Google Ads for B2B
In the advent of CoVid-19, search engines have become the first tool B2B buyer’s think of when looking to research goods and services. Google sits at the head of the table when we talk about any online search and Pay Per Click Ads. And rightly so, they have a market share in most western countries that exceeds 90%. And the product works. The algorithms that they have in place will give you optimum search intent and provide the best resource for that search.
Google Ads have been positioned in such a way now, as to become an effective tool to reach B2B audiences ‘in market’. This is to say, the correct search intent and at the time the customer actually wants to be advertised too. But the world of paid search ads can turn into a complicated minefield, and end up very expensive, should you get it wrong.
Starting your journey to success in a paid search campaign for a B2B audience, you’re going to face a few serious challenges. They include high competition, long sales cycle, and general complexity. There are plenty of guides out there and of course google offers ‘Tips’ to get you through the process.
A high Cost Per Click (CPC)
High CPCs (Cost Per Click) can often a major stumbling block in this field. I often recall a client Lawyer in Australia that had a CPC for some competitive keywords in the region of $100 AUD per click. Yes, those keywords would earn her lots of money, but it’s no guarantee she will get the business (or win the case). A high risk. Therefore, quality Google Ads for a B2B strategy requires a lot of research, flexibility, tracking, and customization.
Let’s face it, Google is a huge global business and its main purpose is to make money. Just as the giant spider, Aragog in ‘Harry Potter’ said “I won’t attack you, but if fresh meat walks willingly into our path, who am I to deny my family a meal”.
Sometimes tips that google offers can often make the game even more tricky and therefore force an inexperienced to end up, maybe spend more money than he actually wanted to (especially in the case of the lawyer).
Therefore, this is why it is extremely important to understand the basic principles of Google Ads for B2B, in order to work out the correct strategy that will drive profitable revenue for your B2B business.
The Landing Page Experience
Google Ads actually start with your very own landing page. Is it good enough? Does it tell them they are in the right place as soon as it opens? Does it open quickly? Can your potential clients understand your navigation? And are they able to find what they are looking for without having to search around clicking here there and everywhere?
Questions you need to answer by going through your own site, then ask someone else to go through it, preferably someone not close toy that will just tell you what you want to hear, like an employee would.
If the answer to some or all of those is no, or they could be better! Then certainly start be addressing this area first. You will be throwing good money away after bad if you don’t, not an ideal situation for any business owner.
Landing page experience is one of the major factors that will drive Google’s ‘Secret Auction’ of your ads. A low landing page score, a high CPC, less amount of time you will be shown and or a low place in the Search Engine Ranking Pages (SERPs). Ultimately then less clicks. And then when you do get clicks, no conversions.
Keywords and Targeting
This might be the most obvious step in every strategy, but unfortunately, poor keyword research and targeting are the most common reason for a B2B campaign to fail. They use keywords that have no search volume, or they have keywords that would be associated with questions, which ultimately costs them money, without getting conversions.
Questions like “how do I do Google AdWords” is fine for a blog, but on a Google Ads for B2B, you will be throwing money away, again. Ending up with clicks that won’t convert.
When it comes to targeting, Know Your Audience. It’s as simple as that. Don’t go into it thinking everyone is my customer, because that just isn’t true. Drill down and make sure you target the customers you really want. try and create ads for different audiences, again one size fits all is not the strategy you need to use here, it won’t work.
For keyword research, I suggest that you use Google’s Keyword Planner tool, this is a great resource Google gives you for free. I even use it for SEO keyword planning. If none of your keywords come up at first, due to a new URL. No problem, try using a Competitor URL instead. See what keywords come up there.
The keyword tool will also help you work out your optimum ad spend, however, be very flexible on this, it’s an estimate and is based on many factors. You may not meet all these or even the search data that Google has can be out of date. When it does come to ad spend, do try and be conservative initially. You can always increase this as time goes on. Allow Google time for the Ai machine learning that Google uses to work.
It is all about testing and experimenting. Put together a good number of ad groups, 4 is normal and add a few keywords in them. Create 3 ads per ad group and rotate them. Ultimately, after picking your words and building your ad groups and campaign around them you might face about 3 months of testing and adjusting.
Usually, this period is long enough to collect a lot data and identify your “winning” keywords and ads. But once you have a good picture of what your potential clients are searching for and even when. You can start eliminating inefficient words. Getting the testing phase right at this stage is crucial to your campaign success. If you pay enough attention and patience at this stage, your CPC will start decreasing dramatically.
Effective Ads
It is impossible not see the value of effective well-crafted ads. Quality copy with no bull goes a long way in the short number of characters you have to work with. When it comes to Google Ads for B2B strategies, quality copyright does not only attract necessary revenue, but it can also save you a lot of money too. Like landing page experience, getting marked down in this area will also lose you exposure and ranking for your ad, thus getting clicked less.
If you can I always do suggest that you get a content writer involved in the ad copy. Get the wordsmith to fold in the keyword naturally with ‘Power words. Also, proper ad ‘calls to action’. Don’t leave it, tell the potential clicker what you want them to actually do! “Click Here to learn More” “Call Us Now” and so on. This will give impetus to your potential client to click, thus, leads to your landing page and if that is correct, sales. Think of pain points here for your customers, what’s hurting them in business. Can you flick on that light switch with your ad?
Remember that the ideal scenario here is to minimize the number of “unqualified clicks” to your site. Getting this right will really enhance your Click Through Rate (CTR)
Landing Page
As we said earlier, the landing page might look like the final step of the journey, which for your potential clicker it is. But, for you it is the start. It’s important to build it the way that it references the keywords that the marketers are bidding on. To make sure you use the direct page. So, by this I mean to say, that the client doesn’t have to go searching for what they are looking for.
If your google ad is about a certain product, that product page becomes the landing page, not your home page. This may seem obvious to some, but it often happens where you are directed to the home page. This again would end in a reduction in landing page score.
In a way, we return to the main point here – targeting. A landing page should directly talk to your perfect auditorium – businesses and not customers.
Google Ads for B2B are as efficient as they are tricky. To be successful your strategy should meet a lot of parameters and identifying them may take some time and experience. Effective use of Google Ads for B2B requires a clear understanding of goals and steps to reach them and optimize ad campaigns.
Nevertheless, Google Ads for B2B remains one of the main tools of a successful B2B online marketing strategy.
Goldfish SEO Expert Google Ads
For lead generation and customer acquisition, outside of SEO, pretty much nothing beats pay per click advertising.
However, Google Ads for B2B can be a complicated platform to master and many business owners end up spending a fortune without getting the results they need.
Thats where Goldfish come in. A professional PPC agency that will set up and optimise YOUR campaigns for performance and conversions.
Why not give us a call, get your free Google Ads Audit and your free SEO Audit at the same time. Learn to swim with the big fish!
