WebVisible Enterprise FAQ

Initiatives & Goals

• What is an Initiative and why do I need one?

  An Initiative is any grouping of SEM efforts that share a common goal. These may be specific campaigns, your entire account on one search engine (e.g. Google or Yahoo!), or individual campaigns on each search engine. When you create a CPA or CPC Initiative, WebVisible Enterprise will produce bid, keyword, ad, budget, and other recommendations based on the goals you've specified.

• What is a goal?

  While SEM goals are unique to each company (i.e. increasing conversions, keeping down your CPA, generating leads, etc.), they primarily fall into two different categories: cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and cost-per-click (CPC). Just provide us with these dollar amounts and WebVisible Enterprise can help you optimize your search campaign to reach your goals.

• What is a CPA goal?

  CPA means cost-per-acquisition. This is the maximum price you are willing to pay to acquire a new customer, lead, or sale. If you choose a CPA goal, just provide WebVisible Enterprise with the dollar amount and we'll automatically produce recommendations to help you meet this goal.

• How do I determine my CPA goal?

  You may not know what your CPA is, but if you have a budget and know how many customer leads or sales you'd like to acquire, this simple formula will give you a starting point:

  • Marketing budget / Target number of (customers, leads, or sales) = Target cost-per-acquisition

  
  Check out the section on CPA to learn more.

• What is a CPC goal?

  CPC means cost-per-click. CPC is an appropriate goal if you just want to drive traffic to a site or page. It's also appropriate if you don't have the ability to track acquisitions. In this case, your CPC goal reflects the maximum amount you're willing to pay per-click to attract visitors to your site.
  See the section on CPC to learn more.

• How do I determine my Initiative goal?

  Since ad objects are unique to each company, determining a goal can be challenging. Here are some ways to determine your own goals.

  • Existing data from PPC campaigns will tell you, on average, what you've been paying per-click or per-acquisition. This data can provide realistic CPC or CPA goals for your company.
  • Companies often assign CPA targets for various marketing efforts. Your company may determine that trade show customers should be acquired at no more than $500 each, e-mail campaign customers at no more than $25 each, and PPC customers at no more than $29 each. Check with your company to see if these metrics exist.