PPC: Is the Devil REALLY in the Detail? How to make Data work for you

It’s 2022 and data is king. In the midst of the information age, we have access to insights that have given us more knowledge than any other generation in history. But as with any movement that has the power to influence modern life, to harness its true value, you have to first gather and understand.

With the latest 2022 predictions stating that Paid Advertisements have a 200% ROI, it’s no surprise that brands (big and small) are charging into the realm of PPC. Whether it be brand awareness campaigns, shopping campaigns, engagement or video views and clicks; PPC can transform digital performance and increase conversions across the board.

Which begs the question, is the devil really in the detail when it comes to PPC?

The biggest value of PPC Advertising is the data it generates and allows you to feed back into your digital strategy. With the likes of Google Analytics and Google Data Studio, Google Ads data can allow you to break down your buyers / audience into the most granular of details, ensuring you can always optimise PPC activity for the right conversions. And not basing this activity off assumption, but cold hard facts. Data is evidence that can allow you to make measured and informed decisions for your business.

We like to think of data led PPC Advertising like baking with psychic abilities. You’ll know the ingredients needed to make a great cake, and knowing those ingredients work, you’ll know at the end you’re going to have the perfect cake baked to perfection. Data is the ingredients, and data analysis is the psychic ability’s part. I’m writing this while hungry, but you get the point. Data removes risk and uncertainty from paid campaigns, and whether your budget is large or small, removing risk from anything is of huge value.

The reality with paid campaigns is, even if worst case scenario the campaign isn’t a success in terms of conversions or goals set out – the data you capture during that campaign on your audiences, revenue generating products, landing pages, sources of traffic, etc will always be of value.

So, what are the most valuable areas of PPC data generation?

1. Keywords & Search Terms – What words are generating traffic, what search terms your audience are using, what your audience are searching for in general. With these insights you can know how to capture the attention of your highest intent audience. As well as what irrelevant search terms and/or low intent traffic your website is attracting.
2. Audience Segments – What are your audience interested in, what does their online behaviour look like, what are they actively researching and looking to buy? With these insights you can know how to appeal to your widest potential audience with relevant content and call to actions that work.
3. Search Times – When your audience are online and what times are optimum times to attract your audience. This is essential for knowing when to be online and how best to manage budgets for visibility and conversions. If you’re a B2B brand and can see your audience are active in working hours (Mon-Fri, 9-5pm) then reduce budget over the weekend to allow it to perform better in peak times.
4. Devices – How your audience are consuming ads and whether its desktop, mobile or otherwise. These insights are essential to knowing where your audience are when they have the intent to buy and can be key to understanding what content is needed to convert. If you see your audience are only mobile users, but your website isn’t optimised for mobile use, then that could be a friction point for buyers and an area you can actively improve.
5. Messaging – What key messages and USPs are your target audiences most likely to engage with? By running A/B tests across ad copy, creative and adding in as many relevant ad extensions into Google Ads as you can, you can analyse what messaging resonates the most with your market.
6. Customer Journey – Where does PPC fit in your overall conversion funnel? Google Ads & Analytics provide valuable insights into how long a conversion took from first interaction to conversion; how many touch points; and where Google PPC fits in this path. By understanding how long it typically takes for a customer to convert, you can better plan campaign messaging, remarketing & budgets.

Without data on these key areas – and there are many more! – it can be impossible to know how best to approach your bidding strategies. And what is PPC without bidding strategies?! With regular reporting and data analysis, it really can be the difference between a successful presence and a viral campaign. So, our advice is:

1. Gather the data – A/B test and run campaigns that can try to test the limits of your audience to give you data to feed back into your strategy.
2. Analyse the data – Regularly look at the detail and use it to your advantage. The more data you have means the more knowledge you have, AND the more ingredients for your amazing cake.
3. Use the data - Understand the data and use it to curate visibility on your buyers, your customer journey, and your important touch points pre-sale. Armed with this knowledge you can know how best to optimise budget for conversions and ensure all activity feeds back to this common goal.

So, is the devil really in the detail? The jury is still out on the devil part, but what truly is in the data – in our experience - is PPC success.

A great example of how best to take a data led approach to PPC campaigns, is our work with Total Hockey. The retail sporting brand who achieved their biggest day of online sales in brand history at the hands of Loud Mouth Media. See the full expose, here.

 

Loud Mouth Media are a multi-award winning digital performance agency with offices in Belfast, Glasgow, London and Dublin. Specialising in PPC, SEO, Paid Social, Performance Creative and Ecommerce; our team of experts can help you transform your digital presence.