How to reduce the cost of cpc

Ranking ad

The Quality Score is a diagnostic tool that allows you to see how the ads you have entered compare to those used by your competitors. The score is measured on a scale of 1 to 10 and can be checked at the keyword level (for search engine campaigns) and at the ad edit level (for GDN campaigns). A higher quality score means that your ad and landing page are more relevant and useful to users searching for a given keyword compared to other advertisers.

How to calculate quality score

The quality score for keywords in a search campaign is automatically calculated by Google’s algorithm based on the combined effectiveness of 3 components:

Click through rate (CTR, or click through rate) – determines the probability of a user clicking on an ad.

Advertising relevance – determines the extent to which an ad matches the intent of a user searching for a given keyword.

Landing page quality – determines the degree to which a landing page is relevant and useful to a user who clicks on an ad included in a campaign.

Each component is rated with an “Above Average”, “Average” or “Below Average” status. This rating is based on a comparison with other advertisers whose ads have been displayed based on the exact same keyword in the last 90 days.

The ad’s performance is based on a comparison with other advertisers whose ads have been displayed based on the exact same keyword in the last 90 days.

Test the quality of the keywords included in the campaign, and then analyze the results. If one of the components has a status of “average” or “below average,” it means that you can make changes that will positively affect the quality of the keyword, and thus lower the cost per click.

Take a look at the results.

Keywords

Start by using keywords in the content of your ads. The best places for this are for headlines. Try to have one or two fields that contain the keyword you included in your keyword list.

If you want to improve your ad’s predicted click-through rate, work on its content. Tailor the headlines, ad texts and CTAs (call to action) included in the messages. By increasing the number of headlines and texts, as well as varying their content, you increase the likelihood that artificial intelligence will display a message that is relevant to the user, and the user will click on the ad as a result. 

To increase the relevance of an ad, think about the semantics of the content. Think about whether the text of the ads matches the meaning of the keywords and whether it is related to what is included on the page. You can break your campaign into ad groups and then tailor your ads to each group, so you’ll be able to more accurately design any needed content.

To improve the quality of your landing page, examine its functionality, loading speed, intuitiveness, and keyword saturation. You can use precise links for keywords if your site is divided into sub-pages describing specific services or products. As a last resort, you can create a separate page on your site to make this page correspond to specific keywords, or keywords from a particular ad group.

To improve the quality score of your image campaign, follow a few simple steps. Start by completing any content that the system allows you to do. Use the available fields for your ad headlines and their texts. While doing so, remember to make sure that your texts take up as much of the allotted space as possible, i.e. use the character limit to the maximum. Try to make your headlines close to 30 characters in length, and your ad texts should contain about 90 letters.

Matching keyword pools in google ads campaigns

Another procedure that can prove helpful in the process of lowering the cost of clicks in Google Ads campaigns is to properly match the keyword pool and the keywords themselves.

When operating on a limited budget, where our goal is not to display on every possible consumer query, we should focus on displaying ads on keywords that have lower CPCs. By limiting the keyword pool, we will eliminate the keywords that are the most expensive, which will ultimately translate into a reduction in the overall cost per click of the campaign.

However, it may turn out that the keyword pool is quite narrow, which means there is nothing to give up. This is still nothing lost, as there are other solutions, such as using more precise keywords. By using phrases that include, for example, the location of a service or product, or long-tail queries (i.e., phrases consisting of three or more words), we will be competing with fewer advertisers, which may translate into a lower cost-per-click for our campaign.

Exclusionary keywords vs. cpc rates

To avoid displaying our ads in undesirable situations, we should set up a list of exclusionary keywords. Exclusionary keywords are those that prevent ads from displaying when a specific word or phrase is searched. Ads will not display to anyone who searches for that phrase. 

If, for example, you add the exclusionary keyword “free” to a campaign or ad group, the Google Ads system will not display ads in search results for queries with the word “free.” It is a good idea to supplement the list of exclusionary keywords with popular marketplaces, such as “Allegro” or “OLX” and also words that may indicate a user’s intention other than shopping, such as “ranking” or “reviews”.

Optimize campaign under CPC

A frequently overlooked way to optimize click-through costs is to display only at certain times. For example, when running a stationary store that is open between 9am and 5pm, the best solution would be to display ads during a given time slot. The same is true for services offered, such as restaurants or cabs. 

If, on the other hand, the buying process in your industry is long and the user doesn’t make a purchase decision at the first contact with the site, you can act with spite and set the ads to display at times other than those of the competition. E.g. by setting your ads between 10 pm and 6 am, you probably won’t get many clicks, for that you will pay far less for them. The user will end up in a remarketing list, so you can re-display, for example, a display ad and convince them to buy your product or service.

Additional ways to optimize Google Ads campaigns

If you want to learn more about search campaign optimization, be sure to check out the article titled “Search campaigns – how to optimize them“. You’ll find practical advice on search engine activities and a glossary of the most important terms you’ll encounter when conducting your marketing efforts.

To effectively reduce CPC rates and run a well-optimized Google Ads campaign, take care of the relevance of your landing page and your potential customer’s impressions. Google Ads cpc alone can increase your company’s profits, however, the cost of a Google campaign is not the aspect that primarily drives your company’s growth, as well as sales of services and products and brand recognition.

The cost of a Google Ads campaign is not the most important aspect of the campaign.

Although a lower CPC does not always equate to a more effective campaign (sometimes it’s worth paying more, but at the same time gaining higher quality traffic), lowering the cost per click is a good starting point for optimization efforts. Campaign optimization is quite a difficult job, and advertising systems evolve every day, making it not easy to keep up with all the changes that are made. If you need help with optimizing or running a campaign, or want to learn more about effective advertising efforts, you can enlist the help of The Up&More Marketing Agency The agency is primarily engaged in the planning and implementation of online marketing activities, which may consist of brand building, search engine advertising, public relations, creating marketing communications, optimizing online campaigns or data analytics.