Google AdWords is an important part of B2B lead generation. It complements organic search by giving your business greater visibility for the search queries that your prospects are using. If you are successful in providing prospects with the answers they need in response to their searches, then you have a good chance of developing a business relationship with them.
Effective Google AdWords campaigns depend as much on the way you manage your content as on your choice of keywords. We would argue that there is a clear crossover between a B2B AdWords strategy and content marketing, as we will explain below.
To ensure you provide relevant and valuable content to your prospects, it is good practice to divide your keywords into different Ad Groups. This makes it easier for you to monitor the performance of each keyword and adjust your bids. It also gives valuable insights into the appropriate landing page content to use.
There are three ways you can create a keyword Ad Group:
Having grouped your keywords into Ad Groups, you can tailor your CTAs and content to make them relevant to your prospect’s enquiry.
This starts with your advert headline. Searchers have a preference for headlines that match their search as closely as possible. For instance, if someone searches for ‘marketing software’ and is presented with two otherwise identical ads with the titles ‘marketing apps’ and ‘marketing software’, they are far more likely to select the ‘marketing software’ advert.
It continues with how you present your landing page content. This should be different for every Ad Group to reflect the different priorities of your prospects. A person using an information keyword such as ‘what is marketing automation’ is unlikely to be at a stage where they want to sign up for a 12 month contract, or even get in touch with you yet. However, they may appreciate a free e-book, such as an Essential Guide to Marketing Automation.
It is a mistake to assume that one landing page will serve all your Google AdWords keywords equally and that you should ‘always be closing the deal’ in your calls to action. This is a sales approach but is not always appropriate here. It is far better to approach PPC landing pages as a form of content marketing, which is more about dialogue than sales.
Your transactional keyword searchers, on the other hand, may be ready for a more sales-based approach. People searching for ‘cheap marketing automation solutions’ will be looking for prices and clear value propositions, so provide this information and give a means to get in touch. These prospects are at a different stage of their buyer journey to those just looking for information.
Your landing pages should always be clear about what you are inviting your prospects to do. As far as possible this should be tailored to the nature of their search. However, it does not hurt to adopt a fall-back position by giving them a secondary choice. For example, on a transactional keyword landing page you explain the benefits of your marketing automation software and provide a form which prospects can use to sign up for a free trial.
Having read your content they may decide they are not yet ready and retreat into Google, never to be seen again.
If on the same page you also have a download link to a free e-book – perhaps explaining 10 Essential Benefits of Marketing Automation, then they may go for that instead. By providing this added value you still end up gaining a lead and a potential sale down the line, albeit at a ‘lower stage’ of the sales and marketing funnel.
Is your Google AdWords campaign as effective as it could be? Find out where you are going wrong and how you can improve your performance by downloading our free Google AdWords Checklist. The guide contains practical tips about how to manage your keywords, reduce your cost per click (CPC) and secure a better ROI.