How Do You Determine the Value of a Paid Search Click?

When looking at paid search ads, it is important to note that not every click is created equally. Some clicks are more likely to bring business than others. That means when we are running a paid search campaign, we look at different searches and try to determine a persons’ intention behind the search to determine how much to pay for that ad. For example, if someone is searching for a specific make and model of a car as well as the specific city they want to buy it from, we know that they are probably pretty close to buying a car. In that sense, it is worth your money to pay more for that ad because you have a greater likelihood of that customer buying a vehicle. On the other side of the issue, some people might be searching for reviews of cars or new car features and that means they are still in the research phase. This searcher is not as close to buying as the one in the previous example. For searches like this, we would pay less because it may take more of those clicks to bring them to a final buying decision.

Is the Value Determined on a Per-Client Basis?

Yes, we definitely do different things for different clients. Certain clients want different things as it relates to paid search ads. Some clients want to be a part of the earlier stages in the buying process by providing car comparisons and research to help their potential customers make a decision. Other clients will let the OEM do the more informative part, and they focus on making conversions when people are ready to buy. Regardless of your specific strategy, we make decisions for spending on paid search based on a variety of factors. We look at where the potential customer is in the buying process, how much the vehicle is worth and more.