While PPC advertising can be a powerful tool for B2B companies, some common mistakes can lead to wasted ad spend, low click-through rates, and poor ROI. Here are some mistakes B2B companies make when implementing PPC campaigns, the consequences of these mistakes, and how to avoid them:
Mistakes to Avoid when Implementing B2B PPC campaings
1. Not Defining Clear Goals: It seems a no-brainer to start a marketing campaign with a goal. And yet, I've encountered many B2B businesses that still needed to have goals for their PPC campaigns beyond 'increased sales.' 'Increased sales' is not a clear goal for a B2B PPC campaign.
Consequences: Without clear goals, it becomes challenging to measure the success of your campaign. And you risk not achieving the desired outcome.
How to avoid it: Define clear goals that align with your business objectives. Goals include downloading a white paper, requesting a callback, product enquiry, etc. These are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
2. Not Identifying the Target Audience: PPC advertising is most effective when targeted at a specific audience, so defining this before launching your campaign is essential.
Consequences: Failing to identify your target audience means you'll be showing your ads to people who are unlikely to convert, leading to wasted ad spend.
How to avoid it: Identify your target audience based on demographics, location, interests, and intent. Use this information to create targeted ads that speak directly to this audience.
3. Failing to research what the audience is searching for: You may know your audience, but the search engines don't and will try to match your ads to as many keywords as possible. For instance, when running a PPC campaign for Allen Bradley PLC training, we were getting clicks and paying for the Allen Bradley PLC catalogue. This is wasted ad spend.
Consequences: If you don't know the words your audience uses to find the products or services you supply, you will be paying for clicks that are not likely to convert.
How to avoid it: Constantly monitor search queries. Identify keywords irrelevant to your business and add them to your negative keywords list. This will ensure that your ad is only shown to relevant searches.
4. Focusing on immediate transactions: B2B sales cycle is longer than B2C. B2B buyers tend to do a lot of product research and comparison, and buying decisions may be made by a group of people. So, campaigns focused on 'hot deals' or quick sales will not work.
Consequences: Your ads will attract a different audience than you want. You'll attract B2B customers looking for cheap, quick fixes that will likely cause more trouble than they're worth.
How to avoid it: Remember the pain points that led your existing customers to you. Focus your campaign on showing them you have the solution to their problem.
While PPC advertising can be a powerful tool for B2B companies, some common mistakes can lead to wasted ad spend, low click-through rates, and poor ROI. Here are some mistakes B2B companies make when implementing PPC campaigns, the consequences of these mistakes, and how to avoid them:
