Finding ROI with Online Advertising Campaigns

Jesse Hopps

Search engine keyword programs like Google AdWords and other pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns have proven to be an exceptionally inexpensive method for generating web traffic, qualified leads, and online web-sale revenues. Determining how much daily budget to set aside; knowing the right amount to spend per-click; and assessing ROI, can be much more difficult tasks. Use our downloadable Online Advertising ROI Calculator for help with your next program.

What are the Key Considerations?

  • Product Price - what is the online selling price for your product?
  • Cost of Goods Sold - for each unit of product sold, what are your costs?
  • Lead Conversion % - what percentage of web visitors will purchase?
  • Daily Advertising Budget - what is the max you are willing to spend daily?
  • Cost Per Click - how much does it cost to purchase keywords/ad clicks?
  • Daily Leads - how many leads (web visitors) will your budget provide?
  • Revenue Per Month - how much incremental revenue will be generated?

Action Plan:

    1. Understand Pay-Per-Click - read our summary Pull Prospects with Google AdWords to get a high level understanding of this concept.
    2. Short-List your Keywords - create a list of keywords that are likely to be searched for by your target audience. Use Google's Keyword Tool to generate a long list of related keywords and phrases, and view pay-per-click estimates.
    3. Determine Lead Conversion % - if you have transactional data already, identify how many visitors it takes to generate one new web-sale. If you do not have the data, make a conservative estimate such as 0.05% conversion.
    4. Assess ROI for Campaign - use our Online Advertising ROI Calculator to determine what kind of revenue & ROI to expect based on your daily advertising budget. Reassess conversion rates after the first month.