71% of B2B researchers start with a generic search. To stand the best chance of appearing in those typically tailored and short-form searches, B2B companies should invest in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

Unlike organic appearances, PPC advertising ensures that your site appears in relevant keyword searches. PPC ads also ensure visibility, as they involve paid top advertising spots like Google's first sponsored listing.

PPC's ability to quickly and affordably capture relevant leads is its main selling power. But, how can you make sure that PPC truly boosts your B2B business?

Set Clear Campaign Goals

You should always inform your PPC campaign with clear goals and intentions. After all, there are a few different uses for PPC campaigns in B2B advertising, and they can include –

• Lead generation

• Increased brand awareness

• New product promotions

• Etc.

If you don't know which of these goals you're aiming towards, then your PPC advertisements are unlikely to fulfil that purpose to any real effect. Worse, you'll make it far harder to understand things like where PPC should appear, or even what members of a department you're trying to reach.

To perfect all of these elements, it's vital to think about general campaign intentions and more specific campaign considerations, such as what you aim to achieve, how you intend to measure that success, and your intended time frame for achieving it.

Understand Your Target Audience

PPC advertising is much like any form of marketing, in that you should always know your target audience before you start. This is especially relevant for B2B advertising because you may need to reach specific company departments or industry main players. What's more, unlike in a standard B2C business model, your target audience will likely vary depending on your overall campaign goals.

Considering buyer personas is key to understanding PPC target audiences and requires you to think about things like potential client pain points and your product's USP. You could also narrow down your target audience by considering business criteria, such as target industries, company size, and relevant job titles. Then, you can start to think about the kinds of PPC advertisements most likely to appeal to that target niche, and also the PPC platforms that they're most likely to interact with.

Choose the Right PPC Platforms

Once you know your target audience and their preferences, you can begin to develop some idea of the best PPC platforms for attracting their attention.

Some key B2B PPC platforms to consider might include –

• Google Ads: Secure top Google rankings to appeal to clients who are already searching for similar products.

• LinkedIn Ads: Target professionals and businesses who are seeking specific B2B products and services.

• Meta and X Ads: Create brand awareness and engage with an interesting audience of industry professionals.

Each of these platforms offers a range of different PPC formats, including display ads, video ads, and standard search advertisements.

Generally speaking, the best PPC platform will be the one that connects you directly to your target audience while also helping you to fulfil your ultimate PPC goal. For instance, LinkedIn or Google Ads could be useful if you're looking to sell target software to a tech department. By comparison, if you're looking to build a reliable and trusting B2B network, then something like Meta (formerly Facebook) or X (formerly Twitter) PPC may be better.

Know Your Keywords

Keyword research is a crucial element of PPC success, ensuring that your advertisements appear in the right places, and also have the pulling power to generate leads. Tools like Google's Keyword Planner can help with this, as can competitor analysis.

Ideally, PPC should use varied keyword campaigns, which should include both long-tail and short-tail keywords. Negative keywords can also be useful for filtering irrelevant traffic and reducing the costs of a PPC campaign.

The ever-changing landscape of both your industry and your product offerings means that you should return to your keywords often, and that you should review and update them to ensure PPC relevancy and overall success.

Boost Your B2B Business Using PPC Campaigns

There's no getting around your need for proficient PPC campaigns, but when you're already dealing with a myriad of marketing considerations, even the basic elements of PPC can feel like one task too many. In reality, though, PPC doesn't require much more work than you already dedicating to organic search rankings. They simply require a little more intention and specific client targeting. Whether you perfect the PPC process in-house or trust a professional PPC agency in London to manage things for you, you can bet sales will soon start coming your way once you've put PPC at the forefront of your B2B marketing at last.