Benefits of Google AdWords for B2B

Interested in Google AdWords for B2B lead and sales generation? Great idea!

Let’s Get Started with B2B AdWords

Google AdWords is a form of online advertising that almost any business can take part in within a matter of hours (there are a few industries that aren’t allowed to use AdWords; we’ll get to that later).

First, let’s find out what Google AdWords is and where the ads appear. Next, we’ll answer some of the top questions we get from our clients regarding Google AdWords:

What are the top benefits of an AdWords campaign?
Which businesses can benefit the most from Google AdWords?
When is it best to use AdWords?
How do you know if your B2B is a good fit for AdWords?
How do you determine a realistic budget?
What types of results can I expect?

What is Google AdWords?

Google AdWords is an advertising service that many businesses use to get their website to the top of Google’s search results. Once at the top of Google, these websites get clicked on, which sends users (or traffic) to their websites.

Google AdWords appear above the organic (unpaid listings), making those ads the first thing a user sees on Google. In the image below, notice the placement of the ads. Also notice the little yellow box that labels each result as an “Ad.”

Google AdWords also appear in the Google Display Network. These ads appear in pre-determined areas on a website that is part of the Google Display Network.

Terms You Need to Know

Before you start a campaign, there are a few terms you should familiarize yourself with. The most important terms include:

Clicks: This refers to the number of times your ad was clicked on by a user and the user was sent to your website.

Impressions: Impressions refers to the total number of times your ad was shown to users regardless of whether or not they clicked on it.

Conversions: First, identify a key conversion (action or goal) that you’d like a user to complete on your website. Next, track these conversions. Conversions refers to the total number of users that completed a conversion on your website.

Conversions include actions or goals like filling out a form, making a purchase, calling a business, etc.

Top 5 Benefits of a B2B AdWords Campaign

Why should you invest in an AdWords campaign for your business? Here are four of the top benefits you can expect:

1. Instant Traffic!
That’s right – if you’re willing to pay to acquire new leads, your B2B can appear at the top of Google within a matter of hours!

2. Rank for High-Competition Keywords
Not ranking for some major keywords? Get to the top of Google Search results for keywords you don’t organically rank for. These keywords may include high-competition terms or terms that return very crowded organic results (such as industry listings, professional discussion forums, and huge educational databases) on the first page – which means they may be very difficult to rank for organically no matter how hard you work at it. AdWords cuts through all this and places your listing at the very top of the results.

3. Target Market Research
Find out what key terms your potential clients are searching for. It’s true that you can find a little bit of this data in Google Analytics (if you’re using it), but the majority of search terms are not reported. However, Google AdWords records all data regarding all keywords used in your campaign, so you’ll get an enormous amount of information. This data is useful for other marketing efforts, too.

4. Occupy More Real Estate
It’s a wise tactic to use AdWords in conjunction with SEO (organic marketing), because, while you may already rank at the top of the organic search results for a keyword, it’s even more powerful to show up twice for the same search term – both in the paid results and organic results. A double search result could be the difference between someone clicking on your website or on your competitor’s.

5. Protect Your Brand Name
Many times, a company will bid on a competitor’s brand name when using Google AdWords. This means that it’s possible for one of your competitors to rank higher on Google (via AdWords) for your brand name than you do. (Note that if you and your competitor are both bidding on your brand name, you are likely to pay a FAR less amount per click than your competitor.)

Which Businesses Benefit the Most from AdWords?

All of them! It’s a cliché answer, but – given the proper tools – any B2B can be successful utilizing AdWords.

As with all things, some industries are more competitive than others. That means the keywords cost more per click because there are so many bidders who want to rank for the same keyword. In these industries, it’s possible that the profit from your first sale will be eaten up by your monthly AdWords campaign. But remember to account for the long-term value of that customer.

Before you pull the plug on your campaign, ensure you’ve done the math. Many times it’s worth it to break even or have a “loss-leader” sale because of the long-term ROI it generates.

Industries Banned from Google AdWords

There are, however, some industries which are not allowed (or are limited) to advertise on AdWords:

Counterfeit Goods
Dangerous Products (weapons, ammunition, fireworks, etc.)’
Payday loans
Drugs & Alcohol
Tobacco
Gambling
Adult-oriented Content
Healthcare (OTC meds, clinical trials recruitment, etc.)
Political contentRead more: https://support.google.com/AdWordspolicy/answer/6008942?rd=1

How Do You Know If Your B2B Is a Good Fit for AdWords?

If people use Google to search for products or services that you sell, then AdWords is a good fit for you.

When Is Best to Use AdWords? 5 Examples

It’s best to use AdWords in the following situations:

1. Newly launched websites
If you’ve just launched a website on a new domain, then you probably don’t have any solidified ways to bring traffic to your website. If that’s the case, AdWords can send traffic to your website immediately while you invest in organic marketing.

2. Seasonal businesses
If you have a seasonal business, using AdWords during your busy season can ensure you have traffic going to your website during the important months.

3. E-commerce websites
If you sell products on your website, AdWords can get you in front of more customers on Google than anything else.

4. Brand awareness
New brand? Rebranding? Or just building equity in your brand – whatever the case, AdWords is an excellent way to increase brand awareness.

5. The Real Answer
With all that said, the real answer is simple: It’s best to use AdWords when you’re ready to grow your business.

Get More Value Out of AdWords

To get the best value out of your AdWords campaign, you need to start with a website that converts traffic well. It’s inefficient to spend money to drive traffic to your website if the website isn’t optimized to bring in leads or sales.

How Do You Determine a Realistic Budget?

This is a very difficult question to answer if your B2B has never used Google AdWords before. Without historical data, you can’t possibly know for certain what works, and that can be stressful for any business. But there are a few guidelines that you can go by.

As an AdWords strategist, when I first talk to people about integrating AdWords (or any new marketing platforms, for that matter) into their marketing strategy, I make these two points very clear:

1. Sales are NOT guaranteed.
2. Start your budget with how much money you’re willing to lose.

With that said, it’s extremely rare for any business to see absolutely no return on AdWords. But I want business owners to understand that using AdWords won’t revolutionize the way they do business. What AdWords WILL do is send qualified leads to your website. But your website still needs to be optimized for conversions, and your sales team still needs to educate, nurture, and close those leads.

Once your ads have sent enough traffic to your website, you can begin to mine the data for a sense of your campaign’s effectiveness.

Set a Budget

I recommend you consider the following as you determine a realistic budget:

Determine the Long Term Value (LTV) of each customer.
Determine the profit margins of each customer (per purchase or LTV).
Ask yourself how much business can your B2B handle? How quickly can you grow?

Consider the items above then determine of how much it has/will cost to acquire a new customer and how many new customers you’d like per month. Multiply those factors – the result is a good spot to set your budget.

For example, if you’d like 10 more customers, and it costs your B2B $20 to acquire a new customers, your equation would be:

10 x $20 = $200

The Reality

However, budgets are often driven by the question, “How much can we spend on marketing this year?” This makes sense from a fiscal perspective, but can be detrimental to the long-term capabilities of your AdWords campaign.

Many times, you are able to increase your budget as your AdWords campaign becomes more efficient and optimized (which means you’re capturing 90% or more of the impressions for the ads you compete for).

Also, generally speaking, Google will determine how often to show your ads based on your budget. So if your budget is too low, you may not show up for a search that you otherwise qualify for – which translates to lost opportunities.

Think of it this way: your budget is the runway; if you don’t have enough, the plane will never take off.

What Types of Results Can I Expect?

There are two perspectives to consider when you’re looking for results: Analytics Results and Business Results.

Results from Analytics

From an analytics (data) perspective, there are three factors that I like to consider. (I mentioned these items as “terms you should know” earlier in this post.) In order of importance, they are conversions, clicks, and impressions. Each tells a story.

Conversions – As noted before, a conversion is an action taken or goal completed by a visitor to your website. When a user converts on your website, they become a lead (or a customer). This person came to your website ready to take action. This person is either at the bottom of the sales funnel or has completed it.

Clicks – When a user clicks on your ad, but does not convert, they are likely researching your product or service and comparing you to your competitors. This person is likely in the middle of the sales funnel but isn’t ready to convert yet. The best plan of action would be to capture this user’s e-mail address or phone number so that you can nurture this lead into a sale.

Impressions – This person saw your ad but didn’t click it. Maybe it wasn’t well-targeted or didn’t have a strong enough call to action. This person may or may not even be in your sales funnel, but if they are, they are likely at the top.

Business Results

From a business perspective, you’re making sales (revenue!), capturing leads, educating your potential clients, and building brand awareness. Some B2B businesses have very long buying cycles, so there may be a ramp up phase until you see the revenue grow.

Harness AdWords to Grow Your Leads & Sales

We’re passionate about AdWords, because it’s a great way to drive qualified traffic to your website and increase leads and sales (bottom line, isn’t that what matters?).