Are You Getting Results?

Part of this post is a rant, the other part is just… well, look. The whole thing is a rant mixed with some common sense advice…

Whatever it is that you’re doing with your site that thing you’re doing with it, that action you’re taking, should be measured in some way or other. If you’re tweaking the colors in your header, ask yourself what the business value is of doing so. Perhaps it’s simply a design aesthetic thing as such it can be difficult to assign a value to that. But that’s not what I’m talking about here.

If we are going to change around your site, place things on the page for a reason it has better be tied to a specific strategy and goal. If you’re moving your newsletter subscription box ask yourself “why” and then define what qualifies as success for doing that. Does a 1% increase in signups merit success? If you had zero signups before then, sure, that qualifies. But there should be a reason; a goal and a way to measure such changes.

We had a client come to us once requesting that we “take over” and “do” their PPC campaign. They were willing to spend a couple thousand on their budget each month, that’s what they’ve been doing. We can work with that. Buy why are we going to to do this? What’s the goal. No, just more sales IS NOT a goal. How many sales does the site generate for them? How many leads are they getting?

We didn’t know. No tracking had been setup and they had spent north of 16k on their Ad Budget. So, first off, where are these businesses with that much cash to give away?

Obviously, we don’t know what we don’t know. That not only goes for the client but it goes for us, too. We don’t know what the relationship was like with the previous PPC manager. Was the client absent and leave things on ‘autopilot?’ Don’t let that be you, people.

If you’re looking to partner with a firm on your next PPC campaign, have your reports at the ready. Be able to speak to the metrics you wish to attain as well as the metrics you’ve already achieved. Be ready to talk about where you’ve been and where you want to go with your business and how you envision working with the service provider will work with and get you to your goals.

I’d like to think that all consultancies/agencies want to do great work. But that just isn’t so; some simply show up for a pay check. For us, here, we want to know that our work is providing real value, something that can be measured and something not only we, but our clients, too, can be happy with.

Results aren’t just for PPC

Where does value come from? It’s not just from PPC campaigns, obviously. We ask these questions on our brief. Specifically we ask about a prospect’s goals. Look at your business today, right now, ask yourself what would be a realistic goal for increasing specific business measures? Whether that means more people through the door, or calling you on the phone, or signing up for your newsletter just have an idea in mind. If you can track your pas growth, so much the better, that will help gauge your future projections.

Whatever you do, make sure you getting results, even if they’re shitty. Just get them and know what they are.