It’s been a long time since I’ve really had that many Ask Kirstys so I was delighted to get a message via Twitter from a long time blog reader, Chris, which we then followed up with an e-mail conversation.  Here’s his question: -

I have just started to make money on FB but have started using Yahoo with terrible conversion rates. For 5 days I have had 300 clicks on my Yahoo ad and 134 clicks to the merchant with 2 sales!

I’m promoting a very competitive mobile phone offer using general keywords such as “best mobile phone deals”.

Is this normal for PPC? The ad is clear and to the point and so is the web page. Any ideas on how to improve the conversion rate?

I am hoping to follow your lead and be able to jack the 9-5 grind but
it seems I am million miles away at the moment.

*Note: – Chris has asked that his site not be shown here.  To make my response make more sense, his landing page is in a grid type format and features a list of mobile phone handsets, including images,  currently available on a very competitive monthly contract with a major network.  His current Wordpress theme is very basic and is a simple black and white offering with no graphics or colours.

My Ideas on Chris’ PPC Pain
OK. I think there is a fair bit you can do to try and improve the performance of this site. It’s clear from our conversations that you have put a lot of time into researching mobile phone deals and keeping your site information fresh and up to date. You have gotten that very right, so well done on that score.

As you will be aware, mobile phones are incredibly competitive.  However, I do feel that when you have already managed to create a couple of sales from 134 clicks through to merchant that you’re doing pretty well and might just have something that could be built upon.  People often think that because they are losing money a project has been a failure, but this is not necessarily always the case.

In this particular scenario there are two things we can do to try and make it work:-

1. We can attempt to improve your landing page and calls to action to get some more of those punters you’re paying for through to the merchant.

2. We can look at ways to find cheaper and more targeted traffic through to your site which will convert better.

OK, so first off here is a checklist for your landing page: -

• Product Features – Although you’ve made a nice and clean looking grid and have clearly stated at the top of the page the what the very attractive monthly contract price is,  you need to cater for what internet savvy shoppers expect to see.   I always tell people that you can liken the state of mind of an internet shopper to someone who is half asleep or is viewing the world through a “haze”. They rarely read things properly and if they’ve been comparison shopping there’s a format they’re going to expect to see.  I suggest a couple of additions to your grid. Pop the monthly contract price in each row and also the contract length.  The reason for this is that people will first seek a phone they are interested in and then look to see if the contract terms are compatible with their expectations.

• Calls To Action – Make them buttons shiny, and make them bright red!  The current grey colour is quite pale and isn’t very attention grabbing.  Also consider “Shop Now” instead of “Buy Now”. Make them feel like they are not yet committing to a purchase. I like to think of this as the affiliate “soft sell”. Get them mobile phone names in bold text also.

• Feel Of The Page – your current page is very clean cut and plain with no colours or decoration at all. Whilst this is a good thing for the area around your product comparison grid, I think the rest of the page could do with feeling a little more like a mobile phone shop and needs a little bit of colour to help people feel they’ve come to an authority site. It doesn’t have to be very much, perhaps you could simply find a more smooth looking Wordpress theme.

And The Traffic….

• Your current search terms are incredibly generic – I’d suggest that first of all, you lower your bids on these terms slightly to bring them closer into line with what represents a profit for you. There’s no way I’d ever launch a campaign on such general terms to start with. I tend to do things the other way round. First of all I…

• Find Some Highly Relevant / Cheap Search Terms – The terms you’re already targeting are ones which I would associate with people who are at the start of the online purchase research process. What you want to do is try to plug in to people who have already decided what they want. For example, go to town on variations relating to the phone models you are featuring.  Swap terms like “best mobile phone deals”  for more targeted ones such as “best Nokia 5800 deals”.

• Really Go To Town On Highly Targeted Term Variations. Work out every possible variation someone might search for a mobile phone contract on and add in your brand name variations. I suggest you do this for one or two phones at a time, monitoring performance as you go. If things are working well, add more phones and if you have a good margin, look at adding more general terms.

Finally

I do think that as well as still chipping away at this site and trying to make it work (quitters win nothing) you should try to find another niche to get stuck into. Mobile phones will always be a toughie to learn the ins and outs of this trade and it can be really hard to find consistent profit. Find something less competitive with a lower CPA or commission and hone your skills on that.

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