PPC help

Hi guys, i wanted to know i'm using adcenter to promote a $300 product. How many clicks does it take to make a sale? I've got like 34 clicks so far. I don't really want to give out more details because i'm too embarassed.

 

There's not enough data, but still we can discuss the "rules of thumb":

1. Mind the network: clicks from the content network are much less likely to convert than those from the Yahoo & Bing search network. Set your ad groups settings to run only on Yahoo & Bing search network, without their search partners / syndication sites and without the content network.

2. Mind the device: unless your product/service is highly relevant for mobile users - opt them out at least on your first campaign.

3. Mind the keywords: generally the more specific is the keyword the more it is likely to convert (but the traffic volume per keyword is lower). For instance the keyword "HTC thunderbolt" is more likely to convert than "smartphone" - i.e. it'll probably have a higher conversion rate. Start with exact match type only.

Now, after setting everything properly, suppose your average CPC is $2. Then your break-even point is $300/$2 = 150 clicks. This is pre-optimization, so if after gaining 150 clicks you have 1 conversion (purchase) or more - you probably have a good start.
Nevertheless, most chances are you won't reach the break-even point at the very beginning. Then the question is: when should I quit (or change my keyword list)?

To answer this I use the excel function "binomdist". For the example above you may type in excel "=BINOMDIST(0,B1,1/150,1)" while in the cell B1 put an arbitrary number. Now use excel's goal seek function (under Data --> What-if-analysis) and...
Set cell: $A$1
To value: 0.05
By changing cell: $B$1
The output is 446.3

It roughly means that after spending on 447 clicks without getting any purchase - you can be 95% sure that the current campaign won't reach the break-even point. In other words: after ~450 clicks the campaign should have converted (assuming CPC=$2) - otherwise you need to change the keywords/landing page/product.

 

The adcenter of msn is becoming tuff day by day like google adwords

 

I have a pretty good converting page and product in demand. Very niche, and sometimes takes over 100 clicks to sell a $129 product...wish i had better news for you!