The importance of statistical significance for perfecting your PPC campaigns
Statistics can reveal so much about a PPC campaign that you may have never known previously. Data drives strategy, so it’s important to tap into what your stats are trying to tell you. They should be listened to, not ignored. After all, statistics know best. PPC consultants can use statistical significance to make the right call regarding a campaign.
Not everything is down to chance, and pinpointing patterns in your results can help drive your strategy forward and inform any necessary changes. Need help with your campaign? We’ve got you. At Embryo, we use a data-driven approach to create successful campaigns that increase your sales and traffic. Get in touch with us today to find out more.
What is statistical significance?
Statistical significance allows consultants to determine whether any changes are purely due to chance, or actual reasons. The statistically significant result is the one that is unlikely to have occurred by chance. It ensures you make the right decision regarding any campaign changes instead of basing them off random changes that don’t actually have enough data to back it up.
Too often PPC consultants get rid of perfectly good ads or make drastic decisions based on outcomes that don’t have enough data to back it up. Random fluctuations could be just that, random. You shouldn’t act upon them straight away without enough data to back it up first.
Using A/B testing
Testing your ads is key. Without testing, how can enough data be gathered? A/B testing basically compares two versions of a web page and sees which ends up with better results. The test can guide any changes with less risk of making any drastic mistakes with negative impact on your site, and tools like Google Ads can help you conduct these tests.
Instead of assuming, actual data is provided to show you what will work best in reality rather than in theory. They also have the benefit of being applicable to multiple channels, such as landing pages.
For impactful results, it’s good to make sure the two pages have different factors that would affect how or if a user clicks. Here, you can see which version would produce the most clicks and work best in terms of a positive user experience. You can test things like click-through-rate, conversion rate or ROI. Once the test is complete, key metrics should be compared.
Statistical significance can also help with your testing. For example, you can determine how often an ad can receive random results, helping a consultant to avoid making a mistake. If two ads are exactly the same but one has a 20% CTR and the other has 5%, then a consultant may make the assumption that the first one will perform better. However, a p-value can tell you how likely this is to be based on headlines or pure randomness. A p-value that’s statistically significant (so usually 5% or less) tells you that it actually is down to headlines, so switching to the other ad is best practice. This can help restore your confidence in making this particular decision as it is less likely to have happened by chance. Real data like this provides real results in the long-term.
The Importance of a data-driven approach
A data-driven approach ensures the creation of a tailored and specific campaign that runs based on actual evidence and stats that back up your decisions. Without this approach, inaccuracy is more likely to crop up throughout, creating more problems for future you.
To optimise your PPC campaigns, using data can help you pick keywords that are most likely to convert. With this, your ads are more likely to show up for users searching those specific terms. Data helps form relevant and impactful Google Ads. Reviewing data additionally helps you to monitor performance and maintain the effectiveness of your ads.
Using stats can also help shine light on new opportunities. You can analyse what competitors are doing and use this information to inform new ideas for your strategy. PPC is a competitive playing field, so taking what the data tells you and using it to your advantage is key.
Choose PPC consultants who listen to the stats
Hopefully you can see how things like statistical significance and utilising data should play a huge part in a successful campaign. It’s important that PPC consultants acknowledge the stats, as this is the good stuff that provides a solid foundation for strategy.
At Embryo, we understand just how important it is to be guided by the stats. If you’re looking to find out more, the blogs listed below should give you a helpful insight to all things PPC. Have a question on something that’s not been covered? Get in touch today!
FAQs
Answered by Chelsea Powell
What type of data is used to make PPC campaign decisions?
This is dependant on what your client’s main objectives are, however, the usual metrics are conversions, ROAS, cost/conv, CTR.
Which tool is used to collect real-time campaign data?
The main tool used for collecting real-time data would be GA4 – this helps to compare with GA.
Are all PPC decisions only made on statistics?
Statistical data but also this will depend on business decisions & key objectives for PPC
What length of time do A/B tests need to be run for?
This is dependent on what you’re testing & how big the account is. If your account is smaller with smaller spending you may need to test for months, if it’s a bigger account with more data this could take weeks.
Deeper insights
