One great reference of all-time utilizing the Cinderella Story has to come from the obscure 80’s comedy CaddyShack.

“What an incredible Cinderella story, this unknown comes outta no where to lead the pack, at Augusta. He’s on his final hole, he’s about 455 yards away – he’s gonna hit about a two-iron I think. Oh he got all of that one! The crowd is standing on its feet here, the normally reserved Augusta crowd – going wild – for this young Cinderella, he’s come outta no where, he’s got about 350 yards left, he’s gonna hit about a five-iron, don’t you think? He’s got a beautiful backswing – that’s – Oh he got all of that one! He’s gotta be pleased with that, the crowd is just on its feet here, uh – He’s the Cinderella boy, uh – tears in his eyes I guess as he lines up this last shot, he’s got about 195 yards left, he’s got about a – its looks like he’s got about an eight-iron. This crowd has gone deathly silent, the Cinderella story, outta no where, a former greenskeeper now – about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac – It’s in the Hole!”

What does this have to do with Pay-Per-Click (PPC) marketing?  Everything… In today’s market there are so many businesses jumping into PPC just in hopes of being that one Cinderella story that magically takes the wrong club and makes magic happen.  Similarly many of those in PPC are utilizing the wrong messaging, and landing pages to get the success and the jump to “perfection”.  When you take a step back and look at why you are in PPC, is it because of one of the following?

  • My competitors are doing it, so I feel I should as well?
  • I need traffic and I need it now.
  • I gotta get the word out about my business ASAP.



Well, let me tell you… All of these are legitimate reasons to be in the market, however, you have to have an underlying business goal of what you are looking to get out of PPC or you have just flagged yourself as a Cinderella story hoping it all works, and in some cases yes it does. In the long run, don’t hold your breathe. My point here is that planning, structure and the right strategy are key to making that hole in one, if you layout the facts of what you are trying to accomplish, how much you are willing to pay for an acquisition and exactly what the cycle will be from impression to conversion for a consumer or business you will succeed in pay per click with a very effective spend!

So yes I know it costs money to have someone manage your campaigns full-time, many businesses don’t realize the effectiveness of match type, geography, time of day and quality score and how that vastly impacts your PPC strategy. So if you aren’t certain on just how to execute, do your homework. Just like buying a house, you aren’t going to buy it  without checking out all the details and doing your research on it. In the meantime, keep on strategizing and getting your business on the upSurge!

Cheers!