The PPC Guide for B2B Professionals

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising helps businesses reach potential customers with targeted ads displayed on websites or search engines.

These ads can be targeted by keyword, location and other factors, allowing businesses to reach the right customers at the right time.

In this guide, we'll touch on some PPC characteristics related to B2B as well as some effective tips, to help you succeed in your own campaigns.

The different types of PPC

PPC marketing is a great way to generate leads and sales, but it is essential to be aware of all the available ads and when you should be using them.

Once you have this information, you can create a PPC marketing strategy that uses the right campaign types to achieve your marketing goals.

Let's have a look at some of the most common PPC types.

Search engine marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) involves placing ads on search engines like Google or Bing to try and drive traffic to your website. These campaigns target specific keywords and phrases consumers will likely use when searching for online products or services.

Display advertising

Display advertising promotes products or services on websites, apps and other online platforms. It’s typically highly visual and targets a specific audience using various criteria such as demographics, interests and purchase history.

Social media advertising

Social media advertising involves creating and sharing content specifically on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Advertisers can use various methods to achieve their objectives, such as paying for ad space on a platform or promoting their content to a wider audience.

Remarketing

Remarketing allows businesses to target individuals who have already shown an interest in their products or services. When someone visits a website that's part of the Google Display Network, a cookie is placed on the device and allows businesses to remarket to them.

Amazon advertising

Amazon offers a range of advertising options, including pay-per-click (PPC) ads. They appear on search results pages and are a great way to drive traffic to your listing. Amazon advertising is also an effective way to reach a vast customer base and boost sales.

PPC tips for B2B businesses

The core of a B2B PPC campaign is like any other type—you research keywords, draft ad groups and launch campaigns. But to create a compelling marketing strategy, you must consider some specific characteristics that will affect the success of your campaign.

Conduct market research

Any successful B2B campaign starts with research. It provides several data for different industry verticals.

But research isn't just about understanding your potential customers. You also need to understand the competition, what they're doing well, and where they fall short.

This will help you position your own campaign for maximum impact.

It will also help you determine the best channels to reach your target audience. Some may be more receptive to email marketing, while others may be more active on social media.

Research high-value keywords

Keyword research is essential for any B2B campaign.

Creating targeted campaigns that drive results would be impossible without a solid understanding of the keyword landscape.

However, simply conducting keyword research isn’t enough.

It’s also important to have a strategy for match types. Different match types serve different purposes, each with its strengths and weaknesses.

For example, broad match keywords are great for reaching a large audience, but may also result in a lot of unqualified traffic. On the other hand, exact match keywords are much more targeted, but they may also limit reach.

Structure ad campaigns and ad groups

Creating a successful PPC campaign starts with the right ad group.

Each ad group should be tightly themed around a specific keyword or set of keywords relevant to that campaign objective.

The more specific details about whether they should show up only on desktop versus mobile devices make all the difference when targeting potential customers.

By structuring your campaign this way, you can create more relevant ads and landing pages that speak directly to your potential customers' needs.

As a result, you'll generate more leads and conversions.

Craft ad copy

In the B2B market, ad copy must focus on connecting with the reader and clearly demonstrating the product's or service's value.

Whether your goal is generating leads or selling, captivating ad copy is essential for ensuring your ads get noticed.

Ad copy should be attention-grabbing and relevant to the audience.

If it doesn't, customers will miss them in their feed - which means fewer impressions (or views), higher costs per click-and reduced support from decision-makers at the company.

Measure your results

With your Google Ads strategy ready, it's time to launch a campaign and start monitoring results.

Tracking your site's visitors will also help you better understand where they’re coming from and what content they’re engaging with.

You can always test different ad copy, landing page experiences or targeting strategies.

This will give you enough data points when it's time to finalize decisions about budget allocation or which strategy works better.