Marketers are spending millions on ads every year. Many business owners might think it’s worth the investment. It is if you get the results you want.
It’s no secret that the cost of online ads is on a steady rise. There was a time when marketers were able to generate clicks for a couple of cents. But those clicks cost hundreds of dollars today.
If current trends are anything to go by, then we can expect these costs to double or even triple in the coming years. Small businesses with limited ad budgets are going to fall between a rock and a hard place.
Should they continue to pay more for leads? Or should they do away with paid media ads and explore other lead generation options?
The good news is there’s a third option. It involves spending smarter. You don’t have to spend more or eschew paid media ads. The goal here is to lower your costs per lead while maximizing your ads.
How exactly do you do that? That’s what we’ll cover in this post. But first:
What is Cost Per Lead (CPL)?
Cost per lead is how much you spend to get a new lead using your contact database. It is one of the most important metrics to keep an eye on. It details the amount spent to get that lead into your sales funnel in relation to your total ad budget.
As an efficiency metric, it shows your marketing team’s skill or lack of creation of high-quality ads. These marketing mediums should deliver quality results to your company.
Most looks at CPL paid ads and pay per click advertising. But it can also apply to other marketing strategies, like social media marketing or SEO.
A crucial detail to remember is if your CPL is high and you’re selling low-priced products, then you’re losing money. It’s why every marketer wants to keep the CPL as low as possible. It ensures they can enjoy higher returns on their ad spend.
How do I lower my CPL?
Lead generation is a vital metric for businesses. But every business has a budget to follow. It’s why getting quality leads for a low CPL is the goal. Here’s how you can do it:
Strive for better Google rankings
You can’t go wrong with organic traffic. It’s free and has a better chance of converting into sales. Google can help drive this good traffic to your website in various ways. One of the best ones is search engine optimization (SEO). A good SEO strategy will help you rank high on the search engine. This translates to more consumers finding your products and services.
Do a thorough ad review
In most cases, it’s best to revisit best practices and see if your ad isn’t straying far. Conduct an ad performance report and examine everything. This means the ad text, imaging, placement, and even the performance of the landing page. The goal is to identify potential issues that may be contributing to a higher CPL.
You might find a landing page that isn’t performing well but the ad has a pretty good click-through rate (CTR). You could use that ad message on a page that’s performing better. This can help generate more clicks at a lower CPL.
Drill down on your audience targeting
One of the main reasons you’re struggling with higher costs per lead is because your ad is being shown to the wrong crowd. If you’ve run a few ad campaigns, check out the data and focus on the parameters used to segment your audience. Find more important details that you can use to drill down on your audience. Make sure your ad addresses them in a direct manner.
You can also check out which demographics recorded the best performance for your ads. You can then double down your efforts on that particular audience. This way, you’re putting your ads in front of the people who are interested in your business. This can decrease your CPL in return.
Revamp the landing page
Someone who clicks on your ad doesn’t make them a lead. Remember we’re looking at the Cost Per Lead here, not the Cost Per Click. Once they click on the ad, it takes them to the landing page. Is it a lead or not? That would depend on their interaction and engagement with the landing page.
The idea is to make the landing page as simple to interact with as possible. Be clear on the goal of the landing page and make sure every element on the page is working towards achieving it. Have a single call to action (CTA) so the reader isn’t confused about what they should do next.
Practice A/B split testing
The simple reality is that your first set of ads may not always perform well. That’s why it’s important to use split testing. It will identify what elements are working and which ones could use some tweaking.
A/B split testing means comparing different ad versions and performance measurements. Checking its relation to various parameters, such as target audience and placement. Ad format, delivery optimization, and creative appeal are also considered.
By testing out a few variations, you can narrow down on what may be pushing up your CPL and address them well. With regular testing and optimization, you should be able to bring the CPL down, even a little bit.
Don’t waste time on poor performing keywords
Keywords are essential to drumming up interest in your brand. But not every keyword works. It’s good practice to go through the various keywords you use on a regular basis. Analyze how they performed. Discard those with low conversions. Stick to the ones that drive traffic to your site and optimize them.
Turn to Tulumi for optimized paid media ads and maximized ROI today!
Tulumi is the best pay per click advertising agency to call when it comes to high-performing paid media ads. We work hard to deliver tangible results while sticking to your ad budget. We also guarantee maximized returns. Get in touch with us today for a FREE consultation by calling (800) 481-1720.
