I’ve noticed a decrease in search volume. Is there cause for concern? yes. You may miss out on potential job opportunities.
Every click your business misses means your competitor is taking customers from you.
with only approx 3% From your converting website visitors, it is crucial to get those clicks to take them to your site in the first place.
So, what do you do when the volume clicks drop unexpectedly? How do you find the cause and treat the situation?
The short answer? You need to dig deeper.
Whether you’re new to Google Ads or have been analyzing hundreds of accounts like me for 10 years, you need to learn how to analyze below the surface level of campaign performance.
In this post, we’ll review not only the basics of click-through rate (CTR) and what it means, but also some of the key areas you’ll need to research into performance determining click volume drop.
What is CTR?
Click-through rate (CTR) is one of the definitions of a metric that hasn’t changed over the years in Google Ads.
CTR is relatively simple Equation: the number of clicks your ad receives divided by the number of times your ad was shown: Clicks ÷ Impressions.
While CTR is a simple calculation, it is one of the most important metrics to help analyze performance.
Think again if you think CTR can only be used to measure persuasive ad text.
So, what is the purpose of CTR? Some applications of using CTR include:
- Measure the relevance and quality of ads.
- Determine the competitiveness of keywords and ads.
- Analyze gaps between campaign budgets and keyword bids.
When your CTR suffers, this has a direct impact on click volume.
Now that we have a CTR defined and we have use cases for the scale, you might be wondering, “What is a good CTR?”
A recent study of Instapage Note that the average click-through rate (CTR) for searches was 5.06% across all industries.
If your average CTR is not up to the industry averages, don’t worry! Follow these comprehensive tips to help get your CTR and click size back up.
Why is my click volume dropping?
Can’t you explain the sudden drop in click performance? Here are some common causes to help determine the cause.
1. Has your Quality Score dropped recently?
While the Quality Score metric should not be considered “the whole end”, this often under-looked metric may be a root cause of low click volume.
These Quality Scores measure key components of your ad:
- Expected CTR.
- Ad relevance.
- The importance of the landing page.
Google Ads shows you a relatively detailed view of each of these areas, so you’re not left guessing what you should focus on optimizing.
Screenshot from the Google Ads report, August 2022Quality Score is important because it directly affects how often your ads are eligible to be shown. Not only that, but it also affects how much you pay per click.
Solution: Improve your Quality Score based on the “scores” Google gives you for your keywords.
Some of these fixes may be easier to implement (such as new ad text), but if you need to improve your landing page, this can take time and other resources.
A comprehensive guide to improving your Quality Score can be found here here.
2. Impressions are low
If your CTR remains stable but you are seeing a drop in click volume, the main problem is: low impressions.
There can be many factors for a sudden drop in impressions, but here are the most common ones:
seasonality
If you have a seasonal product, it is normal to have dips and peaks in demand.
If searches for your specific domain go down, so will impressions for your keywords.
Updated pricing strategy
If you’ve recently modified your bid strategy, there may be a mismatch between your daily budget against your target ROAS/CPA/CPC target.
Any significant gaps in expectations here can cause a sharp drop in impressions.
For example, if you set your bid to a $50 CPA target for competitive keywords but typically see a $150 CPA target, this will result in an almost instant fluctuation in impressions.
The way CPA and ROAS strategies work is to reduce impressions to users who are less likely to convert to your target.
New negative keywords
Like many advertisers, you’ve had to tighten up your negative keywords. This is because Google has relaxed restrictions on keyword match types.
However, you may have erroneously restricted too many negative keywords. This can lead to a loss of impressions due to conflicting negatives.
So, what can you do to combat low impressions?
Solution: Aside from any seasonal issues, review your current bid strategies and ensure that the targets are aligned (and realistic) with your performance goals.
In addition, comb the lists of negative keywords to identify any conflicts that are hindering your ad serving.
3. New ads
You’ve written shiny new ad copy and hit it across the board. You’re excited to see your optimized ad copy outperform your previous ads.
But you’ve found that the opposite happens, and your click volume goes down.
what gives?
Basically, any time you update your campaigns, especially ad copy, you’ve put your campaign back into learning mode. During this time, you may expect to see fluctuations in performance. You may notice a drop in CTR while Google’s algorithm learns which users best resonate.
Obviously, this is not ideal for any advertiser. You’ve spent the time perfecting a new version and you’re seeing it perform even worse. So, what can we learn from this scenario?
Solution: A/B Test your new ads before pausing all “old” ads. This can help reduce the inevitable performance volatility of pausing all old ads and replacing them with new ones.
If you’re not sure where to start with A/B testing, find this helpful guide here.
4. Your competitors are outbidding you
Competition is not something you can control. They may have a bigger budget or more interesting ad copy than you. All of these elements are beyond your control.
What you can control is how you respond to the competition.
Let’s say your keyword’s maximum CPC is set at $5, but you notice that a competitor is constantly popping up above you. This likely means that the competitor is outbidding you.
Solution: If you have the ability to budget, a simple remedy might be to be more stringent in your bidding strategy. This can help increase your number of impressions and clicks as you increase your impressions.
Read more about how to use Smart Bidding effectively here.
Another example is if a competitor has better ad copy than you. Let’s say you sell a similar product, but a competitor has a promotion while you don’t. Which ad do you think is likely to get more clicks?
Most likely, promotional advertising.
Solution: If you don’t/can’t run a promotion, review your ad copy to determine how you can stand out from the competition.
Make sure you’re using all relevant ad extension information to help increase ad rank and on-page real estate. Constantly check the ad preview tool to make sure your ad is still the most attractive on the page.
Takeaway
If you’re suddenly experiencing a drop in click volume, take a step back and make a game plan before you panic.
Usually, the answers to this problem are buried below the surface.
If you take the time to dig into and analyze the data, you are likely to find the root causes of campaign performance crashes.
With these tips, you can create your game plan to instantly improve your Google Ads performance.
More resources:
- CTR: Is it a Google Ranking Factor?
- Top 10 Tactics PPC Should Try for Paid Search Success
- A Complete PPC Marketing Guide for Beginners
Featured image: Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock
