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Does PPC work only for high-ticket items?

by keyon
9 replies
  • SEO
    • |
When people talk about stepping up their marketing efforts, they usually talk about including paid advertising (PPC) in the mix. Some even make it sound like it's a natural step to take -- after you've dabbled in SEO for a while and are now serious about building a sustainable business. Nothing wrong with that logic, really. However, I see a LOT of products on the web (including my own) that are low enough in price that a PPC campaign could never generate a return on investment, at least from what I can see.

Of course, the real deal breaker is the conversion rate. I've been selling stuff online for more than 10 years now, and the conversion rates I've seen in my niche have been surprisingly consistent -- around 1 percent (maybe 2 on a good day).

So let's say I have a digital product that retails for $15. Most PPC programs I've looked at (Adwords, etc.) will cost me upwards to $.50/click. With my average conversion rate being 1 percent, it would cost me $50 just to make one $15 sale. Or in other words, I would need a $50 price tag on my products just to break even. And keep in mind we're talking about digital goods with 90 percent profit margins. If I were selling physical products, the scenario would be even more bleak.


Does PPC work only for high-ticket items? I'm befuddled.
#highticket #items #ppc #work
  • Profile picture of the author Lucid
    It's all about the ROI. Pretty much anything can be sold using PPC. Price has nothing to do with it. Provided you use proper keywords to trigger your ads and your landing page converts well. A 1% rate is poor in my opinion.

    Example, selling widgets. I can guarantee you that if you simply bid on "widgets", you won't make as many sales and profit as you would if you bid on "round widget" and "square widget". And you'll do better if instead of your home page, you land the ad clicker to the appropriate widget page. Even better if your keywords are "brass round widget" and "plastic square widget" and again, land on appropriate page.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi keyon,

      I sell hundreds of items that average below $10 CPA. So yes, you definitely can sell low priced products if you do things right.
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      * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
      *       Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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      • Profile picture of the author keyon
        Originally Posted by dburk View Post

        So yes, you definitely can sell low priced products if you do things right.
        Well, I'll take everyone's word for it that PPC can in fact work for small ticket items. Of course I would need better conversion rates than what I'm used to getting. I'd need to move from 1% up to 5%-6%, which seems a little daunting to me right now. I don't think my problem is targeting, since most of my traffic right now comes from very specific, long-tail keywords that describe the exact product I am selling. So I guess that means all the work needs to take place on the landing page.

        However, I haven't ruled out the possibility that some types of products simply attract more window shoppers than others. In which case I might always be stuck with my 1% conversion rate.
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        • Profile picture of the author dburk
          Originally Posted by keyon View Post

          However, I haven't ruled out the possibility that some types of products simply attract more window shoppers than others. In which case I might always be stuck with my 1% conversion rate.
          Hi keyon,

          Yes, that may be true, However, keep in mind that if it is true for you it must also be true for your competitors. PPC is auction based, so your competitors are likely making a profit at whatever the ad positions cost, else they would bid that high, right?

          You need to equal, or best, your competitor's profit from the gross margin, multiplied by conversion rate, else you will get squeezed out of the market. Any improvements you make on conversion rate will makeup for differences in gross margins. Focus in improving conversion rates, as well as gross margins, and Quality scores.
          Signature

          * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management |
          *           Don Burk Advertising & Marketing - www.donburk.com

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  • Profile picture of the author bigcat1967
    Use long tailed kws to get more specific traffic in. You can sell anything w/ Adwords. Even informational websites.
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    <a href="https://changeyourbudget.com/save-money-on-your-water-bill/">How to Lower Your Water Bill</a>

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  • Profile picture of the author risingrank
    Adwords are good for high converting products, high ticket or not. And obviously, if it does not make money, you don't bother with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnnys229
    You need to increase your conversion rate AND decrease your average CPC at the same time by choosing more obscure yet still high converting keywords. It's almost like gold mining, you have to sift through a LOT of dirt to get to the gold. But once you've found the gold, well, you're golden
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  • Profile picture of the author Justin Says
    I've gone after the real estate niche primarily with PPC and had good results, but I also had a friend who had a website about thimbles that did pretty good on PPC as well.

    I mean come on...

    Thimbles!

    His site had a lot of traffic, but that's because he took action and built that traffic and made it his primary focus over everything else.
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    My name is Justin Lewis. My digital marketing company has been in business for over 10 years with multiple six-figure years. We do provide a premium web design service.

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