9 Expert Tips on How to Make the Most of Your B2B PPC Campaign

If you’re a B2B business, do you know that one of the best ways to reach a new audience online is via a PPC, or pay-per-click, campaign?

I was chatting with my friend and frequent collaborator Kathryn McGeehan of MarketWise about a new project when we got on the topic of PPC and how it is especially effective for B2B companies. Luckily she was more than happy to share her tips, so here is how to make the most of your B2B PPC campaign:

1. Start with your goals

What you are trying to accomplish with your PPC campaign? Typically, it’s sending leads to a sales team, so you’ll want to capture a name and email address that can go into a lead nurturing system or be handed off to the salesperson.

Your goal could also be to boost sales. Maybe you want people to buy something, like a ticket to an upcoming event, in which case you would send them to Eventbrite or an ecommerce page.

2. Optimize your landing page for lead capture

Make it as easy as possible for people to take action once they get to landing page. Either send them to the product or service sales page where they can complete a purchase, or capture their name and email address before they take advantage of a free offer.

If you’re all about lead capture, make sure you keep text short and to the point; focus on the benefits of the offer; do not make more than one offer; and remove all links and navigation so the lead cannot leave the page.

Consider linking that landing page to your customer relationship management (CRM) tool so leads feed directly into it and thus the lead nurturing proccess can start immediately.

3. Be consistent with keyword use

The keywords you use in your PPC ads have to carry that same theme in the ad to the landing page. Write the landing page copy first, then write the headline, and then write the ad copy. Compare it to your keyword list to ensure you’re using the correct keywords everywhere.

4. Check your quality score

Google’s PPC system has a quality score that measures a good user experience – not lead conversion. This makes sense, as Google wants to sell clicks, so that means the quality score actually measures your ad’s click-through rate (CTR).

6. Conduct A/B testing

Once you have that keyword-rich copy and headline developed, do A/B testing and monitor the CTR and the conversion rate. The CTR will tell you if the ad copy is resonating. The conversion rate tells you that something is not working on the landing page. If you have a low CTR, go back and look at that quality score.

In terms of rates, a 2-3% CTR is and 5-6% conversion rate are good. That might sound surprisingly low, but if you can generate a good ROI based on the revenue you make from new clients, it’s worth it.

7. Advertise on Google’s search network

There are two systems in the Google ad platform: the search network and display network. Search network ads pop up in search results after someone conducts a Google search using your keyword.

If you choose to advertise on the display network, Google looks at what the page says and determines whether or not to display your ad. The problem is that this is not search driven so your ad may appear on pages that are not remotely related to it. Naturally, ads on the search network convert much better, so use it.

8. Geo-target for the right audience

Make sure you’re targeting your ads for the right audience at the right time. You can do this by geo-targeting to reach the right audience and by using day parting so your ads show on certain days and at certain times, like only on weeknights.

Bonus tip: Use your PPC campaign to test SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) takes a long time to test. You have write copy for your website, optimize the site, add links, keep the site updated, etc. With a PPC campaign, you can quickly test headlines to see what gets the best click-to-open rate (CTR) or change offers to see what resonates the most.

Yes it costs money upfront to do this, but it will save you time and money down the road because you will learn what verbiage and offers make people take action.

Image courtesy of Death to the Stock Photo