Ecom Access

When choosing an acquisition channel, it’s important to consider how well that channel complements your pre-existing business model. You probably already know what your business goals are, so it’s important to consider how any given acquisition channel can help you meet those goals.

Search engine marketing can obviously be a very powerful acquisition tool. After all, Google is pretty much the new front page, so while SEO is integral to both brand placement and public relations, PPC can be an essential media buy for the serious etailer.

Of course, the blend of SEO and PPC are right for you business depends largely on your business objectives. Well, a post in today’s Search Engine Journal offers some ways to determine how appropriate PPC is for your business model. The author goes into much more detail, but here’s his breakdown of when PPC may or may not be right for your:

Pay Per Click Is An Outstanding Strategy When…

1. You need traffic immediately.
2. You have a crystal clear conversion goal.
3. You have a product or service people are already looking for online.
4. You want the opportunity to warm up prospects.

Pay Per Click Is Not So Great When…

1. You have very small profit margins.
2. You’re trying to sell something so new that no one is searching for it.
3. You’re in a super competitive niche with little or not competitive advantage.
4. Your target market isn’t internet savvy or does most of their business offline.

Whether you’re considering SEM, affiliate marketing, or conventional media buys (such as print ads and billboards), you should always reflect on how any channel relates back to your business. Some questions you should first ask yourself before settling on any channel:

• Will it effectively target your customers?
• Is it likely to convert given what you know about them?
• Are the costs of leveraging this acquisition channel reasonably within your means?
• If so, are the returns on your investment in that channel going to be constant or will they decrease after a certain point?
• If so, where is that point?
• How will it complement/affect other channels that you’re already leveraging?

Not all acquisitions are created equally, and a large part of what determines the potential of an acquisition channel is your own business model. By have a clear understanding of what your business goals are and then considering how different strategies help you reach those goals, you can help ensure that the strategies you choose, and the extent to which you rely on them, are right for your business.

Tags: Adwords, PPC