11 Factors that Influence Conversions in PPC Marketing

Samuel Edwards
|
December 28, 2024

Generating conversions from PPC ads isn’t hard, but you This article will explain some of the key factors that influence (or deter) conversions.

1. Your landing page design

Your landing page design

Once a user clicks on your ad, it will be your corresponding landing page that drives home conversions. A well-designed page will reassure people that your site is trustworthy. A poorly designed page can give the impression that the offer might be a scam or low-quality.Make sure your landing page has the following elements:

  • High-quality graphics (use stock images sparingly)
  • Clear typography (don’t get too fancy)
  • A visually appealing color scheme (avoid colors that clash or strain the eyes)
  • An overall design that looks clean and sharp

2. A focused landing page

Focused landing pages increase conversion rates. Instead of sending prospects to your home page and letting them explore your site, send them to a specific, dedicated, and focused landing page designed specifically for each offer. 

The process of interacting with your ads and landing on your website should be a continuous experience. For example, if your ad promotes 10% off of cartoon-printed socks, the user will expect your website to present that exact offer. When they click on your ad, your landing page should be dedicated to that specific offer, depicting all the cartoon-printed socks you sell.

You don’t want to send people to your “Sock Company” home page because it breaks the continuity and that’s when a lot of people will bounce. To maximize conversions, keep your landing page focused on the offer in your paid ad.

3. Persuasive ad and landing page copy

Copy is just a fancy word for “text” and it happens to be one of the most influential factors in PPC conversions. Your ad may not have more than a headline and a few words as a description, but the right words can get more clicks and the wrong words can turn people off. 

If you want to increase conversions, your copy needs to be persuasive. Your ad headline needs to be enticing enough to get clicks, and your landing page copy needs to be compelling enough to generate conversions, like sales or signups. 

Writing persuasive copy isn’t easy when you aren’t a professional writer, so the best way to get a strong copy is to hire a copywriter who specializes in content marketing.

4. The colors of your CTA text or buttons

The colors of your CTA text or buttons

Color is extremely important for your conversions. You won’t find many landing pages with bright purple “buy now” buttons for a reason – it’s not the right color. 

While there are a variety of color schemes that can work, studies have shown certain colors to be more effective. For example, HubSpot conducted a test that put green against red. Normally, red is perceived as “stop” and green is perceived as “go,” so you might think the green button would win. 

Surprisingly, the red button outperformed the green by 21%. This doesn’t mean red is the only color that works, but it seems to be highly effective.

5. Your targeted audience

The people you target are arguably the most important factor in your conversion rate. If the people who see your ads aren’t your ideal customers, you won’t get conversions. This is the first place to start when optimizing your conversion rate. 

Make sure your ads are targeting the correct market. You might need to revisit your market research to ensure you have that market properly defined.

6. Your value proposal

When people read your offer, how well your value is presented will influence conversions. You want your proposition to tell people why they should buy from you over the competition.A strong value proposition will help you generate more conversions. However, this isn’t easy to nail, so if you’re struggling to get it right, digital marketing services can help.

7. On-page distractions

Anything that distracts visitors can prevent them from converting. Distractions include things like flashing animations, pop-ups irrelevant to your offer, external links, and internal links that go to other pages on your website.

To increase conversions, and decrease distractions. Keep your prospects on your offer page and don’t give them any reason to leave.

8. A sense of urgency to act

You can have the best offer in the world, but if you don’t directly ask for the sale and create urgency around following your CTA, you’ll miss out on plenty of conversions.It’s important to create a sense of urgency around your offer. You can use a countdown timer to a deadline or use other marketing tactics like offering a limited supply.

9. The absence of testimonials

Testimonials contribute to the decision to buy. Not having testimonials on your PPC landing pages can hinder conversions. Good testimonials are the social proof many people need to make a purchase. According to Volume 8 of the Conversion Index created by Bazaarvoice, businesses generate 58% more conversions from visitors who read reviews and testimonials.

10. The price of your offer

If your goal is to generate sales, the price point of your offer can influence or deter conversions. A price point set too low will make people think your offer is cheap. However, if your price is set too high, it can make people bounce.

The key is to set the right price for your offer and your target audience. Sometimes this requires adjusting your audience. For example, everyone would love to have a life coach, but if you want to charge $500 per month for your services, you need to target a more affluent client base.

11. Your checkout or signup process

Last, but not least, a good checkout process will ensure your inspired prospects continue with their purchase. If it becomes a struggle or something isn’t working right, people will bounce. 

Always verify your checkout process to ensure it’s smooth and easy. For example, avoid forcing people to create an account just to buy from you, and make sure all shipping calculations are shown before the user enters their payment information. You can lose a lot of conversions with a frustrating checkout system.

7 Ways to Increase Your Conversion Rate

Now that we’ve discussed all the factors that influence your conversion rate, it’s time to dive into increasing your conversions. If you want more sales, signups, and followers from your PPC ads, here’s how to achieve that.

1. Perform A/B testing

Perform A/B testing

You can’t improve your conversion rate if you don’t know which elements are contributing to or hindering your success. If you try to adjust your PPC ad campaigns to generate better results without this information, you might end up making the wrong changes. 

Always run a split-testing campaign with your PPC ads and landing pages to identify successful elements and experiment to fine-tune your improvements.

2. Focus on the most common errors first

There are a handful of common technical causes for low conversion rates. For example:

  • High shipping costs or hidden shipping costs that only show up at the end
  • The need to create an account to buy a product
  • A complicated checkout process
  • A poorly designed website
  • The product value seems far below the price point
  • Unclear directions

Other factors that diminish conversions include:

  • A website that doesn’t look trustworthy
  • A product that doesn’t match the ad
  • Sales copy that reads like hype or seems like a scam

Most of these factors are within your control and they’re not hard to improve. You can use the LIFT Model discussed in the next point to cover your bases here.

3. Follow the LIFT Model

The LIFT Model consists of optimizing and managing six factors that drive conversions – Value Proposition, Relevance, Clarity, Distraction, Urgency, and Anxiety.

  • Value Proposition. This is the most important factor to improve. A strong value proposition is what makes your product or service attractive. Are you offering enough value, and is it clearly stated? Work on strengthening your value proposition so people know they’re getting something amazing.
  • Relevance. Is the offer on your landing page relevant to the ad that brought people to your page? Does it give people what they’re looking for? Make sure the transition from ad to landing page is consistent when it comes to content.
  • Clarity. Your value proposition, copy, and call-to-action must be clearly stated. If it’s not clear what you want visitors to do (buy your product, sign up for an email list, watch a video) refine your copy until it’s unmistakable.
  • Distraction. Do your visitors have any reason to navigate away from your landing page? If so, eliminate those distractions. For example, don’t keep your website’s main navigation menu on your landing pages.
  • Urgency. Do visitors feel the urgency to act? If not, add a deadline to your offer.
  • Anxiety. Are there any reasons visitors might want to bounce before converting? Does your site look messy or otherwise untrustworthy? Tweak your landing page until it looks professional.

4. Use a tripwire if your main sell is expensive

Chances are, that $5,000 item won’t generate immediate sales from your PPC campaign. That’s a big investment, and most people will need time to think before they act. One way to get around this is to use a tripwire. A tripwire is a lower-priced item that you offer people first. Once someone makes a small purchase, it’s easier for them to spend more money. This strategy can help boost your PPC conversion by moving hesitant buyers into your sales funnel.

To maximize its effectiveness, ensure your ad copy highlights the benefits of the tripwire offer. Tripwire is an effective method for earning trust and generating hot leads to nurture larger purchases through email marketing, and it can significantly increase your PPC conversion over time.

5. Provide a money-back guarantee

Companies that offer money-back guarantees are more likely to generate sales from hesitant prospects. While your average PPC conversion rates may initially reflect a slight increase in refunds, you’ll gain a generous amount of purchases to make up for it.

There are so many offers out there, and if your company isn’t already well-known, people will be hesitant to buy from you. Offering a money-back guarantee alleviates those concerns and makes people feel safer in their decision to buy. When combined with data from Google Ads averages, this can be a powerful way to fine-tune your PPC efforts and improve trust metrics. If you have an amazing product or service, it’s unlikely that you’ll get flooded with refund requests.

6. Offer several payment methods

Even today, some people won’t use their credit card online, but they will use PayPal or Klarna. Make sure you offer credit card alternatives. Many consumers prefer PayPal because they offer protection for buyers, and it’s easier to resolve a dispute through PayPal than a credit card company.

Additionally, payment method variety can appeal to users on mobile devices, a key demographic for PPC ad platforms. If you're tracking your PPC conversion rate formula, consider how adding multiple payment methods could calculate PPC conversions more accurately and improve your overall sales funnel efficiency.

7. Minimize choices

Whether it’s styles, colors, sizes, or other options, minimize the number of choices you offer. The more choices you provide, the fewer purchases you’ll get. This is backed up by the famous “jam experiment.” The results, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JPSP, Vol. 79, No. 6), showed that grocery store customers presented with 6 flavors of jam to sample were ten times more likely to make a purchase than those presented with 24 flavors to try.

Get more conversions with marketer.co

Are you ready to supercharge your PPC landing pages to get more conversions? Marketer.co can help. Contact us for more information – we’d love to work with you and help you achieve your goals!

Author

Samuel Edwards

Chief Marketing Officer

Throughout his extensive 10+ year journey as a digital marketer, Sam has left an indelible mark on both small businesses and Fortune 500 enterprises alike. His portfolio boasts collaborations with esteemed entities such as NASDAQ OMX, eBay, Duncan Hines, Drew Barrymore, Price Benowitz LLP, a prominent law firm based in Washington, DC, and the esteemed human rights organization Amnesty International. In his role as a technical SEO and digital marketing strategist, Sam takes the helm of all paid and organic operations teams, steering client SEO services, link building initiatives, and white label digital marketing partnerships to unparalleled success. An esteemed thought leader in the industry, Sam is a recurring speaker at the esteemed Search Marketing Expo conference series and has graced the TEDx stage with his insights. Today, he channels his expertise into direct collaboration with high-end clients spanning diverse verticals, where he meticulously crafts strategies to optimize on and off-site SEO ROI through the seamless integration of content marketing and link building.