According to Google’s Economic Impact Report, that’s exactly what Google Ads can do for a business.
Sure, this is just an average. But it illustrates the game-changing power of PPC advertising.
When done right, with focused targeting, optimization, and relevant expertise, pay-per-click campaigns can quickly scale a business right in front of your eyes.
That’s what draws businesses to agencies like yours. They are chasing the magic bullet that is accelerated sales growth through paid acquisition, but they need your expertise to get there.
Perhaps the biggest question on any warm prospect’s mind is about PPC results. How quickly can you get them the outcome they desire?
Before you can answer that question, you first need to determine precisely what your client considers a positive result.
What Does Your Client Consider As Result?
You might be training for a marathon, but your client wants to enter the long jump. Sure, you’re both vying for the Olympic team, but the training and preparation for achieving both of these ambitions are significantly different.
The same goes for PPC. If your client is entering the relationship with an expectation of closing sales, yet you focus all of your energy on attaining clicks or booking meetings, then there will be a gap between the reality and the expectation. Give it three months, and you may have booked hundreds of meetings for this client – something you perceive as a successful campaign. But if they haven’t closed any of those meetings into sales, then you have a distinct gap. No matter whether or not you think it is fair they will have you on the hook for what they were expecting to receive, not what you thought was a good result.
So, then, the single most important leading indicator for PPC results is creating a shared definition of what success looks like. If you can have the client express what they want from the relationship, it becomes easier to pursue that end game, optimize the campaign accordingly, and report back to them about the results.
“The Single Most Important Leading Indicator For PPC Results Is Creating A Shared Definition Of What Success Looks Like.”
- Brand exposure or website traffic – determined by Clicks, Click-Through-Rate, and Cost-Per-Click.
- Leads, Calls, or Meetings Booked – determined by Lead Conversions and Conversion Rate.
- Sales or ROI – determined by Revenue, Lead-to-Sale Conversion Rate, and ROI calculation.
How Long Does It Take To Get PPC Results?
Ok great, so you have a well-defined destination that you are striving to reach for your client. In almost all instances, the very next words out of their mouth will be… How long will it take to reach that milestone?
1. Brand Exposure or Website Traffic (Clicks)
If your clients are motivated by brand exposure and website traffic, the good news is they will start seeing results almost immediately once the campaign launches.
In saying that, clicks form the basis for any successful PPC campaign because they determine how receptive the audience is to your messaging. So while they may not always be a stated desire of your client, they are still a valuable discussion point when determining how to optimize campaign performance.
2. Leads, Calls, or Meetings Booked
- Budget
- Campaign offer
- Industry
- Keywords
- Search volume
- Location
- and much more.
3. Sales and ROI
Without even talking to your clients it’s pretty safe to assume that they want to increase sales from their PPC campaign. However, be measured and delicate with how you discuss this. Much like the lead conversion rate discussed above, the sales equation has a number of variables that affect its performance.
The key difference between “Sales” and “Leads” is that, as a PPC agency, you have (almost) complete influence over lead generation. There are variables, however, in the sales process that you have no control or power over.
We strongly recommend not promising sales in your PPC management proposal. You can provide informed estimates and data-backed hypotheses to manage client expectations, but you don’t want to be accountable to a metric you can’t control.
Sales cycles vary significantly depending on the industry and internal follow-up processes. They could be anywhere from a day to months or even a year in length. Keep this in mind as you set sales-driven expectations for your clients.
If your client only talks about sales and ROI as their desired result from the PPC campaign, try to help them understand your position:
- Reinforce the minimal influence you have over the internal sales process, and encourage them to re-adjust their expectations of the campaign.
- Have the client take accountability for a Lead-to-Sales Conversion rate, the part you don’t control, and hold your team accountable to the generation of leads that will satisfy their desired results based on that conversion rate or a Cost-Per-Lead goal.
Wrapping Up
If you can…
- Get your clients to clearly articulate exactly what it is they want, and;
- Provide an estimation, based on data and experience, for how long it will take you to reach that destination.
You will end up with a list of happy, successful, and long-standing clients.
In sum: Know what it is you can deliver and be conservative when setting client expectations.
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