6 Ways to Run Google Ads for B2B Lead Generation

Are Google Ads worth the investment for B2B lead generation? It depends on how you leverage them.
Google Ads for B2B Lead Generation

How can Google ads help generate targeted B2B leads? 

Lead generation is one of the most challenging parts of running a B2B business. Another big issue is running successful B2B marketing campaigns that bring more sales and conversions. However, due to the longer sales cycle, you need to be persistent and patient with your B2B audience.

According to a study, B2B sales to new customers take at least 4 to 7 months or more. Since lead generation doesn’t happen overnight, you can adopt unconventional methods like Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to expedite the process. SEM strategies like Pay Per Click (PPC) ads can benefit you in two ways: 

  • Make life easier for your sales team thanks to the shortened sales cycle
  • Enable clients to establish long-term relationships with your B2B brand

Now let’s get to answering the question. How can B2B Google ads help generate targeted leads? 

How Do Google Ads Work for B2B Audiences?

Many businesses look for solutions to their problems online using the Google search engine. While you may or may not rank at the top for search results, you can take steps so your B2B business can rank at the top of the search result pages and get noticed by businesses searching for solutions.

Using Google Ad — a PPC ad platform from Google — allows you to run digital ads for your website, services, and products to attract the target B2B buyers. PPC ads involve setting up your Google Ad account and creating specific goals, such as generating leads.

They offer you the flexibility to target specific businesses using relevant and high-volume keywords. The best thing about this type of advertising is you only have to pay when searchers click on your results, instead of how many impressions your ad gets.

Additionally, you can allow the clickers to land on the targeted landing page to increase the conversion rate. Furthermore, you can set the target budget to start the ad campaign and stop or pause it anytime you want. You can also use different ad formats as listed below to target potential buyers:

  • Search Ads
  • Video Ads
  • Display Ads
  • Retargeting Ads

6 Stellar Strategies for Generating B2B Leads Through Google Ads

Now that you understand how Google ads work, let’s get to the effective strategies to generate leads for your B2B business.

1. Build a Thorough Keyword List from Scratch

The road to success in the Google ad campaign starts with extensive keyword research to understand the business and industry. You need to build buyer personas that likely need your products so that you gain a deeper understanding of how they behave.

When getting started with your Google ad campaigns, keywords are often at the helm. However, creating a list of valuable keywords that can bring positive results is a challenge. You don’t want to do guesswork to build an extensive list of keywords that may not be as helpful to generate leads as anticipated. For instance, if your website has content about creative packaging ideas and your specific niche is custom beauty packaging, you have to create a list of specific keywords according to the intent of your campaign.

Additionally, you don’t want to get granular and create only a list of specific keywords. Doing so reduces your chances of appearing in search results.

Instead, use a built-in Keyword Planner tool to get a list of necessary keywords with information like search volume, competitiveness, and others. You can also use specialized keyword research tools to gain additional insights about your keywords.

2. Refine the Existing Keyword List with Negative Ones

Now that you have the keyword list, it’s time to refine it by adding negative keywords. Negative keywords help prevent your PPC ads from appearing in non-useful searches. Such keywords vary depending on the industry and products your B2B business offers.

For instance, you don’t want to add keywords for other insurance types when you only sell business insurance services. Similarly, you want to ensure your ads do not appear in your branded searches or for some common negative terms that get you unqualified leads.

3. Optimize Your Google Ad Copy for High CTR

Google ads offer three distinct ad types: text ads, responsive search ads, and dynamic search ads. Text ads are one of the most utilized PPC ad types as they are cheaper and can reach audiences with high search intent to purchase.

To generate higher clickthrough rate (CTR) and conversion rate optimization (CRO) from your ads, you’ll need to identify the elements of your text ad copy to optimize. You’ll also need to conduct competitive research to know what your competitors are doing with their ad copy. Open your browser in Incognito mode and enter the top keywords around your products to see the types of ads that show up.

Additionally, you can use Ad Extensions to up-sell products to interested users, provide pricing information about box manufacturers (if it is a packaging product), and show numbers and locations for quick calls. To further optimize your ad copy, you can:

  • Personalize the ad copy based on the funnel stage.
  • Speak to your users’ pain points.
  • Keep it simple, yet use specific numbers when possible.
  • Use social proof to stand out from the crowd.

4. Convert Clicks to Leads with Landing Page Design

Landing page design is just as important as any other part of the Google PPC ad. However, designing a high-converting landing page requires a bit of science (but not rocket science). Let’s demystify this to convert clicks into leads.

  • Keep your landing page content relevant to the ad copy they have just clicked.
  • Capture users’ attention with compelling headings and subheadings.
  • Show the benefits and features of your products/services straightaway.
  • No one wants to interact with only the text. Thus, add proper visuals to convey information in a better way.
  • Add social proof to give your landing page design a strong element of credibility.
  • Lastly, add a couple of clear call-to-actions to inspire visitors to take the desired action.

5. Structure Your Google Ad Campaign the Smart Way

There are different ways to structure your Google ads, apart from just basing them on your services and products. For instance, you can structure your ad campaigns based on client personas, locations, the industry they belong to, features & benefits, and others.

Structuring your PPC ads using this method would allow you to be specific about who you want to target while keeping the relevancy intact. Additionally, creating personalized ads to your audiences can lead to higher conversions.

6. Set Up Goal Measurement & Tracking

Each of your Google B2B ad campaigns should have at least one goal to help measure the campaign’s success. Tracking and measuring goals give you insights into how they perform and what improvements they need. Further, it helps to determine what works and what needs to be modified for better PPC results.

Apart from the primary goals like clicks and conversions, you can also track secondary goals like phone calls, lead forms, downloads, email signups, etc. You can simply track your goals in Google Analytics 4 or in Google Ads itself. There is also an option to generate a tag, which you can add to Google Tag Manager.

After generating leads using different Google ad strategies, you can use tools like CRM for lead generation to manage and to truly understand the journey of your leads until they become your loyal customers.

Leverage Google Ads for B2B Lead Generation Results

While Google PPC ads can bring great results, B2B marketers haven’t found the perfect way to generate leads. They either throw their money into running non-optimized ads or iron out the approach completely due to bad outcomes. However, the shrewd implementation of the above tactics and strategies can prove to be a game-changer.

Businesses are leveraging Google Ads to their full potential to get positive results for their B2B lead generation. Give Google Ads a try by using the six stellar ways listed here to get ahead in your lead generation game.



Share


About the Author



Not so fast!
Don’t miss our latest B2B marketing insights. Sign up to receive Industrial Marketer in your inbox.