Hello and welcome back. It is lovely to have you here. There is something about a Perth afternoon when the sea breeze finally kicks in and the sun starts to dip behind the pines. It makes you want to wrap up the admin, pull up a chair, and settle in for the cricket. If you caught the latest episode of the podcast, you will know that is exactly what we were doing: keeping one eye on the Ashes while we waded through the often murky, frequently expensive world of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.

I am finding this “impromptu office drinks” vibe to be a much better way to handle the more technical side of marketing. It is a bit like a Sunday roast: it takes a long time to prep and a lot of heat to get right, but when it works, it is incredibly satisfying. My week was a bit of a whirlwind: a mix of client strategy sessions and dodging those persistent phone calls from Google reps who always seem to have “urgent improvements” for our accounts.

Why you should stop paying for your own name

We started the session with a great question from a listener named Tommy. He is feeling frustrated because his agency is claiming “conversions” for people who are simply searching for his company name. He is paying $10 a click and spending $1,200 a month on these branded terms.

Branded search is a classic trap that many Perth business owners fall into. Digital agencies love it because the conversion rate looks fantastic on a report, but the reality is you are paying for people who were already looking for you.

There are only two times you should consider paying for your own business name in Google Ads. First, if you have a very generic name like “Plumbers Perth” that is hard to distinguish organically. Second, if your competitors are aggressively bidding on your name to steal your traffic.

If you already own the top of the search results organically, you are simply throwing money away. Mel’s advice is blunt: “If you own the top of Google organically anyway, why are you paying to be there?” Tommy should likely turn those ads off and divert that spend to Google Ads keywords that actually bring in new customers.

Drop the ego and focus on the ROI

A very common source of anxiety for business owners is when they search for a keyword and do not see their own ad appearing at the very top. It is easy to let ego take over, but being number one is often cost-ineffective.

A smart bidding strategy might place you at position two or three. While it might not satisfy your ego, it will certainly satisfy your bank account. It is much better to pay $3 for a click in position two than $10 for a click in position one if both leads are high quality.

Google is essentially an auction house. Like any auctioneer, they want you to bid as high as possible. That is why they call you every day with “suggestions”. Their KPI is to make you spend more. Our KPI is to get you more leads for less money.

What a “marketing qualified lead” actually looks like

If your agency is sending you reports full of “impressions” and “web hits,” they are baffling you with bullsh**t. No Perth industrial business owner wants “extra traffic.” They want enquiries.

A real Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a form fill or a phone call from someone who actually wants the service you sell. You should demand a report that lists the name of the enquirer, what they asked for, and what keyword brought them there.

If your ads are bringing in people from Queensland when you only service Malaga, or if you are paying for job seekers to click on your ads, your strategy is broken. We recently had a case where 10% of a client’s PPC budget was being wasted on existing customers calling to cancel appointments. That is a “leaky bucket” that needs to be plugged with a better B2B marketing strategy.

Strategy before spend: your PPC action plan

If you feel like your Google Ads are not performing, remember that it typically takes about three months to refine a campaign. It is the least “set and forget” product in marketing because Google is constantly changing the rules.

Here is what you should do this week to get your account back on track:

• Google yourself: If you show up in the first few organic links, stop paying for branded search.
• Ask for the lead list: Do not accept a report with just numbers. Ask for the names and requirements of the people who enquired.
• Stop searching for your own keywords: You are likely skewing the algorithm and making your own ads less effective by not clicking on them.

PPC is an auction site at the end of the day. You need a great auctioneer who understands your local Perth market and knows how to win without overpaying.