Here are a few quick tips to help make sure you're setup for success as you're getting started with the live PPC auction.
1. How to Set a Reasonable Budget💰
Tip: Make sure to allocate a reasonable budget
If you run a test with $100 on Google PPC what will it tell you? The answer, nothing.
So why is that? Its because clicks aren't closed deals. Not only that, clicks also aren't converted leads. They're clicks!
This means that you need to generate a sufficient amount of clicks to be able to generate conversions on your landing page.
Make sure that you allocate a reasonable budget that will allow you to be conservative while also ensuring that you run a test with a large enough sample to generate conversions.
2. Understanding Bid Strategy 👀 📈
Tip: Monitor your bids to maintain the top position to maximize clicks
Target a top 3 position at the start. Every 2-3 days check to see how you are tracking against your budget. If, for example, the month is 25% complete (i.e. 1-week) and you've spent 2% of your budget - then target the #1 position. Repeat to ensure even delivery.
3. How to Track Performance & ROI 🎯
Tip: Make sure to add UTM tracking links to your campaigns
You'll be able to track campaign performance both via the real time analytics tab in the PPC dashboard as well as via your own analytics tools by adding a UTM tracking link as the target for your campaigns when activating your bid as well as via the analytics tab in the PPC dashboard.
4. Where on the Site Can You Bid for Clicks 🔦
Tip: Make sure you understand the types of auctions that are available
HTR offers three types of auctions:
Type | Description | Placement Visual |
Category Auctions | Generate high intent clicks from the PPC container on specific categories of the site. Please note that only select categories have a PPC container and that you will only be able to bid within the PPC auctions in categories where your company offers a product (ie. you can't bid in the PMS container unless you offer a PMS). | 
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Home Page Auction | Promote your brand on the HotelTechReport.com home page to 200k+ monthly hoteliers and drive traffic to your website. | 
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Department Auctions | Promote your brand across relevant locations related to your target department (ie. revenue management, marketing, operations, guest experience, etc) to generate visibility and leads with your target buyers. | 
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5. How Companies on Manual Invoicing Can Avoid Interruptions 📋
Monitor credit levels if you're using manual invoicing to avoid interruptions. To avoid campaign interruptions request new invoices 2-3 weeks before your credits are depleted.
While most companies will use credit card with auto top-ups, if your company is using manual invoicing its important to make sure to monitor your PPC credit levels otherwise you run the risk of having not utilized your full budget but running out of credits in which case your campaigns will automatically be de-activated and paused meaning that performance will be negatively impacted.
EXAMPLE SCENARIO
How to Set Your Budget to Run a PPC Test
Objective. Set a conservative budget to spread out over a 6-month test with the simple goal of converting 2x new deals to justify a 4x ROI.
Example Scenario (Inputs)
Average CLTV for 100-room hotel (find yours here) = $18,000
Average sales cycle = 6 months
Landing page conversion rate = 15%
Avg. CPC = $10
Avg. Lead-to-Close = 20%
Determining Test Budget
In this example there we'll test with $1,000/mo over 9-months. Here's how to calculate:
Step | Description | Example Scenario Calculation |
Determine Test Budget | Determine your PPC test budget by taking 50% of CLTV for a single 100-room hotel. | In the example above this is $18,000 * 50% = $9,000 |
Set Your Test Timeline | Multiply your average sales cycle times 1.5x to allow enough time for converted leads to turn to closed deals in your pipeline. | In the example above this is 6-months x 1.5 = 9-months |
Spread Your Budget Across Timeline | Now that you have determined your PPC test budget in #1 and your test duration/timeline in #2, you can determine your monthly spend and set your budget in the dashboard. | In the example above this would be $9,000 spread across a 9-month test which equals a monthly budget of $1,000/mo |
NOTE: Just bc you set your budget doesn't mean it will get fully utilized which is why its important to monitor your campaigns to make sure your bids put you in a high enough position to fully deploy your budget.
Determining What a Successful Test Looks Like
In the example scenario here is what you would expect to generate on $9,000 in PPC spend in a base case scenario:
Metric | Calculation | Results |
Click volume | $1,000/mo deployed fully at an avg CPC of $10... | will yield 100 clicks per month |
Lead volume | At average landing page conversion of 15%, you should expect to generate 100 x 15% | = 15 leads/mo x 9-months
= 135 leads generated over the course of the 9-month test |
Lead to Close | At an average lead to close of 20% you should expect to close 135 x 20% | = 27 closed deals |
ROI Calculation | At an average CLTV of $18,000 this test should yield ... $18,000 x 27 deals = $486k in lifetime revenue on $9,000 invested/spent for a forecasted ROI of 54x | = $486k in lifetime revenue
...on $9,000 invested/spent
...for a forecasted ROI of 54x |
BREAKEVEN SCENARIO PLANNING
In order to break even on $9k of spend with an average CLTV of $18k, you only need to convert one lead (out of 135) to generate a 2x ROI on your PPC test
Benchmarking to Other Channels
At the end of this period you can benchmark the spend from your HTR PPC against other channels like Linkedin, Google, trade shows, etc. and decide if and where we fit in your marketing budget/stack.
Calculate Cost-Per-Lead (CPL): In the example above we spent $9k and generated 135 leads so CPL = $9k / 135 = $66
Benchmark Your CPL: Once you've calculated your average CPL you can easily benchmark this to other channels like Linkedin, Google or even trade shows