Looking at Google’s definition of an ad group, it refers to “using ad groups to organize ads by a common theme”.
A very common problem in B2B is that marketers try to choose which landing page is the best for a given keyword. So they try to match existing landing pages with a group of keywords that seem similar!
After all, they are ad groups that have a demo, a trial, a download option, and a blog post
It’s not ideal. Instead, you should separate keywords (and landing pages) based on searcher intent, journey stage, etc.
Back to PPC 101, it’s important to note that Google tends to show ads with the highest engagement. Now, naturally, fewer people want to click on an ad that says “Contact us for a demo” and more people are happy to click on an ad that says “read our latest blog post.” By default, you buy the lower positions of the tunnel.
In today’s world, two different landing pages are needed if the intent of two keywords is different. And since these two keywords don’t have a common theme, two ad groups are needed as well.
Lack of audience for B2B built-in platforms
If you’ve ever tried to find a built-in audience segment for your B2B business, you know that strange things happen. Fortunately, there is no need to rely on built-in segments. If you have access to Google Analytics, go to the Demographics and Interests report. From there, you can view the traffic-related marketplace and affiliate segments from all the channels currently on your website.
Using segments and filters, you can identify high-performing or low-performing audiences.
While I don’t recommend targeting or excluding only those audiences, this analysis can help you make positive or negative bid adjustments based on performance!
Another great thing about these audiences is that you can (and should) search for and target them individually. Remember, you can adjust your bids based on the performance of these audiences.
Don’t aim for an underperforming audience, just lean towards a lower price until you hit a good balance. At the same time, don’t be afraid to target audiences that provide a larger share of quality traffic.
Complex B2B platform limitations
Google Ads Only Conversions: Add an account to your marketing automation platform
A typical B2B buyer journey involves multiple touch points and stakeholders before they make a decision. This means that it’s not enough how many clicks and leads you get per month. You need to know who interacts with specific touchpoints.
All the most popular marketing automation platforms (eg Marketo, HubSpot) integrate directly with Google Ads. The integration process for each platform is different, but generally speaking, you’ll be able to make this connection by going into your platform’s settings. In Marketo, it’s under LaunchPoint. In HubSpot it’s under Marketing and then under Advertising. Once you’ve found these areas, you’ll need to create a new connection to Google Ads and then sign in to your Google Ads account. Everything! These platforms will be connected.
With this simple process, you’ll be able to gain better insight into your marketing platform and learn which specific ads, keywords, etc. provides qualified leads. You can also create and exclude audiences. The possibilities are wide!
Improved conversions for more visibility
Google Ads introduced improved conversions in May 2021. It’s a fantastic tool for B2B marketers. First, Google collects basic information about the user who submits a form on your website. After they become customers, you can upload this data to your Google Ads account and see which ad they clicked on before becoming a customer.
Disadvantage of using advanced conversions: You must set up your conversions using Google Ads conversion tracking. If you import leads from Google Analytics to Google Ads, you will not be able to use this feature.
However, setting up advanced conversions can be tricky. Here’s a great video guide on advanced conversions.
Many B2B marketers don’t even know about this wonderful, recently launched tool. You should definitely look into it, especially if you don’t have access to a marketing automation platform or CRM.
Your Ads Are Looking Boring: Ad Customizers Will Help!
If you are a B2C or DTC marketer, you must know what ad customizers are. However, the number of B2B marketers using them is very small, even though they can be incredibly useful and are easy to create.
Ad customizers allow you to personalize your ad copy based on the user’s location, the product they’re looking for, and more.
Simply upload a data file with all customizers to get started. If you don’t know how to do this, Google Ads has a downloadable template that you can use in the UI platform. From there, create your ads and let Google do the magic.
B2B marketers aren’t impressed with ad customizers. If you look at the examples on the Google Ads support page, you’ll see all the B2C products. However, that doesn’t mean marketers shouldn’t use them.
For example, if there are cities or counties where your business has a local presence, be sure to include them in your ad customizer. If there is no local presence in the specified area, just use the default message.
Here’s another example of how B2B marketers can use ad customizers: discounts! If you have a discount that varies depending on your product and don’t want to create multiple ad groups and ads to promote the right discount, Ad Customizers can absolutely help you scale those campaigns while keeping your account easy to manage.
Improve your B2B performance
Sad but true: many advertising platforms were not designed with B2B needs in mind. However, that doesn’t mean B2B marketers can’t be just as successful as B2C marketers on platforms like Google Ads.
You just have to be creative and think outside the box!