10 benefits of having an inbound approach to PPC campaigns
Inbound marketing and PPC campaigns are two tactics that complement and potentiate each other. Inbound focuses on gaining organic traffic and it takes time to start seeing results. But with paid ads, you are able to generate results faster and to reach more people with your valuable content and experiences tailored to their needs.
By mixing inbound and PPC best practices, you generate a powerful hybrid tactic with a lot of benefits for your marketing efforts:
1. Amplifying successful inbound tactics
Looking at your KPIs, you can see that several assets performed better than others. You can use paid ads to reach new audiences and amplify the success of evergreen blog articles, premium materials, and landing pages created for product-oriented offers.
84% of B2B marketers also rely on paid distribution channels for content marketing. (Content Marketing Institute)
2. Effective content distribution
You invest a lot of resources into creating high-value content (ebooks, guides, white papers). For effective distribution, you need to add context to your content marketing efforts. PPC ads help you put relevant content in front of the right people, at the right time.
75% of people say paid search ads make it easier to find the information they are searching for. (Search Engine Land)
3. Reaching your target audience
PPC platforms help you reach more people that match your Buyer Persona profile(s). Use targeting options available to obtain a well-defined audience that reflects the characteristics of your B2B Buyer Persona: demographics, behavioral data, job title, keywords, etc.
Social media platforms capture 33% of the time users spend online. (Global Web Index)
4. Choosing the best ad format
Experimenting with new ad formats helps you learn more about your audience’s preferences. The variety of ad formats available on different paid channels allows you to choose the one that generates better engagement rates.
LinkedIn ads are 227% more effective for generating B2B leads than other networks. (SocialPilot)
5. Fine-tuning your campaign
PPC platforms allow you to review and adjust your ads as many times as needed. Monitor the campaign’s performance to maximize results for the money you spend. You might need to change your budget or to extend your campaign to enhance its effectiveness.
Businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads. (Google)
6. Generating valuable analytics
With every paid ad created, you attract new people and gather new data about your target audience. PPC campaigns help you get a deeper understanding of your buyer persona. Use these insights to improve existing and future inbound marketing efforts.
PPC visitors are 50% more likely to purchase something than organic visitors. (Unbounce)
7. Getting results faster
Gaining organic traffic takes time, but if you set your paid campaign correctly, you can generate immediate and consistent traffic for your inbound campaigns. This gives an indirect boost to your SEO efforts and gets leads into your nurturing process sooner.
PPC ads are more effective when used in conjunction with SEO tactics.
8. Improving SEO
You can create PPC campaigns around the keywords and phrases that are already generating results or around new ones. The analytics of your paid campaign will reveal which keywords have higher demand and you can start using them to generate more traffic organically.
Google Ads results receive 65% of the clicks that started with buying keywords.
9. A/B testing landing pages
To identify trends in your audience’s behavior you need a large amount of traffic. Paid ads help you generate more visits, so you can get a valid A/B test and valuable insights. Once your new landing page is optimized for conversions, you can stop your paid campaign.
Display advertising has proven to increase traffic to websites by 300%. (Visually)
10. Increasing brand awareness
The sooner people get familiar with your brand, the better. You want to attract and convert leads in the early stages, nurturing them into customers. Create a PPC campaign for each stage of the buyer’s journey and use remarketing to keep your brand top of mind.
PPC ads can boost awareness by 80% .(Clever Clicks)
Inbound + PPC = The perfect hybrid tactic
An inbound approach on PPC campaigns means that you will create paid ads that cover the entire buyer journey (not just to push your product or services in front of new audiences) and offer support for your inbound tactics.
Set up your hybrid campaign for success by following these steps:
- Clearly define the goal you want to achieve by investing in a paid campaign;
- Identify the buyer persona you need to target and its' stage in the journey;
- Choose a relevant, high-quality inbound marketing asset and optimize it for conversions;
- Follow the PPC platform's guidelines to make sure your ad is displayed as intended;
- Set up the target audience, budget, and duration for your catchy ad;
- Monitor your ad's performance and make the needed adjustments to increase its effectiveness;
- Use the insights of your paid campaign to improve your organic efforts.
To get the most out of your PPC campaign, your inbound marketing machine should work flawlessly, with engaging experiences for your new visitors and optimized landing pages that generate high conversion rates.
It's important to make a good first impression, but your new audience should enjoy every interaction with your brand: excellent user experience on any device, useful information for every lifecycle stage, helpful nurturing newsletters with a personal, human touch.
So, next time you need to accelerate the results of your inbound marketing efforts, set up a PPC campaign and create the perfect hybrid tactic to help you meet your goals.
Featured image source: CoWomen
