In this post I will show you how to use the search terms report in Google Ads to prove value to your clients.
Validate your PPC web traffic
In an ideal world, the marketing team can optimize the customer journey all the way from discovery to sale. In most cases outside of ecommerce, however, we can only get them partway there and must leave it to the client to close the sale.
Our product is therefore usually qualified leads in the form of phone calls, form fills, sign-ups, or foot traffic. But what if we don’t even control that?
Sometimes we are asked to send traffic to a client site with poor conversion value. If the website looks ugly or confusing and lacks a clear call to action, even the most qualified visitors will bounce.
We can’t be held accountable for sending traffic to a page that doesn’t convert any more than we can be held accountable for sending leads to a salesperson who doesn’t close.
In those situations we have to establish a key performance indicator (KPI) that doesn’t rely on the conversion rate of the landing page. The obvious metric is web traffic, but not just any web traffic. The KPI is highly relevant, qualified traffic – something that can be validated using the Search Terms Report.
The Search Terms Report as a deliverable
The Search Terms Report, which is found at the keyword level in Google Ads, shows the exact user queries that have led to clicks on your ads. By perusing the report you can get an accurate sense of what kind of traffic you are delivering.
(And lest anyone accuse you of setting the wrong expectations, have your ad copy on hand so you can show that you are qualifying that traffic with clear, accurate ad text.)
Businesses want to see demonstrated value for their marketing dollars, and providing the client with the search terms report is a tangible way to prove that you are delivering relevant, qualified traffic to their website.
Moreover, it’s something the client can read and understand without a lot of translation from the specialist. If someone owns a dental practice and they see a bunch of queries looking for a dentist in their area, they don’t have to be a ppc expert to understand the value of that traffic.
So if you can’t promise leads because you don’t control the landing page, then instead of selling clicks, try selling the Search Terms Report. (While you’re at it, sell the Quality Score Report too!) Your clients will appreciate the tangible deliverable that they can interpret on their own and which shows they are getting the qualified traffic they paid for.
By the way, if you found this article useful, then you may be just the type of person we need to join our network of qualified digital marketing professionals at Ethical Digital.
