dealer’s expert in-house automotive SEM team, get in touch today via marketing@clickdealer.co.uk, 01782 478220 or through our contact page!