B2B PPC Strategies: How to Avoid Wasting Money on Google Ads

While effective B2B digital marketing shares some strategic components with B2C efforts, there are some significant differences. Understanding where these strategies separate can make a huge difference in your investment and in your outcome. This blog topic will cover some of the key strategies for keeping your B2B marketing costs low while maximizing results.

Contrasted against B2C efforts, B2B marketing success derives from distinct plans that capitalize appropriately on their differences. Typically, B2B marketing presents:

• Higher cost per click (depending on competition and industry, of course)
• Lower search volume (than home service searches, for example)
• Longer conversion rate/sales process (accordingly, the lifetime value of a customer is significantly higher)

With these challenges in mind, we must become more creative and think “outside the box” when it comes to our B2B approach.

Value-Added Takeaways

When your Google Ads effort draws customers to your website, offer them something of value for free. The takeaway may be a white paper, video demonstration, free guide, etc. that provides added information about a relevant topic related to your business and the customers’ inquiry. Not only will your customers appreciate something tangible from their search, but you will gain credibility in their eyes based on the quality of information you provide.

This strategy is particularly effective when you are selling a large investment item. The more value customers receive from you in their search process, the more inclined they will be to return to you when finalizing their purchase decision.

Monitor Reports Daily

Perform a daily check on your search terms reports. This data will help you identify and exclude negative keywords from your Google Ads, relieving you of costly, irrelevant searches.

Increase Remarketing Efforts

Devote time to remarketing – the process of targeting people who have already visited your website as well as their “lookalike audience,” that is, those who resemble the people who have visited your website. Your website patrons have “self-identified” themselves as potential customers. Converting someone who has already searched for your company and product (or has similar characteristics/qualities) takes far less effort and expense than identifying and converting a new prospective customer.

Google Ads allows for two effective remarketing strategies:
1. Via Google Search – run text ads in Google Search results to drive customers back to your website, and
2. Through banner ads – display your company ads on websites frequented by your remarketing audience.

Because the closing process in B2B can be much longer, this tactic regularly keeps your name in front of your audience as they consider your product and helps condense the sales funnel for this group.

Focus on the Low Hanging Fruit

With a little effort, you can eliminate unfruitful and expensive searches that result from unhelpful broad keywords. Take advantage of the Google keyword planner and uncover the keyword phrases that provide stronger and more accurate identification of likely customers. When your front-end strategy pinpoints the right people to target, your conversion rate will improve dramatically.

Think Strategically and Win

At Hughes Media, we put winning strategies into practice daily not just for our clients, but for our own company. With a little effort along these lines, we know you will generate more satisfactory returns as well.

As you wish to look deeper for a strategically designed digital marketing plan, we are available to offer guidance and insight. Our B2B specialists are ready to evaluate your company, competition, and industry to establish a long-term plan for marketing prosperity. Contact us today to initiate a blueprint for success.