An insight into the best B2B Google Ads strategies successfully deployed at Mavlers

When it comes to crafting Google Ads for B2B ventures or devising the best B2B marketing campaigns, you cannot enter the milieu without razor-sharp strategies that will win you the game! 

We at Mavlers, a full-suite digital marketing agency, have helped 7000+ global clients successfully manage 43+ million dollars in media spending. This has helped us sharpen our proverbial axe for B2B Google Ads strategies on the whetstone of the experience and expertise of 120 + professional Google Ads experts. 

In today’s blog, we will discuss the Google Ads strategies that have worked for our valuable B2B clientele.

1. Comprehensive keyword research

Effective B2B Google Ads campaigns begin with thorough keyword research. This process is crucial for identifying the terms and phrases that potential clients use when searching for products or services. At Mavlers, we utilize tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs to uncover high-performing keywords.

Here’s an insight into the key tactics we use:

• Long-tail keywords: These specific phrases often have lower competition and higher conversion rates. They are more descriptive and closely match potential clients’ search intent. For instance, instead of targeting “CRM software,” we might target “best CRM software for small businesses.”

• Exact match keywords: Targeting these ensures that our ads reach a highly relevant audience. By using exact-match keywords, we can control who sees our ads, ensuring that our budget is spent efficiently.

• Competitor keywords: By analyzing competitor keywords, we can capture traffic that is already interested in similar offerings. This strategy helps in brand building and targeting relevant traffic by positioning our offerings as alternatives to the competition.

Impact: By targeting exact matches and long tail keywords for our B2B clients, we at Mavlers have filtered down the irrelevant traffic. We have seen improvements in the conversion rate by 15% for search campaigns (an increase from 1.5% to 1.72%) and month-on-month growth of 10% in conversion rate. Our Overall Conversion to Final Conversion Ratio has also increased because relevant audience traffic has turned into relevant leads.

2. Audience targeting and segmentation

Audience targeting and segmentation are vital for B2B marketing success. By understanding and categorizing our audience, we can tailor our campaigns to meet their specific needs.

Let’s delve into some of our key endeavors:

• Observation for search campaigns: Analyzing user behavior helps refine our targeting strategies. By observing search campaigns, we gain insights into how users interact with our ads, allowing us to make data-driven adjustments.

• Custom audiences: Creating audiences based on top-performing keywords and competitor traffic. This involves using Google Ads’ custom audience feature to build lists of users who have shown interest in specific keywords or visited competitor websites.

• Demographics: Targeting key age groups (25-44) most relevant to B2B segments. Focusing on this demographic ensures our ads reach decision-makers and influencers within organizations.

• Lookalike audiences: We use qualified leads to create similar audiences through Demand Gen campaigns. Lookalike audiences help us expand our reach by targeting users who share characteristics with our best customers.

• Remarketing: Utilizing GA4 and Google Ads to create time-segmented audiences for personalized ad communication. This involves creating remarketing lists for users who visited our site within different time frames (e.g., 1 day, 7 days, 14 days) and tailoring our messages accordingly.

3. Crafting compelling ad copy

Creating compelling ad copy is essential for capturing the attention of B2B audiences. Our approach focuses on addressing pain points, clear calls to action (CTAs), and relevant keyword usage.

Here are some of our key tactics:

• Clear CTAs: Clear CTAs encourage actions like “Contact Us” and “Enquire Now” to prompt immediate engagement. They guide users toward the desired action, improving conversion rates.

• Keyword usage: Incorporating keywords in headlines and descriptions to improve ad relevancy and quality score. This ensures that our ads are more likely to appear for relevant searches and resonate with the audience.

• A/B testing: Experimenting with different ad copies to find the most effective messages. By testing various headlines, descriptions, and CTAs, we can identify the combinations that generate the highest engagement.

• Dynamic keyword insertion: This technique allows us to customize ad copy to match search queries dynamically. We insert the search term directly into the ad copy, making it highly relevant to the user’s query. 

• Headline pinning: Pinning allows you to ensure that specific headlines always appear in your ads, which helps maintain a consistent message and brand identity. This can lead to better Quality Scores, reducing your cost-per-click and improving your ad position. 

• Mobile optimization: Given the prominence of mobile device usage, short headlines are particularly beneficial for mobile ads, where screen real estate is limited. They ensure that your message is fully visible and impactful on smaller screens.

Impact: We have seen Click-Through Rates (CTR) go up by 40%. We carried out A/B testing between the following sets of ads: the first set of previous ads with no headline pinning and no short headlines and the second set with headline pinning and short headlines, with the addition of keywords in the description. We have seen our client’s overall CTR improve from 12% to 17%, and their ad quality score has also improved from 6 to 8.

4. Utilizing ad extensions

Ad extensions enhance the visibility and effectiveness of B2B Google Ads by providing additional information and interactive elements.

Let’s check out some of our key tactics:

• Sitelink extensions: Adding multiple sitelinks with different URLs. Sitelinks direct users to specific pages on our website, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

• Business name & logo: Creating trust and recognition by displaying our business name and logo in the ads. This helps build brand credibility and ensures users recognize our brand.

• Image extensions: Improving CTR with visual elements. Images can make our ads more engaging and help convey our message more effectively.

• Callout extensions: Highlighting multiple features and benefits. Callouts provide additional information that can influence a user’s decision to click on the ad.

• Lead form extensions: Facilitating direct lead capture within the ad. This extension allows users to submit their information without leaving the search results page, reducing friction and increasing lead generation.
  
  Conclusion: By adding the lead form extension, our overall conversion rate has increased by 20% (from 1.6% to 1.92%) because users can now contact us directly without visiting the website.

5. Leveraging LinkedIn integration

Integrating LinkedIn with Google Ads provides enhanced targeting options for B2B marketing.

Let’s explore some of our main tactics:

• LinkedIn audiences: Setting up and using LinkedIn audiences in Google Ads. We can target professionals based on their job titles, industries, and company sizes by importing LinkedIn audience data.

• Sales Navigator data: Importing data to create customer list audiences. This involves using LinkedIn Sales Navigator to gather detailed information about potential clients and using it to refine our Google Ads targeting.

6. Optimizing landing pages

Tailored landing pages are crucial for B2B conversions. Effective design and content can significantly impact conversion rates.

Here are some of our key tactics for optimizing landing pages:

• Benefit-focused headlines: Clearly conveying the value proposition. A strong headline that highlights the benefits of our offering can capture the user’s attention immediately.

• Relevant images: Illustrating the business effectively. Images that are relevant to our products or services help create a connection with the audience.

• Lead forms: We place forms above the fold and ensure that they have static or floating CTAs. This makes it easy for users to submit their information without scrolling.

• Navigation removal: Minimizing distractions to focus on conversion. By removing navigation links, we keep users focused on the conversion goal.

• Customer reviews & testimonials: Building credibility and trust by showcasing positive feedback from existing clients.

Impact: The overall conversion rate for our clients has increased by 30%. At the account level, the conversion rate has improved from 1.9% to 2.47%, and we have seen a dip in the bounce rate from 55% to 42%. 

7. Optimizing search terms & placements

Regular optimization of search terms and placements helps maintain campaign efficiency and relevance.

Let’s delve into our key tactics here:

• Daily search terms analysis: Excluding irrelevant queries. Regularly reviewing search terms ensures that our ads are only shown for relevant searches, reducing wasted spend.

• Negative keywords list: Adding generic negative keywords to save costs. This prevents our ads from appearing for irrelevant searches, improving overall campaign performance.

• Placement exclusions: We do this at the account level to avoid irrelevant sites. We ensure our ads are shown on high-quality sites that drive conversions by excluding placements that do not perform well.
  
  
  Impact: We have managed to reduce the average CPC by 25%. We have cut down on irrelevant traffic by excluding irrelevant placements and search terms. We have also excluded high-CPC search terms and placements that are not driving results. That’s how we have reduced our overall account CPC from $1.50 to $1.12.

8. Implementing retargeting campaigns

Retargeting is a powerful tool for B2B marketing. It enables us to re-engage potential clients who have previously interacted with our content.

Check out some of our key tactics here:

• Dynamic retargeting: Personalized ads based on user behavior. By showing ads that reflect the user’s previous interactions with our site, we can increase the likelihood of conversion.

• Sequential messaging: Delivering messages in a logical sequence to guide prospects through the sales funnel. This involves showing different ads at different stages of the buyer’s journey, providing relevant information, and nudging users towards conversion.

9. Tracking and analytics

Tracking and measuring campaign performance is critical for continuous improvement.

Here’s how we stay on top of our tracking and analytics game:

• Google Analytics: Linking GA4 with Google Ads for comprehensive data analysis. This integration allows us to track user behavior across our site and understand the impact of our ads.

• Enhanced conversion tracking: We delve into first-party data for accurate measurement. Enhanced conversion tracking provides more detailed data on how users interact with our site, helping us optimize our campaigns.
• Conversion window: Setting appropriate windows based on business needs. We can accurately attribute conversions to our ads by adjusting the conversion window.

• Data-driven attribution: Analyzing conversions to understand performance better. Data-driven attribution helps us understand the customer journey and optimize our campaigns based on actual performance.

10. Budget management and bid strategies

Effective budget management and bid strategies ensure that we get the most out of our B2B Google Ads campaigns.

Let’s check out some of our key tactics:

• Objective-based bidding: Using strategies like target impression share and maximize conversions. These bidding strategies align with our campaign goals, ensuring we spend our budget effectively.

• Location targeting: Focusing on specific regions relevant to the business. By targeting locations where our potential clients are based, we can improve the relevance and performance of our ads.

• Ad scheduling:  We run ads during business hours to optimize spend. Ad scheduling ensures our ads are shown when our target audience is most likely to engage.

• Bid adjustments: Modifying bids based on device performance. By analyzing device performance data, we can adjust our bids to ensure we get the best results from each device type.

11. Contextual targeting

Contextual targeting involves displaying ads on web pages that are relevant to the product or service being advertised. This strategy helps ensure that our ads reach users who are already interested in related topics.

Here are our key tactics:

• Content analysis: Using tools to analyze web page content and identify relevant sites for ad placements. This helps us find websites where our target audience is likely to spend time.
• Keyword context: Selecting keywords that match the context of the content where the ads will be displayed. This ensures our ads are shown in a relevant context, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

• Topic targeting: Choosing topics related to our products or services for ad placements. By targeting specific topics, we can reach users who are interested in those areas.

12. IP exclusion

IP exclusion is a technique for preventing our ads from being shown to specific IP addresses. This strategy helps avoid wasted ad spend and ensures our budget is used effectively.

You might want to explore some of our key tactics here:

• Competitor exclusion: Excluding competitors’ IP addresses to prevent them from clicking on our ads. This helps reduce fraudulent clicks and save the budget.

• Internal traffic exclusion: Excluding the IP addresses of our own company and any known partners. This ensures that our internal team does not inadvertently click on our ads and skew performance data.

• Frequent clickers exclusion: We monitor IP addresses that frequently click on our ads without converting and exclude them. This helps reduce wasted spending on users who are unlikely to convert.

The road ahead

Wondering How Much Does A PPC Project Cost At Mavlers? Well, we have a detailed guide for that too!