There are many different digital marketing strategies out there, but pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the best. This form of advertising allows you to create various ads you direct to your target audience, helping you with PPC lead generation and driving conversions.
Of course, while you may already know PPC inside and out, you may be wondering what to do with the leads you generate. How can you effectively manage PPC leads and turn them into customers down the line? In fact, you could even be wondering how to create more of those leads in the first place.
If you’ve come here with questions about PPC lead management—or PPC lead generation—you’ve made the right choice because that’s exactly what we’ll discuss in this blog post. Keep reading to learn more.
Today, search engines like Google are where people turn first for information. Whether they’re researching products or checking reviews, being visible at these moments is crucial, especially for attracting PPC leads actively seeking solutions. With PPC, you can instantly appear on page one and be in front of people searching for your solution to their problem. More people are aware of you and what you have to offer than before. Here are some of the benefits of using PPC for lead generation:
Achieve immediate keyword rankings and traffic: With PPC, you can quickly gain visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) and start driving traffic to your website, bypassing the long process of organic search engine optimization (SEO).
Bid on various stages of the funnel: PPC allows you to target users at different stages of the buyer’s journey, from awareness to decision, tailoring your messaging and ad content accordingly.
Control the message for each funnel stage: With PPC, you have complete control over the messaging and content of your ads, allowing you to tailor your message to match your target audience’s specific needs and interests.
Gain insights into customer behavior: PPC platforms provide valuable data on user behavior and interactions, allowing you to understand your audience better and refine your targeting and messaging strategies.
Track ROI accurately: PPC offers robust tracking and analytics tools that enable you to measure your advertising campaigns’ return on investment (ROI) down to the penny, helping you optimize your spending and maximize your results.
Grow your database of leads: By capturing user information through PPC campaigns, such as email addresses or contact details, you can build a database of leads for future marketing efforts, expanding your potential customer base.
How to generate PPC leads
Before we get into PPC lead management, you might be wondering how you can generate PPC leads. If so, don’t worry. There are many different ways to generate leads, but we’ll cover three of the best methods below.
1. Conduct keyword research
Conduct thorough keyword research to generate PPC leads effectively. This process ensures that your ads appear in front of potential customers when they search for relevant products or services. By selecting specific long-tail keywords and targeting branded terms, you can attract relevant traffic while minimizing the chances of competitors intercepting potential leads. Analyzing competitors’ keywords and optimizing for voice search can further enhance the effectiveness of your PPC lead generation efforts.
Additionally, adding negative keywords is an essential step for maximizing the impact of keyword research on your PPC campaigns. Negative keywords enable advertisers to exclude specific search terms from campaigns and focus only on the search terms that matter to their business. By monitoring campaign activity and adding negative keywords, campaigns can achieve better targeting and increase their ROI.
2. Create different types of ads
Our first PPC lead generation tip is to take advantage of different PPC ad types. There are quite a few options out there, including:
Paid search ads (which appear at the top of Google search results)
Display ads (which appear as boxes or banners on third-party websites)
Social media ads (which often appear as sponsored posts on social media platforms)
The advantage of using different ad types is that they allow you to reach a much wider audience than you otherwise would. Let’s say you only use paid search ads. Well, that’s great, but what if it turns out most of your target audience spends far more time on social media and doesn’t do many Google searches in your industry? You’re missing out on all those leads.
But by running multiple types of ads, you can cover all your bases and ensure that you don’t miss anyone. Of course, you can decide which ad formats to use by researching your audience and determining the best platforms for reaching them.
3. Build focused landing pages
No matter what type of ad you create, each one will lead users to landing pages—the pages your ads link to when someone clicks on them. Those landing pages are where the real lead generation and conversions happen, so making them compelling is critical.
You can do that in a couple of different ways. First, keep things simple and attractive. Don’t stuff your landing pages to the brim with images, text, and links to other pages. Rely on simple visual designs and use minimal text, so users don’t feel overwhelmed.
Secondly, center each landing page around a single call to action (CTA). Don’t try to make users do 17 different things at once because people will get overwhelmed and not do any of them. Instead, encourage them to take a single action, like signing up for your emails or trying a demo.
As a result, users will respond much more positively to your ads and be more likely to become leads.
4. Target a specific audience
Finally, when you create your ad campaigns, take the time to target a highly specific audience. There are multiple ways to do this. For example, with paid search ads, you have to bid on particular keywords that you want the ads to display. Naturally, you’ll want to choose the sorts of keywords you expect your audience to search for.
More than that, though, most paid ads allow you to target specific groups of people directly. You can research your audience to determine which demographics will likely buy from you. Then, you can target those exact demographics in your ad campaigns, giving you a higher chance of generating leads.
This is especially simple in Google Ads, where you can create custom audiences using everything from users’ age to their location.
5. Implement A/B testing
Utilize A/B testing to optimize your ads by experimenting with different elements such as headlines, copy, images, and calls-to-action (CTAs). This tactic lets you track and identify which variations resonate best with your target audience and drive conversions.
You can determine the most effective advertising methods for various scenarios by systematically testing different combinations, replicating successful outcomes, and refining strategies to enhance conversion rates over time. Continuously iterating on these tests while adjusting bids and evaluating performance can improve campaign effectiveness and, ultimately, generate more PPC leads.
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Now that we’ve gone over the importance of PPC in lead generation and how to generate PPC leads, let’s talk about how to manage those leads once you have them. What can you do to improve your chances of converting those leads, and how can you use your existing leads to help you drive even more future ones? Keep reading to find out.
1. Segment your leads
One tactic that can help you with PPC lead management is segmentation. Segmentation is where you divide your leads into different categories. Those categories can be based on different things, including:
The advantage of dividing leads into these categories is that it makes them far more manageable since you don’t have to deal with as large of a group all at once. Furthermore, what works for one group of leads may not work for another. So, having the leads already segmented makes it easier to figure out where to use one tactic versus another.
2. Use lead scoring or lead confidence
Another way to manage PPC leads more effectively is through lead scoring. Lead scoring is a system whereby you assign numbers to each of your leads based on their value to your company. An alternative version of this is lead confidence, which looks specifically at how likely each lead is to convert.
This helps you prioritize your PPC leads. For example, one of your ads may bring in two new leads one day. The first lead clicked on the ad and engaged briefly but left without any further interaction. The second lead, meanwhile, subscribed to your emails and visited your site regularly down the road.
In the above example, the first lead would definitely end up with a lower lead score than the second one. It’s clear from the second lead’s behavior that they’re far more likely to convert. For that reason, you know to prioritize your sales efforts for that lead.
3. Monitor your PPC lead generation results
Finally, when managing your leads, it’s vital that you take the time to learn from them. You can do that by observing their progress through the sales funnel and seeing which of your marketing materials worked best for them.
Why track this information? Because it allows you to improve your marketing continuously. Just because you’ve earned some leads doesn’t mean your marketing is flawless—there are still things you can do to earn even more leads in the future. Looking at your PPC lead generation results can help you figure out what those things are.
As you improve your marketing based on what you learn, you’ll ultimately generate even more leads.
4. Implement CRM integration for lead tracking and management
Transitioning from spreadsheets to a comprehensive CRM platform is essential for efficient lead tracking and management. With a CRM system, your team can access updated PPC lead data and profiles after every interaction, ensuring seamless collaboration across your organization. It centralizes all lead-related information, including communication history, allowing for a more organized and informed approach to lead nurturing.
Integrating CRM into your lead management process can enhance productivity, minimize errors, and maximize the effectiveness of your PPC lead generation efforts.
5. Utilize marketing automation for lead nurturing
Say goodbye to manual data entry errors and inefficiencies by leveraging marketing automation tools within your CRM. These tools automate essential processes like lead assignment, pipeline management, and lead scoring, empowering your team to focus on closing deals while your CRM handles the rest. With features like automated lead scoring and pipeline advancement in Nutshell, you can prioritize leads effectively and streamline your path to generating valuable PPC leads.
Marketing automation also facilitates personalized communication with leads through targeted email campaigns and automated follow-ups, nurturing them through the sales funnel with minimal manual intervention.
Let WebFX and Nutshell help you generate and manage PPC leads
If you’re reading this blog post, you’re probably interested in getting some help with managing your PPC leads. In fact, you may even be looking for help generating those leads to begin with. If that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place.
