What is the Best PPC CTR?

The Best PPC CTR Depends on What You are Looking At

New Google AdWords users often wonder if the click-through-rate on their ads is good and what the best PPC CTR is that one can get.  The best ppc CTR we have ever achieved on a single ad in Google is between 20 to 50%! 

However, the best PPC CTR depends on many important factors. The single most important factor is whether you are looking at ads on Google search or ads on Google’s content network.  The best PPC CTR on Google search is way higher than ads on Google’s content network.

Since we are only talking about ads on Google’s serach results pages, the best PPC CTR that we have seen can be north of 20%.  However, the best PPC CTR depends on four key factors.

1) Ad Position

The ad position has a huge impact on the best CTR.  Obviously, the higher the ad, the higher the click-through-rate of your ad.  So, unless you are in the top, it is impossible to get the best PPC CTR.

2) Ad Placement

Once in a while, Google surfaces ads at the very top vs. just on the side.  See the image below. 

Whenever Google surfaces ads in the very top, it is an indicator that these ads are getting a very high click-through-rate.  The ads with the best PPC CTR that we have seen are always listed at the very top.

3) Ad Relevance

Ads that are more relevant will get a higher click-through-rate.  It is as simple as that.  In the picture below, you will see that when the text of the search query shows up in the ad, that text gets highlighted in bold. 

This case the ad that contains the keyword phrase “mediation techniques” is highlighted in bold.  In turn it makes the ad more noticeable and will improve the click-through-rate and help push your ad closer to getting the best PPC CTR possible.

4) The keyword

Some keywords will have a higher click-through-rate on ads then others.  If you want to get the best ppc ctr possible, then you need to find niche keywords.  For example, below is one of our single best performing ads of all time. 

The click-through-rate on the ad below is 18%.  That sure must come close to the best ppc ctr.  Okay, we have seen some north of 30% but we are not going to reveal those since they are top performing keywords in some really hot markets.  Since we make so much money with them, will have to keep them secret for now. 

We have hundreds of ads across hundreds of Ad Groups where the CTR of our ad is above 5%.  This always happens for keyword phrases that contain at least two keywords.  Single keywords (e.g. meditation) will always have a lower CTR than keyword phrases (e.g. meditation techniques).  So, if you want to get the best PPC CTR possible, you need to find the best keyword phrases.

A lot of testing and tweaking is required to end up with the best PPC CTR possible.  However, you need a winning system to ensure that you get the most out of your AdWords testing and tweaking.  If you want to learn more, you can check out our “AdWords System Exposed” book.

Keep learning:  Check out all the other Google AdWords Tips we write about.

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About the Author

Prior to MindValley Media, Mike was the Head of New Ventures Strategy at eBay where he conceived of the strategies that led to the investment in Craigslist, the launch of Kijiji.com and the acquisition of Skype. Mike has an MBA from Stanford and previously worked for the Boston Consulting Group. He is also a certified Google AdWords Professional.

Check out other posts by Mike

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