10 Common PPC Myths

Over the years, there have been many ‘hacks’ on how to improve your PPC and many old methods of running PPC have become outdated due to changes in the engines. Learn more below on 10 PPC myths you shouldn’t let fool you.

1. My keyword always needs to be in position 1 to be profitable!

Google Ads eliminated average positions in 2018 and has since introduced new ad position metrics. Before this change took this place, it was not always necessary to be in the first position to be profitable, especially for non-branded keywords. The top position may have generated more click and conversion volume, but at a significantly higher CPA leading to lower ROAS.

2. You only need one strong ad

Wrong! In search, you should always have at least 3 ads expanded text ads and one responsive search ad per ad group. This will ensure you’re always serving your best ads to a potential consumer.

3. SKAGs (Single Keyword Ad Groups) are the way to go

SKAGs were a hot topic circulating PPC blogs a few years ago. There are two ways to run a PPC account; traditional set up and SKAGs.

SKAGs allow you to tightly monitor where traffic is going and exactly what ad copy a user sees. There are some benefits to using SKAGs, but there are also some drawbacks so this will depend on the account. Learn more about SKAGs here.

4. Dump as many keywords as possible into your account to get the most traffic

The more keywords the better right? Keyword expansions for days? STOP!

Add keywords that are relevant to your account and don’t do keyword expands for the sake of keyword expands. In one travel based account I audited, there was a well intended keyword expansion for ‘island’ related terms. Since the keyword expansion was done incorrectly, there were many irrelevant keywords added. Would you like to visit +island vacations +Kansas? Don’t ask me where the islands are in Kansas, but there was a keyword for it.

5. Display Ads don’t work

Display ad revenue is harder to generate, but it is possible! Display has come along way with many more possible ways to optimize and grow revenue. But thinking you’ll see immediate profit from display is the wrong approach. You need to approach display with plentiful creative and a strong placement/targeting strategy. Even with this in place, you also need to judge success correctly. Many advertisers are still judging the success of their display efforts on last click conversions, when they should look at data driven (if possible) or another attribution model to judge display. Match2One covers more display myths in this article.

6. Set it and forget it

This would make life a lot easier, but PPC requires a lot of attention and careful maintenance, even when using automation tools. Automation tools will only get you so far. You need a knowledgeable expert to drive the strategy home.

7. Google’s Free Keyword Planner Tool is the only tool you’ll need

Google’s Keyword Planner tool is a great tool to get you started, but it’s not the only tool you should utilize. WordStream has a great (free) tool you can use, but for paid tools I prefer Ahrefs or SEMRush. Here’s a more comprehensive list of tools you can use for keyword research.

8. If you’re not seeing results within 5 days of launching a test, turn it off.

Stop right there. I know the urge is to pause the test if early signs show poor or no results, but be patient. These things take time and depend on volume. Generally speaking, you should allow the test to run for 2-4 weeks, and then assess performance.

9. No one clicks on Ads anymore so PPC is a waste of money

If this was true, Google wouldn’t be one of the largest companies in the world. In 2019, ad revenue contributed to the majority of Google’s revenue. If the ad is relevant, a user will click.

10. PPC is the only profitable marketing channel

PPC is expensive and most businesses should invest in it, but you cannot ignore your other channels. Along with PPC, you should invest budget and efforts into SEO, Paid Social, Display, Email and Video. What your channel and budget mix will be will depend on what works for your business.

Any other myths come to mind? Leave your favorite myths in the comments below!