/ Navigating these PPC challenges can lead to greater ROAS

Platforms like Google ads have made it increasingly easier for anyone to advertise on the internet. But for many businesses, especially those inside the B2B space, access doesn’t equal expertise. Understanding how to construct the perfect ad set comes down to more than just a good image and catchy headline.

“There are a thousand automated ad platforms a business can choose from,” says Adele Todd, Head of Paid Media at Somebody Digital. “Simply paying for media is not what ultimately turns a lead into a sale.” Being a PPC expert means being able to identify and navigate client-specific challenges that can take a good PPC campaign and turn it into a great one.

It's one thing to avoid common PPC Campaign mistakes, it’s another to improve campaigns for clients by being able to navigate the following challenges.

Qualifying leads

For a PPC novice, understanding how to qualify leads can be challenging. “Monitoring the quality of your leads is key to a successful campaign,” notes Adele. Hundreds of leads are useless if they are not going to convert into sales, and ultimately, create a lifelong client for the business. “If your keyword targeting is too broad, you might find you’re getting a lot of junk leads,” notes Adele. “People may be downloading your lead magnet for a variety of reasons.” Distinguishing between who is a hot lead, and who is just doing research is fundamental to navigating the PPC space.

Feedback loops

In order to determine the value of a lead, it’s crucial to have a feedback loop with the clients “Some of our clients use ABM software systems like 6Sense or Zoominfo for this task,” says Adele, “but not every client has the budget for this. Sometimes it comes down to working across excel sheets while sitting on a Teams call.” Creating a feedback loop with a client goes beyond a simple bi-weekly status meeting. “It’s ensuring the data and leads we’re seeing come through aligns with how they are tracking both their online and offline conversions,” adds Adele.

Sales cycle length

Feedback loops help determine the value of leads and contribute to a cohesive picture of the sales cycle. “This is crucial in the current economic client,’ she notes. “We’re seeing sales cycles become much longer than they used to be. We’re seeing sales cycles of 6 months becoming 9 months and more.” This can make it increasingly harder to track first and last touch sales cycles. Being able to factor in the shifting length of a B2B sales cycle helps determine how worthwhile a PPC campaign is, and what sort of yields a business is actually getting from their efforts.

Increasing privacy laws

The transition from Universal Analytics to GA4, and a global increase in improved privacy across devices also has an impact on the outcomes of PPC campaigns. “In some cases, this means we have to be very manual in how we analyse conversions,” notes Adele, “specifically when it comes to Google ads”. She notes that prohibitive cookie policies on websites can curtail tracking and the effectiveness of PPC campaigns should someone decline cookies on a client site. “Analysing the data we have available allows us to get a better understanding on what kind of leads we’re getting, and how to reach those people by manually bidding on the keywords they came in on.”

What we do differently.

Addressing these challenges is key to overcoming many of the current pitfalls PPC marketers are facing. But offering added value is also crucial to ensuring success. “That’s something we do very well,” notes Adele. “We don’t just stop at generating leads. We spend a lot of time working with clients to analyse the data with the end goal of creating a sustainable pipeline and tangible sales opportunities for those who entrust us with their PPC marketing efforts.”

Find out more about how Somebody Digital can set fire to your PPC campaign.