How Do I Effectively Test A Niche Market With PPC?

jcpeden · 02-07-2011, 08:17 AM

Hi all,

I've been reading about and trying IM for years now but everytime I think I understand how it works, things open up to reveal yet another layer of complexity.

I've researched my niche and want to test if a market exists, so I setup a PPC campaign driving people to a landing page, that encourages them to sign up to a free 14-day newsletter on the subject.

Here is exactly what I did:

Build a 4 lists of 5-10, low-competition keywords that people are actually searching for.
Setup a 7-part email newsletter in Aweber with really good content.
Setup a Google Adwords campaign with 5-10 ads per keyword group, targeting only the US and only search engines. I used only exact match for my keywords and negative targeted any terms containing the word 'free'.
Setup a Facebook marketing campaign aimed at US college grads between 22 and 26 with multiple ad text and pictures.

I've had about 20 clicks through to the site in 24 hours but none have signed up. I've created a second landing page to split test with but I'm pretty disheartened by the results.

I've not actually mentioned that I want to sell anything; I'm just trying to build a list at this point. Are people more likely to buy if you are up front?

Does anyone know of any good guides to read on the subject of test marketing with PPC? Can anyone recommend any other variables I can tweak?

At what point should I pull the plug on this one?

Lee Wilson · 02-07-2011, 09:32 AM

The first thing you need is enough data to work with, you need to run your campaign more than 24hrs and maybe spend a few hundred dollars at least. This isn't to get a result, this is just to get enough information to look at. Is your product something people want, are they looking for it? Trying to find if a market exists is a lot harder than working with a market that you already know exists.

Once you have gathered enough data you can figure out at which point things are not working as you'd hoped. If the CTR is too low the problem might be the ad, it also might be that no one is interested. If the CTR is okay but still no sign ups it might be that the landing page was not what they expected to see. There's a million and one things that can cause something not to work, the more data you have, the more you have to drill down into the problem areas.

Trying something completely new is not for the faint hearted and can get very expensive. Just how new is it? If it's just a spin on something already out there don't try selling it as something completely different, sell it as something better than what's out there. It really depends on what you are selling and how you are going about it.

No matter how much you love your product, always remind yourself that a lot of markets don't exist for a reason. That don't mean don't try but certainly remind yourself often and get ready to throw in the tail if it starts getting too expensive or eating up all your time with no results.

Chris The Traffic Blogger · 02-07-2011, 09:35 AM

Try using aweber's popup signup option. I use that for my sites and although the bounce rate goes up, the optin rate goes up 600%.

ProfWriter · 02-07-2011, 10:46 AM

I do some website flipping using local niche keywords, and I research by running searches for the keywords I come up with-- I just look at the number of returns and scour the sites that come up for potential clients (people who will hopefully be interested in buying my finished site). It's worked well for me.

jcpeden · 02-07-2011, 09:13 PM

Thanks for your reply Lee,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Wilson

maybe spend a few hundred dollars at least.

My budget is probably $50-$100 at a push. I can't afford that kind of budget, which instantly tells me I should be test marketing using a cheaper method.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Wilson

Is your product something people want, are they looking for it?

The product is a tool to help college graduates figure out their dream job and build a roadmap to help them get it. I'm just trying to build an email list at the minute so I put together a lite version of the end product that gave them all the basics. I then packaged this up as a free email course but I think I might try giving it away as a complete ebook (so people don't have to wait) and see if that boost subscriptions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Wilson

If the CTR is too low the problem might be the ad, it also might be that no one is interested. If the CTR is okay but still no sign ups it might be that the landing page was not what they expected to see.

CTR for Google is about 11% which I'm pretty happy with. The Facebook campaign, which I've since put on hold, was in the region of 0.01% but much higher impressions for similar CPC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee Wilson

If it's just a spin on something already out there don't try selling it as something completely different, sell it as something better than what's out there.

I'm not selling anything other than the free email course. Could it be that I'm not selling the benefits of the end product enough?

jcpeden · 02-07-2011, 09:14 PM

Thanks for suggesting the Aweber popup. I'll give that a go!

jcpeden · 02-07-2011, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfWriter

I do some website flipping using local niche keywords, and I research by running searches for the keywords I come up with-- I just look at the number of returns and scour the sites that come up for potential clients (people who will hopefully be interested in buying my finished site). It's worked well for me.

Could you elaborate on the method you use to test a niche? As I understand you setup a site based around a local niche keyword, then find competing sites to whom you can sell?

Isn't there a way of establishing a demand in the market a little earlier so as to avoid putting in a huge amount of work building the site and populating it with content first?

02-07-2011, 08:17 AM	#1
jcpeden Padawan Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 34 Thanks: 19 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Social Networking Contact Info	How Do I Effectively Test A Niche Market With PPC? Hi all, I've been reading about and trying IM for years now but everytime I think I understand how it works, things open up to reveal yet another layer of complexity. I've researched my niche and want to test if a market exists, so I setup a PPC campaign driving people to a landing page, that encourages them to sign up to a free 14-day newsletter on the subject. Here is exactly what I did: Build a 4 lists of 5-10, low-competition keywords that people are actually searching for. Setup a 7-part email newsletter in Aweber with really good content. Setup a Google Adwords campaign with 5-10 ads per keyword group, targeting only the US and only search engines. I used only exact match for my keywords and negative targeted any terms containing the word 'free'. Setup a Facebook marketing campaign aimed at US college grads between 22 and 26 with multiple ad text and pictures. I've had about 20 clicks through to the site in 24 hours but none have signed up. I've created a second landing page to split test with but I'm pretty disheartened by the results. I've not actually mentioned that I want to sell anything; I'm just trying to build a list at this point. Are people more likely to buy if you are up front? Does anyone know of any good guides to read on the subject of test marketing with PPC? Can anyone recommend any other variables I can tweak? At what point should I pull the plug on this one?

02-07-2011, 09:32 AM	#2
Lee Wilson HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Uk Posts: 365 Thanks: 69 Thanked 83 Times in 61 Posts	Re: How Do I Effectively Test A Niche Market With PPC? The first thing you need is enough data to work with, you need to run your campaign more than 24hrs and maybe spend a few hundred dollars at least. This isn't to get a result, this is just to get enough information to look at. Is your product something people want, are they looking for it? Trying to find if a market exists is a lot harder than working with a market that you already know exists. Once you have gathered enough data you can figure out at which point things are not working as you'd hoped. If the CTR is too low the problem might be the ad, it also might be that no one is interested. If the CTR is okay but still no sign ups it might be that the landing page was not what they expected to see. There's a million and one things that can cause something not to work, the more data you have, the more you have to drill down into the problem areas. Trying something completely new is not for the faint hearted and can get very expensive. Just how new is it? If it's just a spin on something already out there don't try selling it as something completely different, sell it as something better than what's out there. It really depends on what you are selling and how you are going about it. No matter how much you love your product, always remind yourself that a lot of markets don't exist for a reason. That don't mean don't try but certainly remind yourself often and get ready to throw in the tail if it starts getting too expensive or eating up all your time with no results.

02-07-2011, 09:35 AM	#3
Chris The Traffic Blogger Marketing Mastah War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 714 Thanks: 127 Thanked 156 Times in 93 Posts Social Networking	Re: How Do I Effectively Test A Niche Market With PPC? Try using aweber's popup signup option. I use that for my sites and although the bounce rate goes up, the optin rate goes up 600%.
	How Twitter is Making Me $$$$ My Blog on Getting Traffic and $$$$

02-07-2011, 10:46 AM	#4
ProfWriter Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Albany, NY Posts: 57 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	Re: How Do I Effectively Test A Niche Market With PPC? I do some website flipping using local niche keywords, and I research by running searches for the keywords I come up with-- I just look at the number of returns and scour the sites that come up for potential clients (people who will hopefully be interested in buying my finished site). It's worked well for me.

02-07-2011, 09:14 PM	#6
jcpeden Padawan Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 34 Thanks: 19 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Social Networking Contact Info	Re: How Do I Effectively Test A Niche Market With PPC? Thanks for suggesting the Aweber popup. I'll give that a go!