Attracting those searching online for what you provide has become one of the holy grails of marketing. Many businesses devote a sizeable portion of their budget to PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns – particularly on Google Ads.

So, how can you achieve the greatest return on investment from PPC for B2B?

As East Anglia’s leading B2B (business-to-business) marketing agency – working with businesses across the UK in manufacturing, engineering, technology, logistics, construction and business services – we’re frequently asked to create or manage PPC campaigns.

So, in this blog, we’re going to take a look at the role of PPC in B2B marketing and some of the ways it can be managed to deliver bigger results.

Is PPC right for your business?

Arguably the most effective use of PPC is in selling products to consumers. Search the latest trainers and you will be directed via paid search advertising to a site ready to sell you a pair.

However, marketing products and services to businesses can be quite a different challenge. Whilst consumers are impulsive, independent and decisive, businesses can be more reasoned, make collective decisions and value a trusting relationship with their suppliers.

Fortunately, the importance of the internet in helping businesses research and identify the things they wish to buy is continually growing – and PPC enables B2B businesses to ensure they appear for relevant searches.

Two important questions to ask are thus ‘are enough businesses searching for what you deliver?’ and ‘will satisfying their search result in a sale?’.

Before you commit to PPC and paid search advertising, the volume of relevant searches can often be identified by Google Ads itself and other tools.

If the volume is small, it can create an opportunity to dominate search results but your sales expectations need to be realistic. If the volume is high, you may need to narrow down the focus of your PPC campaign to match your budget.

As discussed, the sweet spot for PPC is if what you sell is something which businesses would be happy to buy there and then. However, if your product or service is something which businesses need time to consider, being found online can be the very important start of that process.

Establishing your PPC campaign

PPC advertising for B2B companies involves targeting businesses with relevant ads through search engines – namely Google or Bing.

As Google had a 93-94% market share in the UK in 2023, we’ll assume you’re choosing Google Ads!

With regards to social media, LinkedIn also offers PPC advertising which can be effective for B2B marketing. However, this is generally based on displaying ads to a certain type of user, rather than answering their search queries.

As well as search ads which appear in search results, other PPC options include display ads, which target specific types of users, and remarketing ads, which appear for those who have already visited your website.

However, it is search ads (often known as Paid Search) which makes up the bulk of PPC for most B2B-focused companies and organisations.

What are our top tips for B2B PPC success?

There are many variables within PPC, which is why many companies turn to our B2B digital marketing team to manage it for them and deliver results.

From our extensive experience, there are a few areas which perhaps have the biggest impact on success:

1. Selecting and targeting the right keywords

PPC paid search ads appear for specific search terms or ‘keywords’. The choice of keywords impacts both success and costs.

The shorter the keyword, the more competitive and expensive it can be. As such, it is often best to focus on ‘long-tail keywords’. These are search terms with three or more words which someone seeking your product or service might use.

Since B2B keywords often have lower search volume than B2C (business-to-consumer) terms, you may need to identify highly specific queries to reach the right audience.

As well as keywords relating to your specific products or services, it is also wise to include keywords related to the research or information which your potential customers may require at the start of their search process. For example, “how to improve supply chain efficiency” or “best accounting software for small businesses”.

2. Choose the right ‘match’ for your keywords

Once you have your list of target keywords, you can specify how close a users’ search needs to be to trigger your PPC advert. The choice of match can have a big impact on results and costs.

Broad Match ads appear for searches that include variations of the search term, including synonyms and related searches.

For example, if you bid on the keyword ‘drainage pipes’, your ad could show up for searches like ‘water pipe’, ‘buy pipe for drainage’ or even ‘drainage management’.

This type of match is best for reaching a wide audience. After an initial period, you can then use Google Ads to look at the actual search terms which the users entered which triggered your ads and create new or more specific keywords.

Broad match can also be powerful for B2B if you wish to create brand awareness by ensuring your name frequently appears for broad searches relating to your sector. However, this can require a significant budget.

Phrase Match ads only appear for searches that contain the exact keyword phrase or a close variation. Typically this includes additional words before or after the keyword phrase.

For example, if you bid on the keyword ‘drainage pipe’, your ad could appear for searches like ‘buy drainage pipe’ or ‘drainage pipe for sale’. However, it would not appear for related terms like ‘water pipe’ or ‘drainage products’.

Phrase match is most useful for targeting specific search intent (e.g. businesses looking a specific product, service or information) while allowing some flexibility for differences in approach or language.

Exact Match ads will only show for searches that exactly match the keyword or a very close variation such as plurals, misspellings or synonyms.

For example, if you bid on ‘drainage pipe’, your ad will also show for ‘drainage pipes’ but not for ‘buy drainage pipe’ or ‘pipe for drainage’.

Exact match is the most precise method and is ideal for pinpoint targeting which maximises the relevance of user searches and minimises irrelevant traffic. However, it is reliant on an absolute understanding or belief in what your potential customers will search.

3. Write compelling ads

Though it can feel disengaged from other forms of marketing, PPC is advertising and thus the content of the advert is very important.

PPC ads are entirely text-based, short and don’t offer much space or time to impress. Therefore, it is important to create ads which:

• Focus on your clients’ pain points by highlighting how your product or service solves the specific problem the business is facing
• Provide a value proposition as B2B buyers are often interested in ROI, efficiency improvements and long-term benefits
• Include a ‘call-to-action’ to encourage an outcome. One way is to use active language like ‘get’ or ‘discover’. Another is to promise something free like information, a whitepaper or a webinar.

4. Make sure your landing page is effective

Getting people to click on your ad is only half the battle of PPC.

If the page they subsequently land on doesn’t then give them the information and inspiration they need or expect, they will bounce out and their click is wasted.

Effective B2B landing pages quickly and effectively educate potential customers about who you are, what you deliver and how it meets their needs.

Remember, they may never have seen or heard of your business before, so you need to make good introduction.

It is critically important to make sure that those who land on your landing page know what to do next with a strong ‘call-to-action’. This could be exploring further information with clear signposting – or making contact via a form or link. 

5. General tips

And finally, here are some quick-fire tips to help you get more from PPC for B2B:

• Regularly review data and analytics to refine targeting and ad creative. In particular look at the keywords which users have physically entered and the elements of your ads which appear most frequently and attract the most clicks
• To truly hone a PPC campaign, it is good to A/B test ad copy, landing pages and targeting options to maximise results. This involves creating two versions with a single difference and seeing which performs best
• When it comes to PPC for B2B it is typically best to ‘educate first, sell later’! B2B buyers typically prefer informational content before they commit to buying or engaging. Though it can seem counter intuitive, you will likely make more sales from informing your website visitors rather than the hard sell!

Get greater results from PPC for B2B

PPC is an important part of the mix for many organisations keen to provide what they do to other businesses and professionals (B2B).

The main caveat is that, depending on the nature and value of the product or service being offered, it can be more effective at boosting brand awareness (by always appearing in search results) rather than generating immediate sales.

PPC is complex, so it is best managed and delivered by someone with experience – not only of Google Ads but your B2B sector and how your potential customers may behave online.

As East Anglia’s leading B2B marketing agency, we work with businesses across the UK – in sectors including manufacturing, engineering, technology, logistics and business services – to help them generate new sales, customers, enquiries and leads from PPC.

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