Pay-per-click advertising unpredictable and complex

This finding came from a survey commissioned by Dutch firm Toading and conducted by Pulstracker. It was found that 71% of surveyed companies in Europe claimed some deterioration, with 21% of the total complaining of a major drop in performance.

The principle cause for this decline, according to the surveyed companies, was likely to be increased competition within their own industry sector, as more pay-per-click advertisers in their space had pushed up the bidding for keywords (63%). Nearly a quarter of the companies complained that they were unable or could not afford to bring in outside expertise to fine-tune their performance (24%). Only 3% believed that the change was down to fluctuating market conditions in their sector, resulting in less demand for their product or service.

The complexity of setting up account options was mentioned (22%), but a majority of unhappy respondents (52%) said the biggest practical hurdle for them was the `complicated’ keyword bidding process. 26% said that balancing the need for outside expertise and consultancy with the corresponding cost and impact on ROI was causing problems for them.

Businesses’ continued use of pay-per click advertising shows that they have benefited and still find it a valuable tool, but they find it an unpredictable and complex undertaking, as this study has found,” said Mathijs van Abbe, CEO, Toading.

“Keyword bidding in particular crops up as a frustration for advertisers. This is a sign that, as markets become more crowded, advertisers need to be more precise about their offerings, including pricing information. Not only is this helpful for potential customers, but it can dramatically improve conversion rates, and doesn’t have to be the complicated process many fear it to be.”