Imagine Plinko. Whether it’s a backyard game or the proverbial Price is Right segment on TV, the premise is that you start out with a token at the top of the board. The token bounces on the vertical pegs, as you cheer for it to end up in the slot at the bottom worth the most points.
What’s the similarity? Just as in online marketing, there is no direct path. It’s only the last “touch” that gets the credit for where the token (or customer) ends up. But every step along the way led to that final slot (or sale).
In pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, the customer journey is not usually a straight line from ad click to purchase. In some categories such as automotive, 18 information sources influence the buyer before they complete the vehicle purchase. For one of our online clients in a retail gift category, 26% of purchases are made after 12 or more visits to their website!
PPC ads serve to drive prospects to your website, which is especially helpful when your site’s organic ranking is low and they’d otherwise never find you. But that first click doesn’t mean they’ll buy now, or possibly ever. Remarketing ads keep your company or even a specific product in front of that prospect, something no other medium can do nearly as well or as cost-efficiently.
The key point though is most customers today DO spend a lot of time online, researching, comparing, and shopping your competitors as well. And PPC advertising offers insights into that customer journey far beyond the last click.
We love showing our clients a Top Conversion Path report.
In this example, of the seven paths customers used to get to the website, PPC ads only gets credit for two, but actually created five. That information alone can give you great information to further your marketing efforts.
If we can help in your online marketing efforts, give us a call. We love this stuff!