Conversion tracking might very well be one of the most important aspects of your Google AdWords campaign management.
Google AdWords Conversion tracking is the process of placing a very small JavaScript on a final page of a monitored process. For example, this could be the final receipt page of your shopping cart or even the “Thank You” page after a contact form has been filled out. When this page is loaded into your visitors’ browser it will track to event back to the search phrase that originally brought them to your website. This is very valuable data that allows you to make educated decisions based on performance when it comes to your Google AdWords campaign management.
It is worth mentioning that Google AdWords Conversion Tracking is NOT Google Analytics. While they both have the ability to track events (Google Analytics calls these “Goals”), Conversion Tracking imports the data directly into your AdWords campaigns while Google Analytics only displays data in the Google Analytics account. Both tools are very valuable and we do recommend to all of our clients to implement both whenever possible. Google Analytics is a whole different animal and I will leave that topic for a later BLOG.
As with any statistical data, volume is the key to accurate trending. While an experienced Google AdWords account manager might be able to spot trends with smaller amounts of data, and make minor adjustments to bid or ad copy based on this performance, it is important to understand that larger samples of data provide a clearer picture in regards to performance. In other words, just because a keyword received 5 clicks without a conversion does not mean it won’t work – you simply need more data to make that judgment.
As you would imagine, average conversion rates can vary depending on businesses and even for different websites in the same business. With that said, and as a general guide, average conversion rates tend to fall around 1-3%. What you might consider as an acceptable conversion rate/conversion cost will depend on your business model and profit margins.
The bottom line here is that conversion tracking will provide you with the data you need to make accurate adjustments to your Google AdWords account.