The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a catalyst for even more B2B buyers and sellers to go digital. B2B businesses are looking for new ways to gain leads they traditionally obtained through conferences, trade shows, and in-person visits.
7-Step B2B Google Ads Strategy
In The Roadmap to Successfully Market Your B2B Business Online, I’ve covered various ways a B2B business can effectively use marketing online by creating a powerful B2B digital marketing plan, optimizing website content, and strategically using SEO, PPC, email marketing, social media, and content marketing to attract new potential customers and scale. In this article, I will dive deeper into Google B2B advertising and share with you step-by-step Noah Digital’s B2B Google Ads strategy plan that works effectively for generating online leads.
Many people think Google Ads are only for business-to-consumer marketing. I often get asked, “Are Google Ads effective for B2B?” or “How do I target B2B using Google Ads?”
How do I target B2B using Google Ads?
According to Think with Google, more than 71% of B2B researchers use search engine research prior to making purchases. For this reason, Google Ads is a highly effective way for your business to reach these B2B potential customers while they are actively searching for a solution, and converting them into leads and sales.
Google PPC campaigns can target potential customers anywhere and anytime. When people see your ads on Google, while searching for your industry’s products or services, they have a higher chance to contact you if you reach them during this research phase. This makes your job much simpler, as only the most interested potential buyers are actively reaching out to you. B2B PPC campaigns can be very profitable because of the bigger average sale.
Despite all the benefits, Google B2B PPC campaigns are a true art to succeed with and are quite different from B2C PPC campaigns. If you don’t know what you are doing, you will end up wasting your marketing dollars without much success. So let’s get started with Noah Digital’s 7-Step B2B Google Ads Strategy.
1. Find the right keywords for your B2B PPC campaign
One of the differences between a B2B PPC campaign and a B2C PPC campaign is the way you find and select keywords. Finding the right keywords is the most critical part of building a successful B2B PPC campaign. You can use keyword tools, competitor sites, and keywords you already know work for your business, as a starting point. Keyword tools such as SEMRush and Google Keyword Planner are great options to use as they provide you with search VOLUME and search INTENT.
You should categorize your keywords as follows:
- Generic keywords related to your services or products
Example: childcare software, daycare management software - Keywords related to the features of your products and services
Example: Childcare enrollment software, child care billing software - Branded keywords
Example: esikidz childcare app, esikidz childcare software - Competitor keywords
Example: himama daycare app, himama daycare software
Once you’ve selected keywords in each category, start identifying long-tail keywords you can also use. Long-tail keywords use more words that more specifically indicate what the searcher actually desires so i.e. your keyword + your city. Generally, long-tail keywords have a lower search volume, but because they’re more focused, they will attract quality leads.
Some other ways to build long-tail keywords are to include things such as the industry the product/service is used for. Here are some examples: “copper tube for refrigeration,” and “copper tube for HVAC.” Though these long-tail keywords have a smaller number of searches, they are highly relevant and tend to have a higher conversion rate.
Some of our B2B clients are wholesalers, so we typically add words such as “wholesale,” “wholesale suppliers,” or “wholesalers” to our product keywords. Using long-tail keywords also allows you to be laser-focused on who you are looking for so you don’t waste money on irrelevant clicks.
Many B2B industries use acronyms (an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word). You can thus also expand your reach by using acronyms and attracting your target audience who use them as an industrial norm.
For example, a third-party logistics (3PL) company might want to use “3PL” as a keyword. A preferable long-tail keyword might be something like “top 3PL companies” or “3PL service providers in CITY”.
However, make sure you check if the same acronym is used in other industries and exclude irrelevant keywords. Otherwise, you will risk paying for clicks from people who will not become a customer.
For example, we helped an environmental firm with its Google PPC campaign, and acronyms are used commonly in their industry, such as ECA, which stands for Environmental Compliance Approval. However, ECA also stands for Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for Canadian immigration express entry. ECE, which is very similar in letters, stands for Environmental Compliance Evaluation. It also stands for Early Childcare Education (ECE). You can see how using ECA and ECE could definitely attract the wrong types of clicks. To solve this issue, we recommend you use the full name plus the acronym in your ad copy to avoid confusion.
2. Set up & use Google Ads conversion tracking
Conversion tracking is a powerful tool inside of Google Ads that lets you identify how well your campaign is generating leads, sales, signups, and other key conversion actions for your business. Depending on your outcome goals, a conversion could be a purchase made through your website, sign-ups to your newsletter, downloads of your app or whitepaper, completion of a contact form, phone calls, and so on.
After you’ve identified what customer actions you want to track as conversions, you need to set up these conversion goals or actions inside of Google ads, and properly set up your tracking pixel code. In addition, you should set up goals using Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
Analyzing your data regularly is powerful, as it will allow you to identify which areas of your campaign are working and not working, so you can optimize your bids, keywords, and ad copy accordingly, for improved results. You can also access additional data, such as bounce rates, average session duration, and more to further analyze what areas can be improved in your campaigns. For example, a high bounce rate could be an indicator you are attracting the wrong types of potential buyers, thus, your keywords should be re-examined. A high bounce rate could also mean your headline or visual is non-appealing to the right type of customer, in which case, you should be doing A/B testing until you discover which produces the lower bounce rate.
3. Build a solid B2B Google Ads Strategy Plan
Before you even begin creating ads, it is critical to strategize and plan out your entire PPC campaign. That includes everything from the type of customer you are attracting, to where you are leading them to, how you will get them to convert, and the exact profit you will make from each sale (to help measure the overall success of your campaign).
When auditing Google Ad accounts, before we take them over, we often find the campaign structure and flow are very messy, with no logic as to how the best customer will be attracted to the ad or how visitors will move through to the purchase stage.
In a Google Ads campaign strategy session, you should map out every customer touch point in detail. Ensure that your campaigns are well-thought-out and designed to attract the right audience.
You should also plan out strategies for each of the categories of keywords you created: general product terms, branded keywords, competitors; and product features.
Once you’ve done your full research and collected enough data, you can map out campaigns that have the highest chance of succeeding. You can also then use your data to create campaigns by region, audience, language, etc. Test different campaign types to explore more exposure and opportunities.
Different PPC professionals have different ways of strategizing and structuring their campaigns. The more experienced, the more time they will take to craft a strategy and campaign plan almost guaranteed to succeed.
4. Craft your ad copy to speak to your target audience
A common mistake when creating ad copy is to speak in general terms; assuming everyone can be a potential customer. The ad copy that performs best; however, is ad copy that speaks directly to your specific target audience. Your ideal target audience should see your ad and feel like the ad was created just for them. If done well, your ad will also naturally discourage those who are not your target audience from clicking your ads; as they will quickly realize the ad is not meant for them.
Here are some tips for creating compelling and high-converting headlines and descriptions for your B2B ad copy:
- Call out your target audience immediately, so that they know you are talking to them
Example: Land developers…; Childcare center owners…; Plumbers… etc. - Address the pain points of your target audience so they can tell you understand them
Example: Are you spending hours sorting through paperwork?…; Is your slow website costing you a business? etc. - Emphasize the benefits of your products or services instead of the features
Example: instead of “paperless management” you would say “save money, reduce staff errors and create solid records with paperless systems…” - Add credibility or social proof to build trust
Example: 30 years in business; BBB A+ rating; Served xx numbers of happy customers; use testimonials - Highlight what makes your offer even more irresistible
Example: request a free demo; 30-day free trial; 5-year warranty - Always add a CLEAR call-to-action (CTA) to tell visitors what to do next
Example: book a free demo; book a free consultation; get a quote
5. Optimize your landing pages for higher conversion rates
A landing page is where visitors land after they click on your PPC ad. A high-converting landing page not only offers an excellent user experience, with a fast loading speed but also addresses your target audience directly so that people know they are in the right place. Even if your ad works well to bring in a lot of traffic, it’s your landing page that will affect the overall conversion of your Google PPC campaign.
In this example, the client wants to target distributors and retailers, not general contractors. But the landing page is too general and does not speak directly to only distributors and retailers.
For B2B lead generation PPC campaigns, it’s also important that the landing page is optimized for capturing contact information including name, phone #, and email addresses. A button to make the call and/or an opt-in form should be placed in a prominent position on the landing page, above the fold. You will also want to test your landing page on mobile to ensure the phone call button and call-to-action button are clearly visible.
If your website page is designed as a landing page, you can use it directly; however, a true landing page is built for conversion and to keep visitors focused by limiting user distractions. There are a large variety of plugin options on most website platforms that will help you to create effective landing pages.
6. Leverage remarketing campaigns to increase conversions
Unlike B2C marketing, the B2B sales cycle is usually longer ranging from three to six months or even longer. Being able to repeatedly show your ads to users who visited your site before is a huge advantage of Google B2B advertising.
Despite a big opportunity in the B2B space, remarketing/retargeting is something that is missed by many marketers yet is one of the most effective marketing strategies for making sales.
Showing remarketing audiences customized ad copy and offers based on their past viewing behavior, has multiple advantages such as strengthening your brand awareness and having a higher CTR and higher conversion rate than your original ad.
7. Conduct conversion rate optimization (CRO) to improve your B2B PPC campaign ROI
Once your B2B Google Ads campaign is launched, you will see data such as clicks, impressions, CTR (click through rate), and conversions. Actively monitoring your numbers and conversion rate optimization is key to a successful B2B PPC campaign.
Besides optimizing your campaign by excluding irrelevant keywords, adding new keywords, adjusting bidding, and testing new ad copy, you need to conduct conversion rate optimization (CRO) to further improve your campaign’s return on investment (ROI). If your ads aren’t converting, analyze your data to figure out what could be improved with your campaign and landing page. Analyzing your data properly will give you solid clues to what can be improved.
For example, you can test and compare the performance of different landing page variants, such as headlines. You can also test different designs and offers. However, you don’t want to test too many things at once and make sure your decisions are always supported by the data.
Due to the longer sales cycle of B2B businesses and the collaboration of different digital channels, check the Top Conversion Paths in Google Analytics to see the contribution of the Google B2B PPC campaign via direct and assisted conversions. This data will help you to more accurately evaluate your B2B PPC campaign ROI.
Conclusion
Google B2B PPC campaigns can be more tricky than B2C campaigns and more complex in terms of keywords, audience, and targeting; they are one of the most effective ways of attracting and converting your ideal buyers! I hope the above B2B Google Ads strategies will put you on the right path to generating more leads and sales online.
Need help building and executing an effective B2B Google Ads strategy plan and campaign? Connect with the Google Ads professionals with extensive Google PPC experience. Book a free consultation today with Noah Digital’s top PPC expert.
References:
https://komarketing.com/blog/how-to-use-b2b-google-ads-for-lead-generation-a-6-step-guide/
https://www.webfx.com/ppc/b2b/
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/consumer-trends/the-changing-face-b2b-marketing/