Connecting the Dots

At the heart of effective B2B PPC strategies lies a fundamental understanding of Pay-Per-Click advertising and its nuanced application in the business-to-business environment. Unlike the direct-to-consumer (B2C) landscape, where immediate purchases often drive success, B2B transactions typically involve longer sales cycles and a complex web of decision-makers. In the B2C world, the goal is often to capture a wide audience; conversely, in B2B, precision targeting is paramount. In this intricate landscape of marketing, keywords, and ad placements, B2B PPC requires a strategic approach that considers the longer decision-making processes, the importance of lead quality over quantity, and the necessity of aligning with the specific needs and pain points of businesses. As we delve into the advanced strategies ahead, keep in mind that the success of B2B PPC campaigns hinges on connecting these distinctive dots to create a tailored and effective advertising approach for businesses.

PPC Jargons Deciphered

Before we dive in, let’s outline some important B2B PPC terms. Understanding these terms is essential for navigating the complex world of B2B advertising.

• Cost Per Lead (CPL): The cost associated with acquiring a new lead through your PPC campaign. For B2B marketers, monitoring CPL is crucial for evaluating the efficiency of lead generation efforts.
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): A metric that measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. B2B marketers should prioritize a positive ROAS to ensure a profitable PPC campaign.
• Lead Scoring: A system that assigns values to leads based on their behavior and engagement. In the B2B context, understanding lead scoring is vital for prioritizing and nurturing high-value leads.
• Account-Based Marketing (ABM): A strategic approach where marketing efforts are concentrated on specific high-value accounts rather than a broader audience. B2B PPC often integrates ABM for precise targeting.
• Multi-Touch Attribution: B2B sales cycles are typically longer and involve multiple touchpoints. Multi-touch attribution models help marketers understand the contribution of each touchpoint in the customer journey to a conversion.
• CRM Integration: The integration of PPC campaign data with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. This allows B2B marketers to track leads from initial click through conversion and align marketing efforts with sales data.
• Offline Conversions: By setting up offline conversion tracking in CRMs like Hubspot, you can connect online engagements to offline outcomes, such as sales calls, in-person meetings, or closed deals.

By familiarizing yourself with these PPC jargons tailored to the B2B context, you’ll be better equipped to navigate and optimize your campaigns for success.

Practical Guide: PPC Strategies for B2B

Enabling Successful Campaigns

Now that we’ve laid the groundwork by understanding the nuances of B2B PPC and decoding essential jargon, let’s dive into actionable insights and strategies for implementing successful campaigns in the B2B realm.

1. Channel Selection & Precise Targeting: When choosing the optimal PPC platform for your B2B campaign, the first step is to articulate your goals clearly. Whether you aim for lead generation, brand awareness, or increased web traffic, these objectives will serve as your compass in platform selection. Google Ads and Bing Ads, offering versatility, reach broad audiences, while LinkedIn Ads provide a direct channel to professionals and decision-makers. Factor in your budget, as platforms differ in cost per click (CPC). While Google Ads and Bing Ads are recognized for cost-effectiveness, LinkedIn Ads may entail a higher CPC. Evaluate ad formats in relation to your goals and messaging, and scrutinize keyword targeting, ad placement, and creative capabilities for each platform. Your decision should also be influenced by testing and optimization features, coupled with robust tools, like Hubspot, Salesforce, and GA4, for tracking return on investment (ROI). In B2B PPC, precision is key. Ensure your campaigns are meticulously targeted towards decision-makers within businesses. Leverage the detailed targeting options available on platforms like LinkedIn, honing in on specific industries, job titles, and company sizes. This focused approach increases the likelihood of reaching those with the authority to make purchasing decisions. We’ve found that utilizing Job Function targeting and Member Skills reaches a wider audience than Job Titles and typically results in a lower CPC.

2. Write Compelling Ad Copy: It’s important to create ad copies that speak directly to the pain points and aspirations of your B2B audience. What problem does your service solve? You’ll want to highlight the value propositions of your products or services and emphasize how they address the unique challenges faced by businesses. You’ll also want to utilize relevant keywords to capture attention and encourage clicks in your Google or Bing campaigns in order to ensure a high quality score. Within LinkedIn, we recommend utilizing single image lead generation ads, but you want to be sure to select the correct ad type and assets based on where the user is within the marketing funnel. LinkedIn offers a variety of ad formats tailored for different B2B marketing goals. Choosing the right ad type (single image, video, lead generation, website visit, etc) depends on your specific objectives, whether it’s increasing brand visibility, generating leads, or driving engagement within the B2B community.

3. Strategic Keyword Selection: Within Google Ads and Bing Ads, you’ll want to optimize your keyword strategies for B2B by focusing on high-intent keywords specific to your industry. Consider the terminology commonly used within the B2B space, including industry jargon and product-specific keywords. Regularly review and update your keyword list to stay aligned with evolving trends and audience behavior. We’ve found that utilizing long-tail keywords will result in higher qualified leads, even if this means that the quantity of leads is lower.

4. Leverage Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Integrate ABM principles into your PPC campaigns for a more personalized and targeted approach, especially within LinkedIn Ads. Identify high-value accounts, tailor your ad content to their needs, and allocate budget strategically to maximize impact. ABM aligns your PPC efforts with broader marketing strategies, fostering stronger relationships with key accounts.

5. Implement Conversion Tracking & Offline Conversions: Robust conversion tracking is the backbone of successful B2B PPC campaigns. Set up conversion tracking pixels on your website to monitor specific actions such as form submissions, downloads, or demo requests. This data is invaluable for assessing campaign effectiveness, optimizing for high-performing keywords, and refining ad messaging. You’ll also want to integrate conversion tracking within GA4 or Hubspot so ensure leads are flowing through accurately. Additionally, setting up offline conversions through HubSpot can provide valuable insights and enhance your understanding of the customer journey. By integrating offline conversion data, such as sales made outside of the online platform or interactions that occur in the physical realm, you gain a more comprehensive view of how your marketing efforts translate into real-world results. This enables you to attribute conversions more accurately, analyze the complete impact of your campaigns, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your marketing strategies.

6. Maximize LinkedIn Advertising Opportunities: Given its professional networking focus, LinkedIn is a powerhouse for B2B PPC. Utilize LinkedIn Advertising to target specific industries, job roles, and company characteristics. Leverage sponsored content, sponsored InMail, and display ads to reach a professional audience with precision. LinkedIn Retargeting is also a great option for continuing to nurture users who have interacted with your ads, as we know it may take multiple touch-points for a user to convert.

7. Optimize Landing Pages for Conversions: Ensure your landing pages are tailored for B2B conversions. Clearly articulate the value proposition, incorporate trust-building elements such as client testimonials or case studies, and streamline the conversion process. A well-optimized landing page enhances the likelihood of converting clicks into high-quality leads.

8. Integrate 6Sense with LinkedIn: For B2B marketers aspiring to excel in account-based marketing, the integration of 6Sense with LinkedIn emerges as a transformative strategy. 6Sense, powered by artificial intelligence, excels in identifying and prioritizing high-potential accounts. When seamlessly integrated with LinkedIn, this combination becomes a powerhouse, elevating your capacity to engage decision-makers through personalized and targeted content with key accounts and contacts lists.

The Power of Remarketing

B2B PPC plays a pivotal role in remarketing efforts, serving as a strategic tool to nurture leads through the intricate and often protracted B2B sales cycle. As we mentioned above, remarketing in the B2B context involves reconnecting with users who have previously engaged with your brand, providing an opportunity to reinforce your message and influence decision-makers at various stages of the buying journey. 

LinkedIn is a highly effective platform for B2B remarketing due to its professional and business-focused environment. With a user base comprising professionals, decision-makers, and key stakeholders, LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity to reconnect with and influence individuals at various stages of the B2B sales cycle. The platform’s precise targeting options allow advertisers to tailor remarketing efforts based on job titles, industries, company sizes, and other professional characteristics along with custom single image remarketing lists. This specificity ensures that ads reach the right audience, fostering brand recall and engagement. 

Tailoring Ad Groups

Organizing ad groups in Google Ads and Bing Ads based on the buying funnel stage is a strategic approach that can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your campaigns. By aligning campaigns and ad groups with different stages of the funnel, you can tailor your messaging and targeting to match the specific needs and mindset of users at each stage of the decision-making process. Here’s a breakdown of how you might structure ad groups:

Top of Funnel (TOFU):

• Objective: Build Awareness
• Ad Content: Focus on introducing your brand, product, or service.
• Keywords: Use general and informational keywords related to your industry.

Middle of Funnel (MOFU):

• Objective: Generate Interest and Consideration
• Ad Content: Provide more detailed information about your offerings.
• Keywords: Use a mix of broad and more specific keywords to capture user interest.

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU):

• Objective: Drive Conversions
• Ad Content: Emphasize value propositions, promotions, or unique selling points.
• Keywords: Focus on specific, high-intent and long-tail keywords related to your products or services.

This funnel-based organization allows you to deliver tailored messages that guide users seamlessly through the buying process. It also enables you to allocate budget and bidding strategies more effectively, ensuring that you invest more heavily in areas of the funnel where users are closer to conversion. Regular monitoring and optimization of these ad groups based on performance data will further refine your strategy and enhance overall campaign efficiency.

Importance of Ad Personalization

The Personal Touch

Personalizing ad copy in B2B marketing is a powerful strategy that can elevate campaign performance and foster brand recognition among buyers. By tailoring ad content to address the specific needs, challenges, and aspirations of B2B audiences, marketers create a more engaging and relevant experience. This approach goes beyond generic messaging, resonating with decision-makers on a personal level and establishing a deeper connection. Personalized ad copy demonstrates an understanding of the intricacies of the B2B landscape, building trust and credibility. Moreover, it allows brands to showcase their expertise and position themselves as valuable partners in the buyer’s journey. As a result, personalized ad copy not only enhances campaign effectiveness by driving higher engagement and conversions but also contributes to long-term brand loyalty and recognition within the B2B market.

LinkedIn stands out as an exceptional channel for personalizing ad copy in the B2B realm. The platform’s dynamic ad formats, such as sponsored content and InMail, provide opportunities for creative and personalized storytelling. By tapping into the professional context of LinkedIn, B2B marketers can deliver ad content that not only aligns with the individual needs of their audience but also establishes a sense of authenticity and credibility, ultimately contributing to more effective and impactful campaigns. We highly recommend testing personalized messaging within your ABM marketing efforts.

While personalization is important, tailoring PPC strategies based on the buyer’s sales cycle is also crucial. In the awareness stage, you’ll want to focus on creating compelling ad content (Single Image or Video) that educates and establishes your brand as an industry authority. This could be in the form of a content download, ebook, or report.  Within the consideration stage, we recommend utilizing Single Image ads or Message Ads to highlight the benefits of your product and address pain points, offering valuable content such as eBooks, webinars, or case studies as website visit ads or lead generation ads. As prospects move into the decision stage, you’ll want to implement persuasive calls-to-action to try and move users to conversion. We recommend utilizing LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms to streamline the conversion process in order to offer free trials or product demos. By aligning personalization with the buyer’s journey, B2B marketers can effectively guide prospects from initial awareness to conversion.

Channelizing PPC for Various Goals

The goals of B2B and B2C advertisers differ significantly due to the distinct nature of their target audiences and the sales processes involved. In the B2B landscape, the focus often revolves around establishing long-term business relationships and nurturing leads through a more complex sales cycle. Common B2B advertiser goals center on actions that indicate a deeper level of engagement and commitment from potential clients.

For B2B advertisers, actions like free trial sign-ups and case study downloads are paramount. Free trial sign-ups allow businesses to showcase the tangible value of their products or services, enabling potential clients to experience firsthand how the offering addresses their specific needs. Case study downloads play a crucial role in building trust and credibility. B2B buyers are typically risk-averse and seek evidence of successful implementations before committing. Therefore, downloading case studies provides decision-makers with real-world examples of how the product or service has positively impacted similar businesses. This could lead to a demo request down the road.

On the other hand, B2C advertisers often focus on more immediate and transactional goals. Actions like product purchases, newsletter subscriptions, or social media engagement are common objectives. B2C sales cycles are generally shorter, and the emphasis is often on driving quick conversions and maximizing transactional value.

While both B2B and B2C advertisers aim to drive actions that align with their overall business objectives, the specific goals and actions chosen reflect the unique dynamics of their respective markets. B2B advertisers prioritize actions that demonstrate a commitment to the brand and a willingness to engage in a more extended partnership, such as free trial sign-ups, case study downloads, and demo requests, reflecting the intricate and considered nature of B2B purchasing decisions.

Maximizing PPC Output

Engaging Potential Customers

Engaging with potential clients is crucial for converting leads into loyal customers, and effective follow-up strategies play a pivotal role in this process, especially after acquiring leads through PPC campaigns. Once a user has shown interest through a PPC-generated lead, timely and personalized follow-up is essential to nurture that interest into a meaningful relationship and potential sale. Email follow-up strategies, in particular, provide an avenue for delivering targeted content, addressing specific needs, and building brand trust. Personalized emails can offer additional information, exclusive offers, or invite further interaction, keeping the brand top-of-mind for potential clients. Establishing a structured and automated email follow-up sequence ensures consistent communication, helps guide leads through the sales funnel, and maximizes the chances of converting PPC-generated leads into valuable, long-term customers.

Importance of Video Ads

Video ads play a pivotal role in B2B PPC marketing, particularly in building brand awareness and fostering a deeper connection with the target audience. In the B2B landscape, where trust and credibility are paramount, video ads offer a dynamic and engaging medium to convey complex messages effectively. They provide an opportunity to showcase a brand’s expertise, products, or services in a visually compelling manner, leaving a lasting impression on decision-makers. Video content has the ability to convey not just what a product or service does but also how it solves real business challenges. As a result, video ads contribute significantly to brand storytelling, creating a memorable brand identity and influencing the perception of the brand within the B2B audience. In essence, the importance of video ads lies in their unique capacity to humanize complex B2B offerings, drive brand recall, and establish a compelling presence in the minds of key stakeholders.

Multi-Channel Stratagem

By adopting a holistic approach and strategically utilizing diverse channels such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, and LinkedIn Ads, advertisers can maximize their reach and impact. Utilizing a CRM, such a Hubspot or Salesforce, will then help bridge the gap between lead submission and closing the deal, so we highly recommend this being part of the overall structure. This multi-channel strategy recognizes that different channels serve distinct purposes in the customer journey and that a diversified approach allows for a more nuanced targeting of diverse audience segments. It encourages marketers to leverage the strengths of each platform while considering the specific preferences and behaviors of their target audience and moving the user through the marketing funnel. By strategically combining the strengths of various platforms, you create a more resilient and impactful B2B marketing campaign and reallocate budget between platforms to increase ROI.

Navigating SEM and Lead Generation

Qualitative Differences

Within the landscape of Search Engine Marketing, the quality of leads can significantly vary, underscoring the necessity of discerning between prospects. While quantity is an essential metric, focusing solely on lead volume can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Qualitative differences in leads highlight the need for sophisticated lead grading systems or softwares that prioritize follow-ups based on the likelihood of conversion, often integrated into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce. These systems, as mentioned, assess leads based on criteria such as engagement level, demographics, and behaviors, assigning a grade or score to each lead. By leveraging CRM-powered lead grading, marketers gain a nuanced understanding of lead quality, allowing them to prioritize follow-ups and allocate resources strategically. This approach not only refines the follow-up process but also enhances the effectiveness of lead nurturing throughout the entire customer journey. We recommend gaining access to your client’s CRM system in order to understand lead scoring further, as this can help with campaign optimizations.

Lead Generation

In B2B lead generation, PPC advertising plays a pivotal role, offering a targeted and measurable approach to reaching potential clients. However, the significance of PPC goes beyond any single channel (Google, LinkedIn, Bing, etc), particularly in the context of longer sales cycles characteristic of B2B transactions. A comprehensive B2B PPC strategy involves evaluating and utilizing multiple channels to effectively engage with decision-makers throughout the extended decision-making process. While PPC provides immediate visibility, its true impact is realized when integrated with other channels to create a cohesive and multi-faceted marketing approach. This approach acknowledges the intricate B2B sales journey, ensuring that PPC not only generates leads but also contributes to nurturing and guiding those leads through the various stages of the sales funnel. By evaluating beyond a single channel, businesses can optimize their PPC efforts to align seamlessly with the nuanced dynamics of B2B lead generation, ultimately driving sustained engagement and conversions.

Conclusion
In conclusion, our exploration of advancing PPC strategies for B2B has unveiled a multifaceted approach to navigating the intricacies of the business-to-business landscape. From understanding the nuanced differences between B2C and B2B environments to deciphering essential PPC jargon specific to B2B marketing, we’ve laid a foundation for strategic excellence. We’ve emphasized the importance of precise targeting, compelling ad copy, and strategic keyword selection along with the integration of Account-Based Marketing (ABM), conversion tracking, offline conversions, and retargeting as indispensable for success. We’ve explored the significance of LinkedIn as a powerhouse for B2B PPC and uncovered actionable insights for enabling successful campaigns. By integrating these diverse strategies and leveraging innovative tools like Hubspot and 6Sense, marketers can orchestrate targeted, impactful, and enduring PPC initiatives that resonate with businesses, drive conversions, and maximize return on investment. We hope you are now well equipped to optimize your B2B campaigns with confidence, propelling your ROI to new heights!

Advancing PPC Strategies for B2B: Bridging the Gap with Innovative Tactics and Best Practices is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

Understanding B2B PPC

What is B2B PPC? 

B2B PPC, or Business-to-Business Pay-Per-Click advertising, is a strategy that connects B2B companies with their target audience through online advertising. In the digital age, it plays a pivotal role in reaching decision-makers, influencers, and key players in the B2B space. The importance of B2B PPC lies in its ability to drive highly targeted traffic, generate leads, and facilitate business growth.

The Best B2B PPC Tools 

Before we dive into the specifics of B2B PPC campaigns, let’s take a moment to introduce some of the major PPC tools that can significantly enhance your B2B marketing efforts.

• Google Ads: Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is arguably the most popular and versatile PPC platform available. It offers a wide range of features, including keyword research, audience targeting, and ad creation. Google Ads enables you to reach a global audience, allowing you to tailor your B2B campaigns for different geographic regions and industries. With the right strategies, Google Ads can be a game-changer for your B2B marketing efforts.
• Bing Ads: Often overshadowed by its counterpart, Google Ads, Bing Ads offers a distinct and valuable avenue for reaching a diverse audience. While Google undoubtedly commands a massive user base, Bing caters to a distinct audience that can be especially valuable for B2B campaigns. Studies have shown that Bing users often exhibit different demographic characteristics, with a higher average age and greater purchasing power. This unique user profile aligns well with the decision-makers and professionals commonly targeted in B2B marketing. Bing’s integration with Microsoft products, including LinkedIn, adds an extra layer of advantage for B2B marketers. This connection facilitates more targeted and personalized advertising, as marketers can leverage professional data from LinkedIn to refine their audience targeting on Bing Ads.
• LinkedIn Ads: LinkedIn, the professional networking platform, is tailor-made for B2B marketing. LinkedIn Ads allow you to connect with decision-makers, industry professionals, and potential clients in a highly targeted manner. You can specify your audience based on job titles, industries, company size, and more. This level of precision is unmatched in the world of B2B PPC, making LinkedIn Ads a go-to choice for businesses aiming to reach a specific, business-oriented audience.
• GA4, Hubspot, & 6Sense: In the dynamic landscape of B2B marketing, leveraging other advanced tools is essential for success, and GA4, HubSpot, and 6Sense stand out as integral components of a robust marketing arsenal. GA4, Google’s latest analytics iteration, introduces a sophisticated event-driven model and cross-platform tracking, empowering businesses with comprehensive insights into user behavior. HubSpot, an all-encompassing inbound marketing and sales platform, streamlines customer engagement through its CRM, offering a centralized platform for managing leads, nurturing relationships, and analyzing data. Meanwhile, 6Sense takes B2B marketing to new heights with its account-based orchestration, utilizing AI to identify and prioritize high-potential accounts for personalized engagement. Collectively, these tools provide B2B marketers with the means to understand user behavior, streamline marketing and sales processes, and focus efforts on the most promising accounts, ultimately driving effective and data-driven strategies for business growth.

In the upcoming sections, we’ll delve deeper into some of these major tools and how to make the most of them in your B2B PPC campaigns. With the right strategy and these tools at your disposal, you’ll be well-equipped to drive targeted traffic and generate quality leads for your B2B business.

The Difference Between B2B and B2C PPC

When it comes to PPC advertising, understanding the nuances of B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) campaigns is essential. The key distinction between these two approaches lies in the nature of the target audience. B2B PPC is directed towards businesses, and typically, the audience consists of decision-makers, industry professionals, and companies. In contrast, B2C PPC aims to capture the attention of individual consumers. This fundamental difference significantly impacts bidding strategies. In the B2B realm, competition is often fierce, with longer sales cycles and higher stakes. As a result, bidding for keywords and ad placements in B2B PPC tends to be more competitive and, consequently, more expensive. To effectively reach and engage with B2B audiences, higher bid needs are often the norm. The quality of leads and potential business opportunities in the B2B space makes this investment worthwhile, but it’s vital to recognize and adapt to the unique bidding dynamics of B2B PPC advertising.

Setting Up Your B2b Strategy for Success 

How to Create A Successful B2B Campaign

Setting up a B2B PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaign requires careful planning and execution. In this section, we’ll specifically walk you through the step-by-step process of creating a successful B2B campaign:

1. Define Your Goals and Objectives: Begin by establishing clear and specific goals for your B2B PPC campaign. What do you want to achieve? Whether it’s lead generation, brand awareness, or driving sales, defining your objectives will guide your campaign strategy and help you choose the right platform.

2. Understand Your Target Audience: Identify your ideal B2B audience. Who are the decision-makers, influencers, and professionals you want to reach? Consider factors such as job titles, industries, company size, and geographic location. Understanding your audience is crucial for precise targeting.

3. Keyword Research: Perform thorough keyword research to identify the search terms and phrases your target audience is likely to use. Tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Ahrefs can help you discover relevant keywords. Focus on long-tail keywords that are specific to your industry and have lower competition and likely result in more qualified leads.

4. Select the Right PPC Platform: Choose the PPC platform that aligns with your goals and audience. Google Ads, Bing Ads and LinkedIn Ads are popular choices for B2B campaigns. Each platform offers unique features and targeting options, so select the one that best suits your needs and budget. In an ideal situation, both campaigns would be utilized to maximize results.

5. Create Compelling Ad Copy: Write engaging and relevant ad copy that addresses the pain points and needs of your B2B audience. Highlight the unique value proposition of your product or service. Craft different ad variations to test what resonates best with your audience based on the chosen platform. Within LinkedIn Ads, you want to be sure to select the correct ad type and assets. LinkedIn offers a variety of ad formats tailored for different B2B marketing goals. Choosing the right ad type (single image, video, lead generation, website visit, etc) depends on your specific objectives, whether it’s increasing brand visibility, generating leads, or driving engagement within the B2B community. Experimenting with different ad formats and assets (content downloads, product ads, webinars) can help fine-tune your strategy and maximize results in reaching your B2B audience effectively.

6. Landing Page Optimization: Ensure that your landing page is tailored to your campaign’s goals. It should provide a seamless user experience, with a clear call-to-action (CTA) and a form for lead capture. Optimize the page for mobile responsiveness and fast loading times.

7. Budget and Bid Strategy: Set your daily and monthly budget for the campaign depending on the platform and objective. B2B PPC can be competitive, so allocate a budget that allows you to compete effectively. Determine your bid strategy, whether it’s manual or automated, and monitor your bids regularly.

8. Ad Extensions: Leverage ad extensions to enhance the visibility and appeal of your Google & Bing ads. These extensions can include site link extensions, callout extensions, and structured snippets, providing more information to potential clients.

9. Tracking, Analytics, and CRM Integration: Implement conversion tracking and integrate with Google Analytics. This allows you to monitor the performance of your PPC campaign, track conversions, and assess ROI (Return on Investment). If you are utilizing LinkedIn, lead generation ads would be the recommended format. Additionally, integrating with CRMs like Hubspot would create a centralized hub for data and lead management. HubSpot’s CRM data can be leveraged to refine and optimize targeting on Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads. B2B marketers can use detailed customer insights and engagement history to create highly targeted and personalized campaigns, reaching the right audience with precision on both platforms.

10. Retargeting: Consider setting up retargeting campaigns to re-engage visitors who previously interacted with your website but did not convert. This can be a valuable strategy for B2B lead generation.

11. Monitor and Optimize: Regularly review your campaign’s performance, whether you are running on Google, Bing, or LinkedIn. Make data-driven decisions to adjust your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not. Optimize your campaign for maximum efficiency and results by modifying keywords or targeting.

By following these steps and consistently monitoring and optimizing your B2B PPC campaigns, you can increase your chances of success and achieve your campaign objectives. Remember that B2B PPC is an ongoing process, and continuous refinement is key to long-term success.

The Importance of Integrating Google Ads and Google Analytics

Integrating Google Analytics and Google Ads is vital for B2B PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns for several important reasons:

1. Comprehensive Data Insights: By linking Google Analytics and Google Ads, you gain a holistic view of your B2B PPC campaigns. This integration allows you to track user behavior beyond just ad clicks. You can see what visitors do on your website after clicking on your ads, providing valuable insights into their interactions and conversions.

2. Enhanced Conversion Tracking: Google Analytics provides advanced conversion tracking capabilities. By implementing conversion goals or e-commerce tracking, you can measure the specific actions users take on your site after clicking on your PPC ads. This is crucial for B2B campaigns, where lead generation and conversion tracking are paramount.

3. Better Understanding of User Behavior: Google Analytics offers detailed reports on user behavior, including bounce rates, time spent on site, and page views. This information helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your landing pages and identify areas for improvement.

4. Segmentation and Audience Insights: With Google Analytics, you can segment your B2B audience data based on various criteria such as traffic source, location, device, and more. This segmentation allows you to gain a deeper understanding of different audience segments, enabling more precise targeting and optimization.

5. Attribution Modeling: B2B purchase decisions often involve multiple touchpoints. Google Analytics enables you to experiment with different attribution models to determine which interactions played a significant role in converting users. This is crucial for understanding the customer journey in the B2B space.

6. Behavior Flow Analysis: Behavior flow analysis in Google Analytics provides a visual representation of how users navigate through your website. It helps you identify where users drop off and where they convert, offering insights into the user journey.

Navigating the Buying Funnel on LinkedIn

Understanding the nuances of the buying funnel is paramount for B2B marketers aiming to guide prospects seamlessly from awareness to conversion. LinkedIn, with its diverse user base of professionals and decision-makers, provides a unique platform to tailor your messaging and creative assets for each stage of the buying journey.

1. Awareness Stage: At the top of the funnel, the goal is to create brand awareness and capture the attention of your target audience. You’ll want to create visually engaging Sponsored Content (single image or video ad types) that introduces your brand, showcasing its value proposition and unique selling points. We recommend targeting a broad but relevant audience based on job function, skills, industries, and interests. Use compelling visuals and concise copy to spark interest and encourage users to explore further. You may also consider utilizing content downloads or informational reports in the form of lead generation for this stage as well.

2. Consideration Stage: As prospects move into the consideration stage, they are exploring solutions and evaluating potential providers. We recommend utilizing Single Image ads or Message Ads to reach this audience. Highlight the key benefits of your product and address pain points, offering valuable content such as eBooks, webinars, or case studies as website visit ads or lead generation ad format. You’ll want to refine and narrow your audience targeting to include specific job titles or functions and company sizes, ensuring your message reaches decision-makers actively considering solutions in your industry. You may want to consider testing Single Image Retargeting audiences created from the Brand Awareness campaigns in order to reach users who have already interacted with the ads.

3. Decision Stage: In the decision stage, your goal is to convert prospects into leads. We recommend utilizing LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms within Sponsored Content to streamline the conversion process. Offer free trials or product demos, and target a more refined audience comprising individuals with decision-making authority. Implement compelling visuals and concise copy that emphasizes the unique value your solution brings.

4. Post-Purchase and Advocacy: After conversion, focus on nurturing customer relationships and turning clients into advocates. Share success stories, industry insights, and exclusive offers through Message Ads and Sponsored Content. Target existing customers and similar audiences to encourage repeat business and referrals. Leverage LinkedIn’s targeting options to ensure your messaging reaches those who have already engaged with your brand.

By aligning your LinkedIn ad strategy with the stages of the buying funnel, you create a tailored and impactful journey for your audience. This strategic approach maximizes the potential of LinkedIn’s advertising capabilities, helping you nurture relationships, drive conversions, and ultimately, foster long-term customer loyalty.

The Power of Integrated Tools in B2B Campaigns

In the dynamic realm of B2B marketing, the true potential lies not just in individual tools but in their seamless integration. Let’s explore how setting up offline conversions, linking HubSpot with Google Ads and LinkedIn, and integrating 6Sense with LinkedIn can create a unified and potent force for driving B2B campaign success.

1. Linking HubSpot with Google Ads and LinkedIn: HubSpot serves as a central hub for managing customer relationships, and linking it with Google Ads and LinkedIn creates a unified approach to B2B marketing. By seamlessly integrating these platforms, you enable a bidirectional flow of data. HubSpot’s CRM data enhances audience targeting on Google Ads and LinkedIn, ensuring that your campaigns are precisely tailored to the right professionals at every stage of the buying journey. This integration not only streamlines lead management but also provides a holistic view of customer interactions, allowing for more informed decision-making and personalized communication strategies.

2. Setting Up Offline Conversions: One often underestimated aspect of B2B campaigns is the ability to track offline conversions — those valuable interactions that happen beyond the digital realm. Integrating tools like Google Ads and LinkedIn with offline conversion tracking ensures that your online efforts are directly tied to real-world business impact. By setting up offline conversion tracking in CRMs like Hubspot, you can connect online engagements to offline outcomes, such as sales calls, in-person meetings, or closed deals. This integration provides a comprehensive view of your campaign’s effectiveness, allowing you to measure ROI accurately within each platform and refine your strategies based on tangible business results.

3. Integrating 6Sense with LinkedIn: For B2B marketers aiming for account-based marketing excellence, integrating 6Sense with LinkedIn is a game-changer. 6Sense leverages artificial intelligence to identify and prioritize high-potential accounts, and by integrating it with LinkedIn, you supercharge your ability to reach decision-makers with personalized and targeted content. This dynamic duo allows you to align your LinkedIn Ads with the insights gained from 6Sense, ensuring that your messages are not just reaching the right audience but resonating with their specific needs and pain points. The result is a more efficient and effective account-based marketing strategy that drives engagement and conversion.

Maximizing B2B PPC for Business Growth

Lead Generation and Lead Quality

In the B2B landscape, lead generation and qualification are the lifeblood of business growth, and B2B PPC advertising is a dynamic force driving these vital processes. B2B PPC campaigns are strategically designed to attract and engage potential clients actively seeking specific products or services. Through precise targeting and the careful selection of high-intent keywords, businesses can capture the attention of decision-makers, industry professionals, and organizations in need of solutions. As these prospects click on PPC ads and visit dedicated landing pages, they become valuable leads. Moreover, the qualification of these leads is enhanced through the granularity of PPC campaigns, as they align with the specific needs and interests of the target audience. By optimizing ad copy, utilizing appropriate keywords, and offering compelling calls to action, businesses can ensure that the leads generated are not only numerous but also highly relevant and likely to convert. B2B PPC, therefore, serves as a powerful engine for lead generation and qualification, helping businesses identify and nurture potential clients who are genuinely interested in their offerings.

Utilizing B2B PPC for Business Growth

A well-executed B2B PPC campaign is not merely a marketing expense but a strategic investment that has the potential to drive substantial business growth. By meticulously planning and managing their PPC initiatives, businesses can position themselves as industry leaders, reaching the right audience with precision. As the campaign generates high-quality leads and effectively nurtures them through compelling ad copies and landing pages, it lays the foundation for increased revenue and profitability. The growth potential doesn’t stop there. By harnessing the power of data-driven insights, businesses can continuously optimize their campaigns, reduce costs, and improve ROI. This virtuous cycle of refining strategies and expanding reach often leads to market expansion, increased market share, and sustainable growth. Moreover, as the PPC campaigns evolve and adapt to changing market dynamics, businesses can stay ahead of the competition and secure their position as industry frontrunners. In summary, a properly managed B2B PPC campaign serves as a catalyst for sustainable business growth, elevating brands and driving success in a competitive B2B landscape.

Choosing the Right B2B PPC Platform

When it comes to selecting the right PPC platform for your B2B campaign, start by defining your goals. Whether it’s lead generation, brand awareness, or web traffic, your objectives will guide your platform choice. Next, understand your B2B audience – where do they spend their online time? Google Ads and Bing Ads, both versatile options, reach wide audiences, while LinkedIn Ads offers access to professionals and decision-makers. Consider your budget too, as platforms vary in cost per click (CPC). Google Ads is known for its cost-effectiveness, but LinkedIn Ads may have a higher CPC. Take a look at ad formats, considering how they align with your goals and message. Then, assess the keyword targeting, ad placement, and creative capabilities of each platform. Testing and optimization features, along with robust ROI tracking tools, should also influence your choice.

Combining the strengths of Google or Bing Ads and LinkedIn Ads in a B2B PPC strategy can be a powerful approach. Integrating the two allows you to cast a wide net through Google Ads while simultaneously honing in on your specific B2B audience on LinkedIn. This synergy creates a comprehensive strategy where you capture both the early-stage prospects exploring solutions on Google or Bing and the high-intent professionals ready for engagement on LinkedIn. By carefully managing budgets, ad creative, and optimizing campaigns on both platforms, businesses can tap into a broader B2B market while ensuring their messaging resonates with the right audience, ultimately leading to enhanced lead generation and business growth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our exploration of B2B PPC tools has illuminated the transformative potential of these strategies for businesses seeking growth. We’ve delved into the intricacies of B2B PPC, distinguishing between Google Ads, Bing Ads, and LinkedIn Ads, and uncovering the mechanics of successful campaigns. Understanding the nuances of B2B PPC is essential, from selecting the right platform to crafting compelling ad copies that resonate with your target audience. Moreover, we’ve emphasized the significance of setting KPIs, addressing lead generation and qualification, and leveraging data-driven insights to measure and achieve campaign success.

But the journey doesn’t end here. In the ever-evolving landscape of B2B marketing, it’s time to go beyond individual tools and embrace the power of integration. Seamlessly linking tools like HubSpot with Google Ads and LinkedIn, or incorporating 6Sense for AI-driven precision, creates a unified ecosystem where data flows seamlessly, and insights from one tool enhance the capabilities of another. It’s a holistic approach that maximizes the impact of B2B PPC strategies, allowing businesses to thrive in the digital age. By understanding, implementing, and integrating these tools effectively, businesses can not only compete but lead the way in the competitive B2B landscape, driving growth and success in the digital era.

Mastering B2B PPC Tools: A Comprehensive Guide for Businesses is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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• Paid Media Advertising Services
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• SEM Agency

Although Performance Max replaced Smart Shopping, PMax can also be used outside of e-commerce. For the sake of this guide, however, we are going to focus on optimizing Performance Max for e-commerce ads, which requires an active Google Merchant Center for submitting product feeds.

If you’re hoping to level up your PMax campaigns, keep reading to learn the best practices, tips and tricks for getting optimal performance out of Performance Max.

What Is Performance Max?

Performance Max is a type of Google Ads campaign that utilizes Google’s machine learning to optimize ad placement and bidding strategies. Performance Max is a goal-based campaign type and is the replacement for Smart Shopping campaigns. If you were previously using Smart Shopping campaigns, you’ll know that Google automatically upgraded these campaigns to Performance Max in September.

How To Optimize Performance Max Campaigns

Here are the best ways to optimize your Performance Max campaigns:

1. Optimize asset groups
2. Use as many assets as possible
3. Optimize the asset group audience signals
4. Utilize Exclusions
5. Select the best bidding strategy
6. Utilize ad extensions
7. Use the video builder
8. Consider turning off URL expansion
9. Optimize the Google Merchant Center Feed
10. Utilize feed rules
11. Organize listing groups by product categories

You can learn more about each one below!

1. Optimize Asset Groups

Within Performance Max, you can create multiple asset groups.

As defined by Google, an asset group is a set of creatives that will be used to create an ad depending on the channel it’s being served on. It’s a best practice to organize asset groups like you organize your ad groups, by a common theme. Typically, we recommend creating at least 1 asset group unless you plan on breaking your products out.

For example, if you are a furniture dealer and want to reach your audience with all products with no particular priority, then create one asset group. If you’d like to create special copy for sofas vs sectionals, then create one asset group for sectionals and one for sofas.

2. Use As Many Assets As Possible

Assets consist of simple information about your business and are used by Google to create your ads. This includes headlines, descriptions, links to specific parts of your website, call buttons, location information, and more that are matched together using Google’s machine learning.

Assets are used for dynamic search, display, and video ads to increase traffic to your website. Thus, it is important to include assets that are relevant to your business and ones that you think will bring more targeted traffic.

Google allows businesses to create Performance Max campaigns without creating any asset groups. However, to get the most out of your campaign, we recommend that you use as many assets as possible.

Submitting assets to your Performance Max campaign can be either a manual or automatic process. Manual assets consist of sitelinks, headers, descriptions, etc. Auto-generated assets would be the video ads.

Google can actually pull images, logos, and other information about your products and use the data to create videos for YouTube advertising. Cool, right? Whether auto-generated or manual assets, Google will show your ads when the chances of visitors turning into customers are high.

Since there are no additional costs associated with adding assets, using every possible asset can be beneficial for your business. The only cost that you would incur is when someone clicks on your ad and visits your store.

Hence, use assets to your advantage and capture the attention of not only Shopping tab visitors but also those looking at search and video ads. The longer you let your campaign run, the more Performance Max will learn about your business and the visitors that convert, leading to higher conversion performance in the long run.

However, you still need to give Google time to learn and adjust your Performance Max campaigns as you would for any new campaign.

Within a single asset group, you are able to build out a fully optimized asset, which includes:

• Up to 5 Headlines (30 characters)
• Up to 5 Descriptions (90 characters)
• Up to 5 Long descriptions (90 characters)
• Up to 5 YouTube videos
• Up to 20 Display images
• Up to 1 HTML5 file
• Up to 5 Logos
• 4+ Sitelinks
• 1 CTA (using dropdown menu)

As a best practice, we recommend that you fill out as many of the available assets as possible utilizing the highest-performing corresponding assets (search copy/display images/YouTube videos, etc).

Google will provide you with an “optimization score” as you fill out the available information, and if you can achieve an “excellent” rating, your ad will be set up for success. If your asset group is seeing a “poor” rating, you’ll want to modify the ad until you see “good” or “excellent”.

3. Optimize the Asset Group Audience Signals

In addition to bulking up the headlines & descriptions, you now have the option to edit audience signals, which were not available in Shopping campaigns. Audience signals allow you to add audience suggestions that help Google Ads automation optimize for your selected goals. These signals can include In-Market, Custom, Demographic, and Remarketing audiences to further enhance performance.

For example, if you were a high-end furniture dealer, you might want to select the age range of people that historically buy your products so that Google can help optimize towards this age range. You might also want to select the Demographic option of Household Income in the top 10, as these people might be more likely to purchase a more expensive sofa.

There are also several In-Market audiences that could work great here, such as: Living Room Furniture, Modern Furniture, Sleeper Sofas, and Furniture. Finally, you should consider adding some Remarketing signals of users that have visited the site but have not completed a purchase in the last 90 days, for example. These are just some ideas, but Google has plenty of available options that will help enhance your campaign.

4. Utilize Exclusions

Even though Performance Max does not allow for a ton of control, you can still adjust certain aspects of your campaign. For example, you can exclude certain products, keywords, or even customer segments from showing or seeing your ads.

If you know that certain products are not worth advertising and paying per click, then you can go ahead and exclude those products from the Performance Max campaign and advertise the ones that have a strong margin.

You can also exclude them based on brand, item ID number, category and more. Likewise, you can include only certain brands, items, or categories while excluding everything else within the Google Merchant Center account.

While it’s not possible to bid on keywords or phrases with Performance Max, it is possible to add negative keywords within your campaign. This excludes them from showing to your potential customers.

When considering negative keywords, it helps to understand what phrases or keywords may trigger your ads and lead to clicks that have a low chance of converting. Eliminating such phrases help lower cost per acquisition and consequently leads to a campaign with better ROAS.

5. Select The Best Bidding Strategy

As you already know, Performance Max does not allow advertisers to select keywords and bids for those queries.

Keeping that information in mind, it’s important to know that you have the flexibility to choose conversion goals that matter to your business. Selecting the right conversion goal for the campaign will help Google’s algorithm adjust your bids to achieve the specific conversion goal. Fine-tuning your campaign to your business goals is very simple and will be extremely impactful!

If you are tracking the value per conversion, then setting your return on ad spend (ROAS) will guide Google’s real-time auction bidding to match your ROAS as closely as possible. If every conversion is valued the same for your business, then setting a bidding strategy to “Maximize conversion” is the best option.

Getting the most out of Performance Max’s automated system requires some thinking and planning before its machine learning can be fully utilized.

Knowing details about your business helps make the process simple and when done correctly rewards you with higher conversions, lower CPA, and higher ROAS. The bidding strategy can be selected during campaign creation or afterwards within settings of that campaign. Advertisers are presented with few bidding strategies and your selection will determine auction bids to increase the probability of achieving goals for your business.

6. Utilize Ad Extensions

Ad extensions are a great way to increase your campaign’s reach. Ad extensions include things like callouts, sitelinks, structured snippets, call buttons, and many more. They’re available for both search and display ads and can be used to provide additional information about your business or product offering.

Ad extensions are a simple yet amazing strategy to take up more real estate on the SERP to enhance the visibility of your ads. Performance Max campaigns will mix and match your other assets with your ad extensions assets to create the most effective ad possible. According to Google, advertisers that utilize ad extensions can see an increase in click-through rate of up to 20%. This makes sense considering the additional interactivity ad extensions provide.

For example, if you’re running an ad for “cell phone cases,” you might want to add the sitelink to a particular model smartphone, such as iPhone 14 Pro Max cases, iPhone 14 Pro cases, etc.

Those sitelinks would lead your visitors to a page in your store that shows all the case selections you have for that model iPhone. Rather than make the customer search for what they are looking for and potentially lose them in the process, you make their experience easier by pointing them to the products they want to research.

You can also use sitelinks to include promotional text, such as “Free Shipping.” “Holiday Sale,” etc. How you use sitelinks is up to your imagination and when used properly can play a tremendous role in increasing traffic to your store.

7. Use The Video Builder

During the process of creating a Performance Max campaign, you may find a Video Builder tool. We have noticed that very few online stores use the Video Builder.

However, this element is an amazing and easy-to-use tool for anyone looking to expand the channels to reach audiences that may be interested in your products. Google will use its technology to create video ads in seconds. All you need to choose is a template and a few images for the video to get started.

The benefit of using video ads is cost per clicks and views are much lower than Search or Shopping campaigns. This means that campaigns using the Video Builder will be able to reach a much wider audience with smaller incremental budget increases.

It is important to note that conversion rates from video ads are typically lower than Shopping campaigns, but videos have a powerful impact on those who have watched a video ad before seeing product ads. Those exposed to your products’ ads via multiple channels may be easier to convert when they are ready to make the purchase. We recommend using the Video Builder tool since there is no additional cost involved in creating those videos.

8. Consider Turning Off URL Expansion

URL expansion is a great feature available to all advertisers and can be an effective way to increase your conversion rate. URL expansion is another dynamic feature that updates links to a relevant page on your website depending on visitors’ search terms.

However, e-commerce businesses should consider turning this feature off since traffic tends to be highly targeted toward certain products. Depending on the campaign goals and the ability to use other available tools within Google Ads, it is still possible to use final URL expansion.

One issue we’ve seen is Google sending traffic to pages that were not intended to be advertised or have low conversion rates. To avoid this situation, you can implement strategies that will allow you to still use the tool in combination with other features.

For example, if you want to tell Google not to use certain pages or an entire category of your site, then you can use URL exclusion to exclude them from showing up.

It’s also possible to implement similar rules when it comes to certain keywords or phrases. By using a negative keyword list, Google will not show ads for those search terms. However, if the only path to conversion is through a single page, then Google recommends that you consider turning off URL expansion.

9. Optimize The Google Merchant Center Feed

The first part of your feed optimization is checking for errors and warnings within your Google Merchant Center in the diagnostics section. The diagnostics section can be found under the Products section, and will show active, expiring, pending, and disapproved items.

Don’t worry, the campaign will still run with most errors, but those specific products will not be eligible to show on Google. The most common errors we see include mismatched prices (between the product listing & landing page), image errors, or unavailable landing pages. The affected products can easily be found in the diagnostics section with specific instructions on how to fix them.

I recommend checking Google Merchant Center for errors and warnings every time you upload a new version of your feed, especially if it’s a significant change in format or structure. Most of the time, errors and warnings can be resolved by creating feed rules.

10. Utilize Feed Rules

Another tool provided to advertisers by Google is the feed rules that can be created within Google Merchant Center to better optimize product feeds. Feed rules give you the ability to transform your data to match our product data specification requirements.

Feed rules allow the user to update most product attributes (brand, title, color, etc) with a specific “rule”, which can help address warnings and error messages. Feed rules are similar to the if-then function in basic programming: if a certain condition is met for a product, then your rule will be applied to it.

For example, if a major holiday is coming up and you want to add “Holiday Sale” to your product titles but don’t want to modify the product titles on the website, you’ll be able to create a feed rule that essentially adds this phrase to the eligible product titles.

Some of the most popular feed rules include:

• The addition of the brand name into the product title if this attribute is missing
• Adding extra variables to the product titles (ex: sale, savings, holiday sale)
• Removing words or phrases from the product titles or descriptions
• Adding the color, gender, age group, etc into the product title or descriptions

If you’re interested in learning more specific feed rules, as these get a bit technical, you can review those in Google’s article or within this blog by Store Growers.

11. Organize Listing Groups by Product Categories

As defined by Google, listing groups are made up of listings, which currently include both products and collections (groups of products, assets, and rich retail data that represent a category landing page on your website). Listing groups are essentially eligible products that you choose to show within the asset group.

Breaking down your listing groups (product listings) within each asset group will help you better adjust bids and show deeper ROI. Here are a few of the most common options on how to do this:

• Group by product categories. For example, you would break down the products by furniture or hardware or sporting goods as the category.
•  Group products by product type. For example, you would break down the products by furniture product type (sofas, sectionals, loveseats, beds, etc).
• Group products by custom labels (i.e. price points, AOV). For example, you might want to break out products into price buckets above and below $2,000.

There are other options to subdivide the products, but these are the most basic way to segment within the listing group to see very specific ROI and the highest-performing products. The structure you choose depends on your campaign goals and the products you are hoping to sell.

Conclusion

We hope these tips will help you optimize your Performance Max campaigns. Remember that while it may take some time to see results, optimizing your campaign can make all the difference in how much money you make from it!

How to Optimize Google Performance Max Campaigns is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

Here are the best ways to optimize your Google Ads campaigns:

1. Review Auction Insights Weekly
2. Bid On Your Brand Name
3. Make Frequent Campaign Check-Ins
4. Use a Few Months of Data to Make Decisions
5. Stay Connected With Your Client

1. Review Auction Insights Weekly

Auction insights data is a great way to quickly get information on your competitors. It not only gives you the specific competitors that have overlapping keywords, but it also provides you with the impression share and overlap rate. Why is this important? Well, if we notice new competitors entering auction insights, this could mean a few things: higher CPCs, a lower impression share, and the need for a keyword, ad copy, and bid strategy review.

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It also gives you the information needed for third-party tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs, so you can see how competitors are changing their PPC strategy. If we can pinpoint which companies are re-entering auction insights, we can make data-driven decisions to stay competitive on the SERP.

2. Bid On Your Brand Name

Although your website should show up in the top organic listing for your brand name, it’s likely there will be at least 1-2 competitors bidding for the top paid positions. This seems to be a fairly common strategy, making it even more important to invest in your brand keywords to dominate the SERP.

In order to ensure your company name shows up above competitors, it’s important to bid on your branded keywords, even if this means creating a brand-specific campaign to keep impression shares in the high 90s. Branded campaigns typically see the lowest cost per clicks and highest conversion rates, which can positively impact overall conversion averages.

3. Make Frequent Campaign Check-Ins

If you check client metrics at least twice a week, you’re more likely to catch sudden changes in competitors, spend, traffic, conversions, and conversion rate. Some questions I tend to ask myself when doing check-ins include:

• How are the conversion metrics trending month over month? Week over week? (see image below)
• Have there been any spikes in spend or bounce rate?
• How has the bidding strategy impacted cost per click?
• Have there been any website changes?

Although some campaign changes need at least a week for the Google algorithms to properly optimize, it’s still good to check on bid strategy or keyword changes frequently to ensure they haven’t caused any drastic performance changes. At the end of the day, the goal is to increase ROI, so we should be proactively monitoring keywords, searched terms, and Google Analytics data each check-in.

4. Use a Few Months of Data to Make Decisions

Since external factors might have significantly impacted metrics, it’s important to look at a larger date range before making keyword optimizations. Keywords that were once performing well might not have the same optimal performance right now.

Before the pandemic, I was generally reviewing keyword data for the last 30-60 days before changing match types or pausing due to minimal conversions. Now I’m taking a more expansive approach by reviewing data as far back as four months to really understand if a conversion drop was solely COVID-related or if there might be another cause. Since we always want to make data-driven decisions, we need to take a deeper look and ask ourselves some additional questions, such as:

1. Has the landing page changed?
2. Do we need to reconfigure conversions?
3. Are there still competitors in auction insights?
4. Does that ad copy reflect the right tone?
5. How does the current quality score compare to February or March?

For example, one of my clients saw conversions drop to zero for a set of keywords once COVID-19 started impacting business in late March/early April. Nonetheless, the keywords were still getting impressions, the ads were still getting clicks, the landing pages hadn’t changed. Additionally, competitors were still present in auction insights. So, how does a conversion drop this large make sense?

In most cases, people were researching a particular product or service but weren’t ready to make a purchase. After reviewing the last few months of keyword data, I decided to leave the highest converting keywords active as I monitored bounce rate, impression share, and auction insights, which saved the account from detrimental results. With various industries and states recently easing up on quarantine guidelines, the conversions began trickling in with an even higher conversion rate than previously seen. The bottom line is that you might need to look at three, four, or even five months of data before removing a keyword that was previously converting. Otherwise, you might miss out on conversion opportunities that could have an even longer-lasting impact on revenue and ROI.

5. Stay Connected With Your Client

One of the most important ways we can help our clients navigate these uncertain times is to reach out and check-in on their revenue goals between strategy calls. If we can understand how leads and revenue are trending on a weekly basis, we can modify the PPC campaigns as needed. Google Ads only shows us a piece of the pie, so we need to be proactive in speaking with the client and taking a deeper look into Google Analytics for any further insights.

Conclusion:

While optimizing your Google Ads campaigns can be challenging, there are numerous ways to stay on top of trends that might be impacting performance. As long as you keep your client’s goals top of mind and check on metrics frequently, you’ll be able to make data-driven decisions to drive a positive ROI.

How do you optimize your Google Ads campaigns? Let me know down in the comments!

5 Ways To Optimize Your Google Ads Campaigns is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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As my client-base grew, I quickly realized that I needed to shift gears and find a more efficient way to develop these individual strategies while also using readily available tools that would make my job, and life, much easier. I found that the most effective way to plan out a new PPC strategy is to follow the 5 steps I listed below. Are you interested? Keep reading!

1. Do Your Keyword Research

Keyword research is the most important part of the strategy process. Fortunately, there are numerous tools that can help you with this in addition to Google Ads Keyword Planner. My go-to’s are: 

• Ahrefs
• SEMrush
• Keyword Planner
• Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) 

Ahrefs is always the first tool I use. This helps launch my initial list of keywords. The great thing about this tool is that it gives you all terms that are similar to the keyword you are researching and even provides options you might not have considered. It also gives the volume, number of clicks, and cost per click data. It’s a super easy platform to use and gives you everything you need in one view. Here is an example of the Ahrefs findings for “furniture store” keywords. Pretty nifty, right?

SEMrush is similar to Ahrefs in that you can see all traffic, including clicks and cost per click (CPC). If you don’t have access to either of these tools, the next best option is Google Keyword Planner and the SERP. It’s always important to use more than one tool to check traffic and CPC in order to come up with an overall strategy, including a monthly budget.

Keyword Planner looks slightly different than the other tools. You have the option to narrow down by multiple metrics and it might take some adjusting when diving in.

It is always worth a manual check of the SERP for paid results. It’s good to see if there are ads showing up and who your main competitors are. The SERP won’t help you come up with a list of keywords, but it will help you understand which competitors are advertising.

2. Map Out A Strategy 

The easiest way to keep your strategy organized is to map out your ad groups and keywords on a Google Sheet. This keeps everything organized and easy to navigate, especially if you use different tabs. While it’s necessary to have all high intent keywords and low intent keywords mapped out, launching with high intent keywords usually results in more qualified leads, an account with a less aggressive spend, and a simpler strategy. Starting simply will allow you to test and slowly expand to more general and broad keywords if your budget allows.

I’ve found that compiling a large list of keywords and narrowing down by intent gives you several options to keep expanding the campaign once it’s live. Don’t forget to structure your ad groups with relevant and similar keywords only. I’d recommend keeping ad groups small, using no more than 6-8 keywords. This will allow you to write very tailored ad copy and use specific landing pages to keep your quality score high, ensuring that you pay less per click. Once my ad groups are organized, I create example ads and extensions, which gives the client a better idea of the full strategy.

3. Research Your Audience

One thing I’ve learned is to always do the extra research in Google Analytics to find out how I can apply client demographics and audiences into the campaign. Who is their main audience? What are their interests? What location brings in the most traffic? Which device converts the most? Being able to tailor the campaigns with specific demographic, location, or device adjustments can help launch the account with more relevant targeting. You’ll likely adjust after a week or two of data, but informing the client that you’re going the extra mile will show them you’re dedicated to their campaign’s success. Once you compile this information, make sure to add it to your strategy map!

4. Enable Proper Conversion Tracking

It’s crucial to plan and implement proper conversions based on your client’s goals. I’ve found that it’s easiest to ask for these during the onboarding call, which eliminates the back and forth later on. Whether the client’s goals are transactions, leads, form-fills, “contact us” clicks, phone calls, or other website engagements, it’s important to make sure all tracking is tested before launch.

If you’re not too familiar with Google Tag Manager, some additional research will be worthwhile. There is nothing worse than launching a campaign with broken conversions because it results in lost attribution. I highly recommend all tracking be done in Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics because they are the easiest way to track and test properly (and Google agrees!)

5. Share Your Strategy with the Client

After all your research and implementation, you can finally send the strategy plan over for client approval. I always communicate this prior to launch to give the client a more comprehensive look at everything, which definitely helps establish trust. Transparency is crucial to the success of any campaign!

So, what’s the key to a great Google Ads strategy?

While creating new Google Ads strategies can be challenging, there are numerous ways to stay organized and be successful while learning about new industries in the process. As long as you keep your client’s goals top of mind, you can follow a process that works best for you!

What Google Ads strategies do you use? Let me know down in the comments!

5 Steps to Launching a Successful Google Ads Campaign is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.