If you are a business-to-business (B2B) marketer, you understand the importance of reaching your target audience in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. One method you can try is B2B pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into everything you need to know about B2B PPC advertising, its importance, goals, unique challenges, and the characteristics of the B2B audience.
What is B2B PPC Advertising?
Any form of paid advertising where businesses are trying to reach other businesses and paying for each click on their advertisement. Some of the most popular platforms for PPC Advertising include Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Twitter Ads. The goal of B2B PPC advertising is to generate leads, build brand awareness, and ultimately drive sales.
Importance of B2B PPC Advertising
B2B PPC advertising is essential for businesses looking to gain a competitive edge in their industry. With over 70% of B2B buyers using search engines to research potential vendors, PPC advertising is a powerful tool to ensure your business is visible when potential customers are searching for your products or services. It also provides a unique opportunity to target specific audiences and locations, making it easier to generate high-quality leads and improve your conversion rate.
Goals of B2B PPC Advertising
The primary goal of B2B PPC advertising is to generate leads and increase sales. However, there are several other goals that businesses can aim for, such as:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Driving traffic to specific landing pages
- Promoting new products or services
- Boosting event attendance
- Encouraging social media engagement
- Understanding the B2B Landscape
To effectively run a B2B PPC advertising campaign, it’s essential to understand the unique characteristics of the B2B landscape. Unlike B2C advertising, which targets individual consumers, B2B advertising targets businesses and organizations. This means that the buying process is often longer and more complex, involving multiple stakeholders and decision-makers.
Differences between B2B and B2C Advertising
B2B advertising differs significantly from B2C advertising in several ways. Firstly, the target audience is different, with B2B advertising targeting businesses and organizations rather than individual consumers. Secondly, the buying process is more complex, involving multiple stakeholders and decision-makers. Lastly, the messaging and creative approach are often more professional and technical, focusing on features, benefits, and return on investment (ROI).
Characteristics of the B2B Audience
The B2B audience is often highly educated, sophisticated, and technically knowledgeable. They are typically focused on solving specific business problems, rather than making impulse purchases. Therefore, it’s crucial to tailor your messaging and creative approach to appeal to their specific needs and pain points. In addition, you are generally trying to sell your products or services to a company rather than 1 sole customer. There may be several points of approval in the process.
Unique Challenges of B2B Advertising
B2B advertising presents several unique challenges, such as longer sales cycles, complex buying processes, and highly targeted audiences. Additionally, B2B buyers are often inundated with marketing messages and have high expectations for the quality and relevance of the content they consume.
Example of B2B PPC Advertising
To better understand how B2B companies are using PPC advertising, we will take as an example a random company called “Accounting LLC” that offers accounting services to businesses. The company resides in California but offers on-demand services to worldwide customers. In order to reach its base of clients, Accounting LLC can use a wide range of PPC Advertising Strategies for B2B Companies, including Google AdWords, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, retargeting, display ads, video marketing and LinkedIn marketing campaigns.
Types of B2B PPC Advertising
As businesses continue to adapt to the digital age, online advertising has become a key component of any marketing strategy. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one such tool that businesses can use to reach their target audience effectively. In this article, we will discuss the different types of B2B PPC advertising and the benefits they offer.
Search Advertising
Search advertising is the most common type of PPC advertising. It involves placing ads on search engine results pages (SERPs) based on specific keywords. When a user searches for a particular keyword, the ads related to that keyword are displayed at the top of the SERP. Search advertising is an excellent way to drive relevant traffic to a website and increase conversions.
Benefits of Search Advertising for B2B
One of the biggest benefits of search advertising for B2B is that it allows businesses to target users who are actively searching for their products or services. This means that the ads are more likely to be clicked by users who are interested in what the business has to offer. Search advertising also allows businesses to track and measure their results effectively. They can see how many clicks their ads are getting, how many of those clicks are converting into leads or sales, and how much they are spending on each click.
Best Practices for Search Advertising in B2B
To get the most out of search advertising, businesses need to follow some best practices. Firstly, they need to choose the right keywords to target. This involves researching the keywords their target audience is using and selecting the most relevant ones. Secondly, they need to create compelling ad copy that entices users to click on their ads. The ad copy should be clear, concise, and relevant to the user’s search query. Lastly, businesses should continuously monitor and optimize their campaigns to ensure they are achieving the desired results.
Display Advertising
Display advertising involves placing ads on websites, social media platforms, and other online platforms. These ads are usually in the form of banners, images, or videos. Display advertising is an effective way to increase brand awareness and reach a wider audience.
Benefits of Display Advertising for B2B
One of the main benefits of display advertising for B2B is that it allows businesses to target users who may not be actively searching for their products or services. Instead, the ads are displayed to users based on their interests and browsing history. Display advertising is also an excellent way to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to a website.
Best Practices for Display Advertising in B2B
To get the most out of display advertising, businesses need to follow some best practices. Firstly, they need to choose the right targeting options. This involves selecting the right websites and platforms to place their ads on and selecting the right audience demographics. Secondly, they need to create eye-catching and compelling ad creative that stands out from the crowd. The ad creative should be visually appealing, relevant to the user, and have a clear call-to-action. Lastly, businesses should continuously monitor and optimize their campaigns to ensure they are achieving the desired results.
Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising involves placing ads on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These ads can be targeted to specific audiences based on demographics, interests, and behaviors. Social media advertising is an effective way to reach a highly engaged audience and drive traffic to a website.
Benefits of Social Media Advertising for B2B
One of the main benefits of social media advertising for B2B is that it allows businesses to reach a highly engaged audience. Social media platforms are highly interactive, and users are more likely to engage with content that resonates with them. Social media advertising also allows businesses to target users based on specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Search Advertising on Google and Bing
When it comes to search advertising on Google, B2B companies need to focus more on long-tail keywords. For instance, there are over 55 million monthly searches on shoes, but only 270,000 on business accounting. Depending on the industry, market segmentation is imperative for success in this market. The buyers for our company are CEOs, financial executives, CFOs or small company accountants. In other words, anyone who has the power to decide if they want to invest in a new type of accounting software that might streamline their company’s processes is a valid target.
After Accounting LLC conducts a throughout research of the market and determine their ideal customer profiles, they have to start looking for keywords that are normally used in online searches by B2B professionals. Next, they need to create compelling Ads on Google and Bing and link them to high-quality, informative pages.
As a rule of thumb, the Ad copy is more informative and less decisive. Instead of the standard “Buy now”, B2B marketers should include “Contact us today” or “Get more information”. The reason for this is that the buying cycle is much longer in a B2B setting. The client goes through many more phases of the buying cycle before taking a final decision. The stake is higher and the revenue greatly exceeds the initial financial investment.
As a B2B manager, you need to show your clients that you have exactly what they need, and maybe even more. Make sure your ad copy speaks to their pain points and always use trusted sources of information when presenting your message. Come with the right solutions and your prospects will run to you for a fix to their problems.
Using Targeted Keywords
Using targeted keywords is vital for a B2B company. Specificity is key here. Try to identify those profitable search terms and keep innovating. This means that you should not give up after investing tens of thousands of dollars without having profit. Some B2B companies invest millions of dollars before making their first sale. However, a sale for them is worth over $5 million. Keep in mind the value of your sale when running your PPC search campaigns.
| Good B2B Google Keyword |
|---|
 |
| Why It’s a Good Keyword: The search term ‘Accounting Business Services’ is a good keyword because it implies someone looking for account services for their business. They are likely either looking for companies who offer accounting or doing research about different services and their pricing. If you can reach this person at the right time with a great offer, you have a chance at landing a new long-term client. |
| Bad B2B Google Keyword |
 |
| Why It’s a Bad Keyword: The search term ‘How To Do My Accounting’ is a bad keyword because it implies someone doing research and looking at how to do their own accounting. If you offered a paid Accounting software, this might be a good keyword. However, since you offer accounting services, this person is unlikely to see the value in a long-term accounting partner. |
Here is where your customer lifetime value (LTV) comes into play. With an LTV of $200, you can afford to look extensively for the winning search keywords. Do not focus on cheap leads, but take into account your profit margin and run multiple campaigns with a broad set of keywords. Optimize the PPC campaigns and make sure you show up on the first page, even though you might have to spend more. Eliminate irrelevant clicks and spend more budget on high-converting keywords.
Using Retargeting in B2B
Now that clients are pouring in on your landing pages, it is time to ensure none of them are lost. Retargeting or remarketing is a very powerful tool in your marketing arsenal, as it allows you to follow up on uninterested clients or clients who forgot to place an order on your site. In a B2B environment, it is important to mention that prospects, which usually include CEOs or executive managers, are very busy people. If you do not engage them while they are hot, you might lose them to your competition.
*Click image for full size
To use retargeting like a pro, make sure to segment your site visitors based on the funnel stage, and then create compelling ads that pull them back into the funnel. It’s all about aligning your offers and content to each buying stage.
Some other strategies you could implement in your retargeting campaigns are using cross channel retargeting and optimizing ads for mobile users. You can run your retargeting ads not just on Google and Bing, but also on Facebook and Twitter. Do not limit yourself to just the GDN, but try to use other retargeting platforms such as DemandBase and Bizo to diversify your efforts in this direction.
Capitalizing on the GDN
Google Display Network is the best marketing tool for brand awareness. Generally speaking, B2B buyers spend more time researching online, so it makes sense to ensure they see your message as often as possible. As their minds are set on hunting great offers and researching their options, you can easily outsmart your competition by creating informative display ads.
According to several studies conducted by B2B marketers, the GDN is great not just for building brand awareness, but also for driving leads. The number of assisted conversions through GND will more than always exceed the number of assisted conversions through paid search.
Create Facebook Website Conversion Campaigns
Ultimately, one of the most innovative PPC Advertising Strategies for B2B Companies is to capitalize on B2B Facebook advertising. Create several custom audiences and then create website conversion campaigns with specific messages tailored to your audience.
The key is to focus on offering extra value. Incentives and gated content could prove invaluable for your efforts. Rather than asking them to buy from him, encourage them to consume the content you have in store for them. Once you get their email address and other contact details, you are two steps closer to getting a sale.
In Summary
B2B companies worldwide are using PPC advertising in their favor. Now it’s your time to leverage the power of Google, Bing and Facebook advertising to convince potential buyers to choose you over your competitors.
