Pay-per-click (PPC) lead generation that actually works
Unfortunately, PPC campaigns not doing what they’re supposed to do is a chronic issue in B2B digital marketing. Or it is, at least, among those who don’t know what they’re doing. Remember, there’s a reason why so many huge companies invest so much – and continue to dramatically increase their year-on-year budgets – in paid media. That reason is simple: results!
Here are our tips and tricks to secure PPC lead generation that actually works.
Adopt a 5-step PPC playbook
1. Find your audience
Go back to basics. Who is your audience, where is it, and what does it want? Choose a PPC platform (Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook) entirely on your audience. Not on your budget, your business, or your preference.
2. Identify specific keywords
Using Google Search to generate a thousands-long list of keywords is great for SEO, but that’s not what we’re doing here. The key task is to identify the high converting keywords and focus on those. Many businesses fall into the trap of using lots of generic keywords that tend to have higher competition and higher costs-per-click. So take time to choose the specific, small keywords that are clearly being searched by someone ready to convert.
3. Get to grips with audience targeting
For campaigns on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, understanding the targeting options is absolutely essential. Many a campaign has never reached the target audience you spent hours workshopping due to poor targeting set up. Ask how to translate your audience to the digital sphere; don’t guess.
4. Think about the user journey
Let’s say your target user is on LinkedIn. They’re scrolling their feed at 2pm, procrastinating and delaying getting started on work after lunch. Then they see your ad. Why do they stop scrolling? What convinces them to click and look at your landing page? And, crucially, is your landing page even any good?
5. Keep things short
Best practice ads aren’t long. They don’t waste any space or words. And they boldly frontload value. The digital sphere is fast-paced. A user isn’t going to stop scrolling and watch a minute-long video if you don’t frontload the value of watching it.
Remember landing page essentials
When creating a landing page for any PPC campaign, here’s a simple checklist of things any user should be able to know from the page in just 10 seconds. The key here is to impart information at FIRST glance – not third!
1. Product/service and benefit
2. Who are you?
3. Who have you worked with (case studies or company logos)
4. Are you any good? (testimonials or Trustpilot rating)
5. The next step (call-to-action/lead-generation step)
Worried? Don’t be.
We’ve tried and tested so many landing page formulas we can do it in our sleep. Here’s how to ensure your landing page is up to scratch:
Do a test
Send the page to someone who a) knows nothing about the product and b) falls within your target audience. Ask them: can you tell me what we’re offering and what the benefits are without Googling anything? Have your tester set a timer and record how long it takes before they feel they can answer the five landing page essentials.
Use a copywriter
I really can’t stress this enough. It’s worth every penny. A professional copywriter knows how to appeal to both logic and emotion. They know how to present your offer in a way that consistently compels people to act. And they drive up your conversion rates. Use. A. Copywriter.
Make the next step clear
What do you actually want from your user? If you can’t give them a quote without certain information, a simple ‘Get in Touch’ call-to-action is not going to cut it. Carefully consider what you really need to know and don’t ask for anything more.
Establish the value exchange
Make it clear what the user will get if they complete your CTA. Remember, you are asking them to volunteer themselves as one of your leads. So demonstrate what they’ll get in return and express that value clearly and consistently.
Refine your internal set-up
There is little value in PPC campaigns if your internal lead response is lacking.
PPC prospects are hot prospects, so don’t leave them waiting a week for a response. Even if you’re delivering a quote that will take a few days, set up an automated ‘thank you’ email that outlines the approximate timescales.
Tracking PPC success internally is also incredibly important. Tracking delivered leads all the way through your sales funnel can highlight key issues with the campaign. For example, if your PPC produces a lot of leads but not a lot of sales, try looking at the rate of success of organic leads vs. PPC leads. Are you doing anything differently for those audiences? Is there anything you can do to improve their experience, or are you not bringing in the right leads?
Lots of PPC leads are hard to trace, especially if the user isn’t a fan of cookies. Remember, too, that a decent portion of PPC leads will appear to be organic, generated from seemingly random calls or them simply writing your company name in the back of a notepad for when they need you in six months.
PPC can be done well: just remember the big picture
Take a holistic approach to your campaign. Investing the time to strategise a campaign and implementing the right internal structure helps to diagnose failing PPC campaigns and truly pays off in the long run.
Fancy getting results like that for your business? Get in touch!
