Lots of Impressions but No Clicks or Sales…What Gives??
As a member of the 7Search support staff I am often contacted by our advertisers with a variety of questions. Although we receive many inquires about how to effectively advertise with us, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the question “Why am I getting so many impressions and so few clicks” is definitely among the most common. It is understandable why this would be a concern for any advertiser as it can directly impact the success of a campaign.
I’m sure most everyone knows the difference between an impression and a click but just to make sure all bases are covered I will give a brief explanation of both. An impression takes place when someone conducts search using one of an advertisers keywords and that advertiser’s ad is shown among the list of ads on the results page. Note that the ad was SHOWN not clicked. This makes the next explanation a pretty obvious one. Clicks are well, clicks. This simply means that the ad was shown AND CLICKED at some point. Now that we all understand the difference between a click and an impressions let’s explore several reasons why an ad may receive many impressions and either little to no actual clicks.
When taking time to analyze why an ad may be getting more impressions than clicks I find it much more helpful use the checklist approach. By this I simply mean to go over each section of your campaign and determine whether it is helping or hurting your advertising efforts. The following list is a breakdown of what should be reviewed if an advertiser has a concern about their impression/click ratio:
1. Ad Title: Your ad title is the very first thing web surfers see when your ad is returned in search results. Does it make the reader curious as to what your site offers? Does it contain misspellings or other errors that would deter people clicking the ad? Have a third party review your titles for an unbiased opinion. Testing is also key. Try running different ads to find out if one appeals to web surfers more then others. If all else fails consider using the dynamic keyword insertion tool. This will often increase your clicks simply because it is an exact match to what was searched.
2. Bid/Rank: Are you bidding competitively? If your ad has rock bottom bid prices then chances are your ad’s rank/position is too low to be seen and ultimately clicked. As a rule, bidding below .05 cents on any keyword will usually cause an ad to receive very little if any clicks.
3. Keywords selection: Go over the keywords you have in your account. Are you using keywords that are completely relevant to your ad title? If your keywords paint a different picture than what your ad title is saying you are likely to have more impressions than ad clicks because the wrong people are seeing your ad. If this is the case, make the necessary adjustments to your list.
4. Match Type: Are you bidding broad on general keywords and picking up a lot of general traffic that’s not very targeted? It might be a good idea to define your audience better by narrowing the field in which your ad actually appears.
5. Reports: Never ignore the importance of what your analytics may be telling you. Review your searched phrase report to see what phrases your ad may be receiving clicks on. This can often tell you what kind of audience your ad is attracting. From here you can determine what should be adjusted.
6. Ad Scheduling/Day Parting: It may seem a bit off topic but you’d be surprised how many times an advertiser has turned their ad off either completely or during peak hours using the ad scheduling feature. Before deciding to use this option make sure you have taken time to determine exactly what days/hours the bulk of your traffic is available.
In short, there is usually a solution to the problem of receiving impressions and no clicks. Before assuming that it is a problem with traffic quality, take time to review the areas in your campaign that would hinder you from receiving clicks. After a thorough analysis you will likely find a reason for your ad’s poor performance.