One of my keyword phrases has run for around a year and has a CTR of 4.10% with 4203 clicks over 102540 impressions. I am currently being quoted around 15 UK pence per click for a first page appearance although this is the upper end and it can drop down to 12p in quieter times of the week (very popular keyphrase). I am a small fry in the accommodation business but can usually command the number 2 to 5 spots in the listings with target placement (3 is actually my favourite and seems to produce the best results) within the click costs as outlined above. This would be alongside mega names such as Travel Lodge and the Hilton Hotel Group. This year a significant number of similair local players have also entered the fray although my account has quite a bit of history and clearly I have built of a QS. Now given the sort of accounts the big boys play with I don't expect to be anywhere near their click cost either now or in the future but is it reasonable to assume I am beating those who have recently entered the market? As always thanks for any considered replies.
Hiya geezer466 - not far from you, I'm over in Burnley. With regards to your post, are you asking whether we feel you are beating your competitors because you are staying in the same sort of positions even though many more competitors have entered the bidding auction? If you haven't moved down the list then one has to assume they could possibly have a very poor Quality Score and/or aren't sure themselves how much to bid - that's why they are lower than you. If, like you assume they have very large budgets then if they up their bid enough, they will outrank you, it's as simple as that. Rank = QS * Max Bid. It sounds to me that they haven't bidded too high and therefore your rank is higher than theirs - at the moment.
He hasn't provided any data to enable anybody to predict any part of his earnings. The above data certainly isn't anything to go off. CTR can be high and get lower quality traffic. CTR can be low and get higher quality traffic.
Thanks for all considered replies.. My key phrases are highly targeted and 12 Months of data return thru adwords tell me I have the correct ones. My ROI is around 30 to 1 on adwords spend but of course mine is not an on-line business and I have overheads above that. Is it a a little up and down but averages as that.. The targeted positions have a big play in the return. All that said I have been able to maintain that RIO over my natural trading season and am happy with it.. I simply want to know I I am taking my competitors to the cleaners?
That's impossible to say as you don't know the ROI on your competitors. All you know is that the majority are ranked lower than yours, but their ROI might be better in the lower positions. The advice I would give is this - if a keyword is working for you, then forget about your competitors.
At the end of the day is your ROI where you want it? If not re-assess the situation. My guess is this....your competitors may come into the marketplace with guns-a-blazin', not realize a profit and fade into the night. Meanwhile, there you are chugging along with these folks scratchin' their collective heads wondering how you can possibly be advertising under those terms pullin' profit... I have been on both ends of this equation. Been a market dominant force as well as trying to break in. Each time I 'tried' to break in, I got frustrated and left without a whimper, they may do just that.... So I ask again, is your ROI where you like it?
Oh without a doubt I am happy with the ROI. I have learnt enough about adwords over the last 3 years to know my keyphrases and words are targeted almost 100% for relevancy and even today I still research out the search terms used and drop in -[negatives] where I need too. I have a strict daily budget which I never exceed and spend around £180 - £200 a month on that budget with the corresponding return of an ROI of 28 - 32 per £1 spent. Mine is also a very seasonal business (summer to the middle/end of Autumn) and I noticed last year around the 3rd week of October my ROI started to drop quite significantly so clearly that was the signal to knock it on the head. At the same time the search volume does not ratchet up to full speed till the middle end of June which is where last year I was achieving the 30 to 1 ROI figure. At this stage of the cycle it would appear I am outperforming last years effort although I only have a couple of weeks of data so far. All that said now my domain is over 2 years old I am starting more to concentrate on traditional SEO to raise my listing on the SERP. 3 years worth of data for adwords on the exact search terms that people are using is worth a gold mine in this respect. Far and away it tells me what phrases to concentrate on.