Trying hard to maximize your Return On Investment with PPC campaigns?

It’s challenging to drive higher returns when your ads aren’t attracting enough traffic, or you get plenty of clicks but fewer conversions.

Welcome to Growth Nirvana’s comprehensive guide on mastering PPC Lead Generation strategies. 

In this blog, we’ll explore PPC lead generation in its entirety – the significance, the key differentiators between B2C and B2B PPC lead generation, and the 12 most effective strategies to boost lead generation through PPC.

Let’s dive in.

What is PPC lead generation?

Pay-Per-Click Lead Generation, a type of online advertising, empowers businesses to acquire leads by displaying targeted ads to users based on specific keywords and demographics. 

Unlike traditional advertising, businesses only pay when users click on their ads, offering a cost-efficient approach. 

You can run your PPC campaigns on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and social media platforms like Facebook, Linkedin, etc., and track the results using PPC reporting tools. Further, you can extract data from the PPC reports to make data-driven decisions, optimize ads, and improve ROI.

Cost-per-lead (CPL) becomes a critical key performance indicator in PPC lead generation, revealing the expense per generated lead and influencing decision-making.

CPL = Overall Cost of PPC Campaign / Number of Leads Generated

Why PPC is Great for Lead Generation?

A jampacked marketing funnel with quality leads is crucial to drive revenue growth. 

While various strategies like email marketing, social media, and content marketing can be effective, PPC stands out as an excellent source of leads for the following reasons:

• Swift Results: No waiting for organic traffic to trickle in. PPC delivers instant visibility, and ranking, helping you reach your audience promptly.
• Precision Targeting: With PPC, you can laser-target your ideal customers based on keywords, demographics, location, and even the time of day they’re most active. In short, you can easily attract visitors who are already interested in what you have to offer.

PPC can be used for all funnel stages. For example, retargeting those who’ve previously engaged with your ads, but not yet converted.

• Budget Control: PPC lets you set your budget and controls your spending, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes. You can bid on various stages of the funnel.
• Trackable Performance: PPC lead generation campaigns can be tracked in real-time using a PPC reporting tool. The data from the reports can be utilized to optimize the ads and ROI for maximum impact. The database of the leads generated is a goldmine that can be nurtured over time.

💡Pro Tip: Growth Nirvana’s powerful PPC reporting tool takes care of your entire PPC reporting process, allowing you to stay laser-focused on implementing the strategic work. It offers,

✅Automated reporting

✅Comprehensive PPC analysis

✅Intuitive dashboard, and 

✅Reliable data access

Want to know more? Try out the 30-day free trial and get hands-on experience.

Difference between B2B and B2C PPC Lead Generation

B2B PPC Lead Generation 

• B2B campaigns focus on attracting other businesses as potential clients.
• Usually, several stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process. 
• To capture the attention of B2B prospects, PPC campaigns emphasize more on expertise, trust-building, and value propositions.
• B2B PPC strategies are expensive and more complex due to longer sales cycles and intricate products. They are focused on facilitating buyer interest and action without aggressive selling.

Example: Let’s say a B2B company is offering enterprise software solutions; their PPC lead generation strategy aims to engage CEOs, CTOs, IT Managers, and Business Owners with relevant keywords like “enterprise software solutions” and “cloud-based business solutions.” 

The ad copy will highlight the following:

• Software benefits, 
• How it can help improve productivity and business growth. 

The corresponding landing page will provide comprehensive software details, customer success stories, and a clear call to action for requesting demos or consultations.

B2C PPC Lead Generation

• B2C campaigns target individual consumers directly. 
• In B2C PPC campaigns, emotional triggers, appealing offers, and attention-grabbing creatives are pivotal in engaging the audiences.
• B2C PPC lead generation is comparatively less complex than B2B.

Example: Let’s take a B2C fashion company. Their PPC lead generation strategy focuses on captivating fashion enthusiasts, millennials, and young adults seeking stylish, budget-friendly clothing and accessories. The chosen keywords include “fashionable clothing,” “trendy accessories,” and “affordable fashion deals.” 

The ad copy will showcase the following:

• Fashion trends and exclusive deals.
• Attractive creatives
• Discounts/ Offers or limited-time promo codes.

The corresponding landing page will highlight the latest collections and limited-time offers and provide a fast and seamless buying experience.

How do you generate better leads through PPC?

Here’s a list of the top 12 PPC lead generation best practices you should use to generate better quality leads: 

1. Reach your target audience with better research

The success of PPC lead generation lies in going straight to where your target audience awaits. 

Conduct in-depth research to identify your audience’s preferred platforms and engagement behavior. This step shapes your campaign setup, scheduling, and landing page design. 

Following your audience’s digital footprints will help you call the shots on,

• which social media sites to explore, 
• the SEO keywords to prioritize, and 
• which display sites to block out for the optimal performance of your PPC campaigns. 

Google offers unparalleled targeting options, enabling you to refine ad placements and increase lead discovery.

Note – The most effective platforms will be unique to your message, market, and budget, so avoid being a blind follower of trends. Precision is the key to mastering PPC.

2. Segment your PPC campaigns

Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach in your ad campaigns to reach your target audience. Instead, segment your campaigns into smaller groups based on how your audience searches for solutions, ensuring relevant and targeted ads that resonate with them.

Here are some of the factors based on which you can segment the ad groups-

• Features 
• Benefit
• Sub-Category
• Target Industry
• Product/Service
• Geographic Location
• Competition/ Brand

Example: Let’s consider a company offering digital marketing services. They can segment their campaigns as follows:

• Features: Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing
• Benefits: Improve Website Ranking, Targeted Lead Generation, Personalized Communication and Customer Engagement
• Target Industry: E-commerce Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Healthcare Marketing
• Geographic Location: New York Digital Marketing, Los Angeles Digital Marketing, London Digital Marketing

Generating PPC leads with high relevance factors will get you higher click-through rates and conversions.

💡 Pro tip: B2B businesses cater to various audiences with diverse objectives and interests. Therefore, using specific ad groups is the way to better PPC B2B lead generation.

3. Target keywords with high purchase intent 

Keywords form the foundation of successful paid search campaigns. After segmenting your campaigns, identify the most relevant keywords within each segment. Utilize keyword research tools to get the best ideas.

Here are a few ways to fine-tune your keyword targeting to attract stronger PPC leads:

• Target keywords that align with searcher intent. 
• Segment campaigns based on the search volume of keywords to enhance focus.
• Use long-tail keywords consisting of four or more words for a more refined approach. Searchers using long-tail keywords demonstrate clear intent, making them valuable prospects.
• Gain keyword inspiration from competitors ranking well on search engine results pages without directly copying their strategy. 

Once you know what keywords are working for you, raise their bids so that your ads rank first in the search results. Keep looking for related keywords you may have overlooked the first time.

4. Eliminate Negative Keywords

To attract strong PPC leads within a set budget, you need to ward off the poor leads.

Avoid having your audience click on your ad for irrelevant keywords, leading them to a landing page that doesn’t match their intent. These unwanted keywords, which you want to exclude from your ads, are known as negative keywords.

• Examine the ‘Search Terms Report’ on your PPC Reporting Dashboard to detect any irrelevant clicks or impressions on certain keywords associated with your PPC ads. 
• Include them in your negative keywords list, instructing Google or Bing not to display your ads for these unwanted terms. 
• Brainstorm other negative keywords that can waste your ad spend and sidestep them too.

Referring to the digital marketing services example earlier, you can prevent spending on irrelevant clicks, like “free SEO tools”, “social media marketing DIY” or “digital marketing jobs.”

5. Pre-qualify visitors by utilizing PPC ad copy

Craft persuasive and action-oriented CTAs alongside standout ad copy that resonates only with your target audience, guiding only relevant individuals to click and convert. 

Avoid focusing solely on increasing click-through rates because you’re paying for each click.

Here are a few essential ad copy elements (explained using the same digital marketing services example as above) that help pre-qualify visitors:

• Business Type: Customize ad copy for your target business types. Example: “Comprehensive SEO for Startups” or “Enterprise-Level Social Media Solutions.”
• Industry Specialization: Clearly state your expertise in specific industries. Example: “Data-Driven Marketing for Healthcare” or “Tech-Focused Content Strategies.”
• Transparent Pricing: Consider adding indicative pricing to attract relevant leads. Example: “Affordable SEO Packages from $399/month” or “Tailored PPC Plans Starting at $1000.”
• Ideal Client Description: Personalize ads by mentioning your ideal clients. Example: “Custom Marketing Solutions for E-commerce Entrepreneurs” or “Innovative Strategies for Non-profits.”

6. Entice the visitors with compelling offers through the PPC ads

With your Pay-per-click lead generation ads, you must tailor a valuable offer for your potential customers. For example,

• a free white paper or guide
• a free trial of your product
• attractive discounts
• coupon code to a trending course

This is a significant step if your ad is generated based on competitive keywords and ad placements. Make the offer so attractive that it compels the audience to click and exchange their basic information, such as:

• Email ID
• Name
• Profession

Also, offer them to follow your company on social media and to subscribe to your newsletter or blog.

7. Use PPC Ad Extensions 

Ad extensions are a useful tool for making your PPC ad campaigns stand out. Ad extensions are used to highlight specific elements of ads that a lead may be interested in.

• Callout extensions
• Call extensions
• Lead form extensions (beta)
• Location extensions

Google ad extensions give a lot more information to the user up-front. Users who click on extension advertising are more likely to convert on post-click landing pages since they’ll know what to expect.

8. Use instant forms in your PPC ads

PPC ads that get your audience to fill out a form are a great way to convert them into high-quality PPC leads. 

Ads that make users switch platforms or fill long, laborious forms are off-putting. Include a form in the PPC ad on Facebook and Linkedin to make the process seamless. LinkedIn even fills out the form with the user’s known information, leading to a hassle-free process and a higher conversion rate.

9. Run an ad schedule

Set up an ad schedule for your campaigns, even if they run 24/7. Customize by days or hours to track performance. 

Analyze opportunity data to identify peak days or hours, adjust bids accordingly, and reallocate budget for optimal results. 

Consider a longer-term analysis, like one quarter, to optimize your schedule and re-invest in high-opportunity periods.

10. Create Unique PPC Landing Pages 

Create a unique landing page for each ad group and ensure the landing page delivers exactly what the ad promises. Trust is essential for converting a visitor into a lead.

Optimize landing pages by using, 

• clear primary and secondary calls to action, 
• relevant content tailored to ad groups’ needs, and 
• minimal form fields for higher response rates.

Enhance credibility with testimonials and trust indicators while offering a free incentive to encourage lead information submission.

💡 Pro-Tip: If running multiple ad groups, use dynamic headlines and subheadings on landing pages, allowing content alteration through parameters in the landing page URL.

11. Set Up Proper PPC leads Tracking 

You can track your PPC leads data in different ways:

Conversion Tracking helps you see how many people took the action you wanted, like signing up or buying something.

Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) is a call-tracking feature that links a unique phone number to ad sources. It helps businesses attribute calls to PPC campaigns, retargeted ads, etc.

UTM Tracking adds tags to your landing page URLs to see where leads came from, what keywords or devices they used, etc.

Tracking your PPC campaign is super important for successful pay-per-click lead generation. It helps you see what’s working and what’s not.

Growth Nirvana’s PPC reporting tool simplifies the reporting process and provides real-time automated data with 100% visibility on ad spend, conversions, and ROAS across all ad campaigns in a single, customizable dashboard. 

Read: How to Track and Measure PPC Campaigns?

12. Test, Analyze, Optimize

Every business requires tailored strategies to excel in PPC lead generation. Continuous experimentation is essential. 

• Perform A/B testing to optimize landing pages and ad copies, identifying the best variants driving conversions and ROI. 
• For effective testing, focus on elements like images, headlines, keywords, offers, extensions, and scheduling. 
• Test various offers and CTAs to discover what resonates and 
• Go beyond conversions to identify opportunities that add value. Free trials, demo scheduling, consultations, proposal requests, and free assessments are worth exploring.
• Run multiple ad versions simultaneously and compare their performances based on conversions and opportunities generated.
• Get efficient PPC tools to create, analyze, and improve your PPC campaigns

Read: PPC Reporting: The Ultimate Guide to Unlocking PPC Insights

FAQs

How can I measure the success of my PPC B2B lead generation campaign?

To measure the success of your PPC B2B lead generation campaigns, track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Indicates how engaging your ads are and how well they resonate with the audience.
• Conversion Rate: This shows the percentage of clicks that resulted in the desired action, such as form submissions or demo requests.
• Cost per Conversion (CPC): Measures the average cost incurred to acquire a lead or customer.
• Return on Investment (ROI): Evaluates the profitability of campaigns by comparing the generated revenue with campaign costs.

What are the most common pitfalls to avoid in PPC lead generation?

Avoid mismatches between ad copy and landing pages to ensure a smooth user experience and boost conversions. Alignment between the two elements has proven to enhance campaign effectiveness and drive better results.

Is PPC lead generation suitable for small businesses?

Thanks to its cost-effective nature and precise targeting capabilities, PPC lead generation is perfect for small businesses. It empowers small businesses to reach their ideal audience, maximize their budget, and achieve significant results with minimal investment.