There are several ways to measure the success of a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign. While many people are looking for a single, absolutely definitive metric, unfortunately, this isn’t usually possible.
If you have never considered a pay-per-click B2B marketing campaign, you are not alone. Many people today still believe that PPC is only appropriate for B2C.
The truth is that PPC can work equally as well for B2B marketing. The key is to keep in mind that B2B campaigns typically take more time to be successful. Remember, the B2B sales cycle is longer than the typical B2C sales cycle so it makes sense that a B2B PPC campaign will take more time to demonstrate its true ROI.
If you have decided give PPC for B2B a try, chances are you will be happy with the results. However, there are some things you need to understand before you launch such a campaign:
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- It’s about more than just conversions. While conversions are the most important element of B2C campaigns, when it comes to B2B PPC campaigns you need to focus on more than just conversions. You also need to pay close attention to where your leads are originating from and what keywords are the most successful.
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- The cost-per-acquisition is higher for B2B. It can be tempting to invest in cheaper keywords to keep costs down but since B2B keywords are more expensive, you need to be willing to make a larger investment in those keywords. By concentrating on the keywords that will lead to closed sales, even if they cost more, your campaign will be more successful in the long run.
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- Tracking data is the key to success. By carefully tracking your PPC campaigns you will be better able to determine what you need to concentrate on moving forward. Conversion rates help to pinpoint how many leads you need to generate to close a particular number of sales. By tracking this information you will be able to more accurately determine how much you need to budget in keyword costs to meet your future sales goals.
- Precision counts. B2B PPC campaigns always need to be organized in tight ad groups that include similar keywords. Broad campaigns often mix expensive keywords with cheaper ones and make it hard to tell which keywords worked the best.
Running a successful B2B PPC campaign is much more challenging than a B2C campaign. That’s because many elements of a B2B campaign are not as straightforward. However, B2B PPC campaigns are definitely worth the time and investment because when done correctly they can pay off in the form of increased sales.
If you are a B2B marketer, you are likely always on the lookout for news ways to fill your sales funnel. After all, lead generation is the lifeblood of any business.
While most articles on the latest trends in marketing usually hit around the New Year, we thought we would mix things up a little and do a mid-year assessment of what are the hottest trends in B2B marketing right now. After all, things change quickly in the marketing world so it is important to know how to best promote your B2B brand throughout the year.
- Channel Integration. It is always tempting to focus on individual channels that seem to work well for your B2B brand. However, integration of channels can do wonders for your brand. No longer does it make sense to spend all of your marketing dollars on email marketing, for example. Savvy B2B marketers understand the importance of integrating email marketing with web optimization and social media-or whatever combination works best for their particular brand.
- Personalization. Individual interactions are all the rage. Providing seamless, unique experiences for customers that is both user-specific and time-sensitive leads to huge bumps in ROI.
- Account-Based Marketing. Account-based marketing involves getting more personalized information from users. The more personal information you can get from users, the better you can customized their experiences which means they will remain on your website longer and visit it more often.
- Video, Video and More Video. If text or video are both available on a website, most people will click on the video. The options with video are virtually endless. You can livestream from a tradeshow, perform product demonstrations, give behind-the-scenes tours of your business and much more. This is all in addition to posting straightforward brand videos and client testimonials.
- Content Marketing. This is certainly not a new trend but its popularity continues to grow. B2B companies benefit greatly from content marketing because B2B buyers have a longer sales journey than B2C buyers. That means B2B customers have more time to pour over content which will allow them to make the best buying decision. It also means you need to constantly work on upping your content marketing game.
No matter what you think about the latest marketing trends, one thing is for sure, there has never been more ways to connect with customers and prospects. The key is to find a few of the trends you know you can excel at and work hard to take full advantage of them.