EVENTS CEOs' MARKETING SERIES – Part 5: 4 important questions to ask your event marketer before spending more money on PPC
Team MPG is very focused on both commercial results and value creation - as we believe every event marketer should be.
So we don’t like seeing money being wasted on poorly managed PPC campaigns that negatively impact growth and erode profit margins. In my recent LinkedIn article I have laid out how and why this happens far more often than most CEOs & CFOs would care to admit - or even be aware of.
In the latest of our series of blogs written for events business leaders, here are 4 questions we think it is essential for you to ask your event marketers.
QUESTION #1: Are we proving ROI by tracking actual conversions?
If your PPC ROI reports only give you impressions and/or clicks (= web traffic volume) - you’re looking at vanity metrics only. These do not tell you - in any way - the number of leads, registrations and how much revenue your PPC is delivering for you.
If you’re only being given data on impressions and clicks / web traffic volume to indicate PPC success, it means the conversion tracking within your analytics is not properly set up. And this then also means that the algorithms running your PPC campaigns are misfiring - probably pushing your ads and collecting clicks from the wrong people. In other words, you’re wasting what you’re paying for every click.
If your analytics specialist or marketer says your tech stack won’t allow conversion tracking, we suggest you get MPG to take a look. Even if you have a tricky tech stack, we can usually find a work around. Contact us via this form to find out how we can help you with your conversion tracking.
QUESTION #2: Are we training the AI-led algorithms in our PPC campaigns in the best way to find the right targets?
PPC for B2B events is not plug-and-play. Platforms aren’t built for your audience by default. To succeed, your marketers need both strategic understanding and hands-on skill to train the algorithm to reach the right people.
You need humans in the mix to be monitoring which search terms are working, how different geos are performing and keeping a close eye on the quality of leads and registrations coming through. And those humans also need to act fast if they see campaigns targeting the wrong people. You can’t rely on Google to do this, no matter how good Google’s AI is these days.
See our recent blog on how AI in PPC for events is going to be game-changing in 2026, and where you need humans in the mix.
QUESTION #3: Are our ads showing relevant, audience-focused messaging - synced with our event marketing campaign cycle?
Even with great targeting, poor messaging will tank your results. Your ads should be aligned to key event milestones, like speaker drops, early bird deadlines, and agenda announcements, while building interest and generating urgency of action.
Visuals and copy should reflect the excitement of your event and be consistent with your wider comms, from email to socials to your website. Be very careful of AI-generated images and videos created automatically within the PPC platforms as these are generally poor quality and can do long term damage to your brand. The last thing you want is AI-slop representing your event being seen by your most precious customers!
QUESTION #4: Is our website optimised to turn traffic into revenue?
If your GA4 (the latest version of Google Analytics) is set up correctly, it should show you how your website is converting PPC-driven traffic into registrations or sales. If it doesn’t, or if your conversion rate is poor, this is your highest-priority fix.
At a recent MPG gathering for a range of event marketers, only 4% of attendees said they were confident in their analytics setup. That is very worrying because when a good analytics setup is lacking, it doesn’t just hurt PPC but undermines every channel you’re investing in.
In summary…
To set yourself up for success in 2026, make sure your event marketers can confidently answer YES to all four of these questions.
If your event marketers seem uncertain about how to answer these questions or you hear any resounding NO’s to any of the above, then get in touch for a free initial consultation on what to do next.
So that you don’t miss future instalments of this Events CEOs’ Series, subscribe to MPG Insights to get email notification as soon as we publish the next future instalments.
