CPC’s are on the rise in digital marketing campaigns.
We’re seeing a trend in the rising cost of cost-per-click (CPC) advertising. Whether you’re running campaigns on Google Ads, Facebook Ads or other platforms, the increasing competition for ad placements is driving up CPCs, impacting your return on investment (ROI). To stay competitive, it’s crucial to understand why this is happening and what strategies can help mitigate these challenges.
But here’s the good news: partnering with us can help you adapt to these changes and make the most of your ad budget.
Let’s explore why CPCs are on the rise and how we can help you overcome these challenges.
Why Are CPCs Rising?
Increased Competition
The digital marketplace is becoming increasingly crowded as more businesses invest in online ads. From small startups to large corporations, everyone is vying for visibility. With a limited supply of ad placements, the demand for popular keywords and premium ad slots is pushing CPCs higher.
How can we help?
We conduct comprehensive keyword research to identify less competitive, high-converting terms that align with your business. We have insights into industry trends and can adjust strategies in real-time to target lower-cost opportunities, ensuring you don’t overspend on highly competitive keywords.
Ad Platform Improvements
Google, Facebook and other major platforms have continuously refined their ad algorithms, improving data targeting and adding features like AI-driven campaigns. While these innovations enhance targeting precision, they often come at a premium cost, leading to increased CPCs, especially for niche or competitive markets.
How can we help?
We pride ourselves on leveraging a manual optimisation approach enhanced with AI-driven optimisation if we consider it suitable for our client’s business on a case-by-case basis. While automated tools can be useful, as a skilled agency, we know when to adjust settings manually to balance cost with performance, preventing unnecessary overspending. Our experience with such tools allows us to use them in a way that maximizes results without inflating costs.
Increased Mobile Usage
As more consumers shift to mobile browsing, the demand for mobile ad placements has surged. Mobile users tend to behave differently from desktop users and often, ads on mobile platforms can be more expensive due to the competition for premium spots, particularly on apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Google.
How can we help?
Mobile ad strategy requires careful attention to design, user behaviour and targeting. We will optimise your ads for mobile, ensuring your creative assets are designed to engage users across devices while minimising costs. We also have access to platform-specific tools and insights, helping you refine mobile targeting to reduce unnecessary spending.
Economic Factors
Economic conditions, such as inflation, rising operational costs and fluctuations in consumer demand, have contributed to higher CPCs. As businesses face increasing expenses, many allocate larger portions of their budget to digital ads, driving up competition and ad costs even further.
How can we help?
As a trusted partner working alongside your business, we can help you navigate economic fluctuations by providing flexible, data-driven strategies that optimise budget allocation. Working across multiple sectors, we can quickly adapt to market changes, ensuring that your ad spend is efficiently managed, reducing waste and focusing on high-converting segments of your audience even in tough economic times.
Privacy Regulations & Tracking Changes
Recent privacy updates, such as Apple’s iOS 14 and Google’s plans to phase out third-party cookies, have made it harder to track and target specific audiences. This has forced advertisers to adopt broader targeting approaches, which can lead to less effective ad spending and higher CPCs.
How can we help?
We are at the forefront of adapting to privacy regulations and understand how to use alternative strategies for precise targeting. We can implement first-party data strategies and contextual advertising, ensuring your campaigns remain effective while complying with privacy standards. This helps reduce the need for broader targeting and lowers your CPC.
Our Top Tips To Overcome Rising CPC Challenges
Focus on Quality Score
For platforms like Google Ads, your Quality Score plays a major role in determining how much you pay per click. Quality Score is influenced by your ad relevance, click-through rate (CTR), and landing page experience.
How can we help?
At Beyond Clicks, we craft highly relevant ad copy, optimising your landing pages for speed and user experience. Not only this, but we also run A/B tests on your behalf to boost your CTR (click through rate). This optimisation reduces your CPC while increasing conversions.
Use Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are specific, less competitive search terms that typically come with lower CPCs. While they attract less traffic, the visitors are often more qualified and further along in the buying process.
How can we help?
We have access to advanced keyword research tools to identify long-tail keywords with high intent and lower costs. We incorporate these into your campaigns effectively, ensuring that you attract quality traffic without overspending on highly competitive terms.
Utilise Retargeting Campaigns
Retargeting allows you to reach users who have previously engaged with your site, offering a way to reduce overall CPCs and increase conversions. These ads often cost less because they target a warm audience familiar with your brand.
How can we help?
We excel at setting up sophisticated retargeting campaigns across multiple platforms. We know how to segment your audience, personalise ads and adjust bidding strategies to maximise ROI while keeping costs low.
Diversify Your Advertising Channels
If your CPCs are rising on platforms like Google or Facebook, it might be time to explore other advertising avenues. Platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok and Pinterest sometimes have lower competition, offering cheaper traffic sources for the right audience.
How can we help?
We’ll help diversify your advertising efforts by identifying the best alternative channels for your target market. We manage the transition and ensure that your strategy remains cohesive across multiple platforms, giving you better results at lower costs.
Use Automation & AI Tools
Platforms like Google and Facebook offer powerful automation tools such as Smart Bidding and Dynamic Ads. These tools can optimise your bids and placements, but without careful monitoring, they can also lead to inflated costs.
How can we help?
We fully understand the nuances of using automation tools effectively. Setting the right parameters and identifying when to override them manually, ensures your campaigns remain profitable.
Optimising Conversion Rates
If you can’t reduce your CPC, the next best strategy is to improve your conversion rates. Optimising your landing pages, website design and call-to-actions can turn more visitors into customers, reducing the impact of high CPCs on your bottom line.
How can we help?
A/B testing and access to advanced analytics allow us to refine your website and landing pages. By improving the user experience and streamlining the conversion process, we can help you maximise your ad budget and improve ROI.
Conclusion
While these challenges may seem daunting, we can help you navigate these changes.
From optimising your quality score to exploring alternative platforms and improving conversion rates, we are equipped with the tools and expertise to not only survive but thrive in the digital marketing world.
Rather than hitting pause on your campaigns, reach out to our team who can provide a full assessment of your existing efforts and craft a strategy that keeps your costs manageable while delivering results.