In case you’re wondering, the abbreviation B2B stands for “Business-to-Business.” You’re in a B2B sales scenario when selling to other businesses.
For marketing leaders, sales managers, and marketing executives trying to grow their B2B business, it can be challenging to figure out what approach to take when reaching out to potential customers. You want to find the right approach to get the results you’re looking for while remaining true to your company’s values.
Based on extensive research and feedback from top sales and marketing executives, here are the best practices for using paid search to attract B2B leads.
Use Multiple Metadata Tag Groups
The best practice for getting the most out of your PPC budget is to use multiple metadata tag groups. As a B2B marketer, you know that your ads can multiply your earnings significantly. When you use different metadata groups for your ads, you’re allowing Google to target your offers to specific groups. For example, if you have a wellness product and want to target consumers searching for weight loss information, you could create a new metadata group called “wellness” and target ads for that group. Here’s a sample of how it could look:
Check out this comprehensive guide to creating a successful PPC strategy to learn more.
The most important thing to remember about this best practice is that your PPC account needs to be set up correctly to take advantage of this feature. You’ll want to ensure that you have various metadata groups to target the right audience.
Use the Right Keywords
The other important thing to keep in mind about this best practice is that you need to use the right keywords. When doing your initial keyword research, ensure you’re not picking too many keywords that are too broad. Instead, use specific keywords that your target audience is searching for.
Here’s an example. If you run a store that sells men’s clothing and you want to attract customers who are searching for “men’s trousers,” you could use these keywords:
- trousers
- men’s clothing
- men wear
Instead of using broad keywords like “furniture” or “appliances,” which will bring up lots of irrelevant results when someone is searching, these keywords will help you to target your ad only to people who are searching for “men’s trousers.”
Get a Landing Page Optimized For B2B Leads
The next best practice is optimizing a landing page for B2B leads. That way, when someone clicks on your ad and lands on your site, they’ll know exactly what they’re looking for. You don’t want to overwhelm your prospects with too much information – they’ll leave your site and never come back.
If you run a store that sells men’s clothing and want to attract customers searching for “men’s trousers,” you could create a landing page tailored to that product category. In addition to featuring your products for sale, this page could include resources your target audience might find valuable. For example, you could inform them about what styles and colors they should avoid and why.
With a landing page specifically designed for B2B leads, you’ll increase the odds that they’ll convert and become a customer. And, if they do become customers, they’ll be more likely to continue buying your products since you’ve earned their trust by providing them with useful information on your site.
Run Paid Search Ads In Conjunction With Other Marketing Channels
As a marketer, you know that a single channel alone won’t get you there. You need a multi-channel approach to succeed. You can and should use other marketing channels to drive additional traffic to your offers when running paid search ads. For example, you could run ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
If you want to attract B2B leads with paid search, incorporate this channel into your overall strategy. Then, when you have a new lead, follow up with them via email or phone call to see if they’re a potential customer.
Measure Your Results With Attribution Marketing
A key part of being a successful marketer is measuring your results. You can’t expect to generate sales without first knowing how. When measuring your results, ensure you’re not only looking at the numbers but also taking a hard look at the source. These tips will help you successfully measure your results while also knowing which channels deliver the most value.
First, you’ll want to set up a Google Analytics account and track your results. Then, you’ll want to set up automated email notifications so that you can follow up with any leads that haven’t purchased yet. Last, you’ll want to track your ads with Google AdWords and look at what’s working and needs to be changed. Here’s a link to get you started.
Attracting and converting B2B leads is a tough job. It takes research, dedication, and a clear objective and strategy.
Conversational marketing relies heavily on language, words, and quotes from other sources. As a result, digital marketers can’t just rely on traditional advertising methods, such as text or graphic ads, to gain brand awareness and drive traffic to their websites. Although PPC has always been used for brand awareness, the practice is undergoing a transformation driven by the growth of social media.
Social media users are considered to be “converted” into potential customers when they click on a tweet, share a blog post, check in, or engage with a brand on platforms like TikTok or Instagram.
Brands must consider that users on social media can’t always be motivated to visit a website or make a purchase, despite their relatively high affinity for the brand. For example, suppose you’re running a restaurant on Instagram, and you notice that your followers are mainly comprised of people from the local area. In that case, you might wonder whether or not they will be interested in your specials, especially since they can get the same product or service, free of charge, from their local supermarket.
The Rise of ‘Narrow’ Specialties In PPC
With the rise of TikTok and similar platforms, people can discover a much larger range of products and services than before. As a result, Google AdWords has adjusted its algorithm to favor content that is “narrow” in scope. This is evident in the fact that the average order value on single-product searches has decreased by 9% since last year, and the average order value on searches for multiple products has increased by 7% compared to last year.
Even traditional retail websites, like Nordstrom, are reaping the benefits of the changing paradigm, noticing an increase in average order value from $12.31 to $13.67 across all product categories, including online, mail-order, and in-store purchases.
Why Do Consumers Search for Multiple Products?
In the past, if someone wanted to purchase a pair of shoes, they would enter the store, find what they wanted in the size they needed, and then purchase them. Today, with virtual shopping becoming more prevalent, someone will come across a pair of shoes they like, visit multiple websites to compare prices, and purchase them without ever leaving the comfort of their home.
If you run a retail website, you can utilize this trend by structuring your content around multiple products. For example, if you sell women’s clothing but also products related to traveling, you could organize content like this:
Longer Reads = More Engagement
When someone lands on your website and makes a purchase, you’ll want to ensure that they’re staying on the website for a long enough period to make the purchase but not so long that they feel overwhelmed or irritated by the amount of information they have to digest. This is where longer reads come in.
According to HubSpot Blogs research, shorter articles have largely been replaced by longer reads on digital marketing blogs. In fact, in 2022, 70% of blog posts will be longer than those from a year ago, and only 30% will be shorter.
In the past, if someone wanted to learn about your products, they would visit your website, read an article, and then make a purchase, if necessary. With the rise of virtual shopping and the increase of individuals spending more time online, it is important to ensure that they absorb as much information as possible without feeling overwhelmed or irritated by the content.
The Decline Of Display Advertising
Even before the pandemic, the display advertising market faced serious challenges as audiences turned to alternative channels for their news and information. According to HubSpot Blogs research, display ad spending across social media, mobile phones, and web browsers will decrease by 5% this year.
Traditional display ads, which used to appear in prominent places on websites, like the header or the footer, have become less effective as audiences have learned to ignore them, clicking away or blocking them altogether.
Since the beginning of the decade, display advertising has declined as SEO, social media, and mobile phones have gained popularity as sources of information. However, in 2022, with audiences turning to non-circular, non-traditional advertising methods, like organic search, blog posts, and podcasts, display advertising is expected to rise by 5%.
How to Ensure the Right Mix of Products For Your Target Audience
In the past, if you wanted to purchase a pair of shoes, you would visit a retail website, look for the item you wanted, and then make a purchase, if necessary. Today, with virtual shopping increasing and individuals shopping more on the go, you can’t assume that people will show up at your retail website, seeking the products you offer. You must consider the various touchpoints—from websites to emails to phone calls—that your audience might use to find your products.
The touchpoints matter because not everyone will visit your retail website to make a purchase. Some might look at your email marketing or call tracking data, while others search for your products on Google or social media.
If you want to purchase a pair of shoes, you will visit a retail website, look for the item you want, and then make the purchase, if necessary. If you want to purchase a travel mug, you might visit a blog post, click on a link, or search for “travel mug” on social media.
Which product your target audience should receive the most exposure to depends on several factors, including your budget and the platforms your audience uses. To decide, first, you will need to identify the single best lead magnet that will encourage people to subscribe to your newsletter, join your email list, or take other action, like making a purchase or filling out a form.
Key Takeaways
To get the most out of your PPC investment, you need to put in the time to learn how to maximize the value you get for each click.
One of the best things you can do for your lead generation is to create a dedicated landing page for your B2B product or service. This will naturally attract leads to taking action and completing a purchase or signup form. It’s also a great place to capture leads’ contact details so you can follow up with them later.
Testing and analyzing which buttons, headlines, and offers drivers the most revenue is critical in making your PPC strategy effective. You can use Google Analytics to track the results of your various campaigns and adjust your strategy to increase conversions.
When you’re pitching to potential customers, your goal is to engage them so deeply that they feel connected to your brand and become curious about your offer. While traditional advertising, such as outdoor billboards and magazine spreads, still exists, our world has shifted towards digital channels.
PPC (Pay Per Click) marketing is a type of digital marketing that helps businesses gain traction and make sales on the web through advertising on search engine results pages (SERPs) such as Google and Bing.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your marketing efforts to the next level, we hope this guide will help you form a solid foundation for your PPC strategy with proven techniques and effective tools.
