The PPC Agency specialises in lead generation in some of the most competitive industries in the UK and worldwide. We understand that lead generation takes a slightly different approach than selling products or raising brand awareness.
From speaking to clients and auditing accounts we saw that many business struggle to generate affordable and high quality leads. It is our mission to help our clients and businesses make the most of Google Ads, so we put together this guide to help you make the most of your PPC budget and generate qualified leads.
Do Your Market & Competitor Research. Everyone is competing for their chunk of the market and your clients' money - your customers are constantly bombarded with ads, pop-ups, email campaigns, push notifications and discount offers. This is why it has never been so important to stand out, offer unbeatable value and know your competitors.
Before you plan any aspect of your lead generation campaign, make sure you know your competitors' marketing strategies. Sign up to their newsletters, click their ads, take screenshots of their social media posts and note how they promote their services.
To help you generate quality leads, use tools like Semrush to reverse-engineer your competitors' strategies and get fresh ideas about keywords and ad copy. Check out our post on How to spy on your competitors like a pro for more tips.
Have the right Set-Up, Tracking & Targeting. You simply can't have a successful campaign without the correct setup, conversion tracking and the right audience targeting. The crucial aspects of a lead generation campaign include
Account Structure and set up - Using single-keyword ad groups or SKAGs will make managing and optimizing your account much easier. With SKAGs you can improve your keyword quality score and ad rank much easier, leading to optimal impression share and lower cost per click.
Conversion and Quality Tracking - Lead generation goes beyond Google Ads metrics. A lead is of no value unless if it generates revenue - make sure you track ROAS and performance on device, keyword and platform level.
Use Google Analytics, UTM parameters and third-party tools to integrate with your CRM and track your spend and lead quality. You might want to advance your Excel skills and run combined weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports on all your digital marketing channels.
Depending on your industry, tracking quality might require lots of patience, budget and data, so don't jump to conclusions too soon. You could miss out if you exclude keywords, platforms or entire demographics too soon.
Test everything. While you don't have to run all possible PPC tests at once, it is definitely worth experimenting with new Google ads, different landing pages and keywords.
Our approach to keyword testing at The PPC Agency is to use the Lin-Rodnitzky Ratio, which is a quick way to assess your account. To calculate it, divide the CPA of all search terms by the CPA of search terms with at least 1 conversion.
Make sure you have enough data - we usually like to look at a month's data depending on the traffic volume. Here is what your results mean:
1.0-1.5: The account is too conservative. This result isn't necessarily bad, especially for old accounts where there was enough data to establish which terms generate enough qualified leads.
1.5-2.0: The account is well-managed. There is a combination of consistent winners that always bring in sales and experimental queries that are being tested to identify growth opportunities.
2.0-2.5: The account is too aggressive. There are too many queries getting clicks that are not driving conversions. This is either due to excessive use of broad match, a lack of attention to the account, or a lack of rigorous analysis of metrics.
2.5+: The account is being mismanaged. Money is being wasted daily, and simple changes can save the business a lot of money.
Timing is everything. People want the best deal and the most suitable product - potential customers are researching services and are likely to convert with more than just one company. Once a user has decided to submit an enquiry form they won't simply go offline and get on with their other tasks until you call, they will continue browsing until they are ready to commit.
This is why contact time is of the essence - you want to get to your customer before they submit another contact form and speak to other companies.
While commitment to your product or service might require some product consideration time and speaking to several of your competitors, it is still crucial to get in touch with the customer ASAP and show you are agile, responsive and ready for business.
Lead generation is time-sensitive so make sure you schedule your campaigns accordingly or have the resources to manage out of hours enquiries. Automation can do wonders for your business and manage out of hours or peak-time leads, while your sales team is unavailable. Chatbot, conversational landing pages or even out-of-hours automated messages can make a huge difference to your ROAS.
A good trick for comparison sites, insurance and finance companies is to use content-heavy thank-You pages. Include as much content and resource as possible to engage the users after conversion to prevent them from submitting additional enquiries on competitor websites until your sales team gets to them.
Use Social Media & Remarketing. Most users know they could be a few clicks away from a better deal, so they don't convert instantly. In Google's own words, "We know that what happens between trigger and purchase decision-making is not linear. We know there is a complicated web of touchpoints that differs from person to person." In this case lead generation is no different than online shopping. What happens between click to lead submission will remain unclear and different audiences will have different triggers.
It is important to make the most out of all available channels and unite them to meet your business objectives. Use your social media and cross-channel remarketing to stay present when your clients are ready to commit. While they're at the 'awareness' and 'research' stages of their journey, your business should be there to provide value and establish authority.
One of the best strategies include retargeting through social media and YouTube. The best remarketing platform will by defined by how your target audience consumes content when they are most likely to convert and which channels best suit your product. For instance, LinkedIn and YouTube are platforms professionals use outside their working hours but are less likely to be browsing wile working. Outside working hours, professionals are less likely to sign-up to a work related product or service through social media but might do so if they are working, for example if they are remarketed through email.
Branding & Social Proof. Weak branding and lack of reviews are quite common in lead generation. Marketers often value the technical aspects of client acquisition more than the human aspects of it, neglecting empathy, social proof and branding.
In lead generation branding is important just as it is in retail, because it makes a memorable impression on potential consumers and helps your clients know what to expect from your company. It is also a way of distinguishing yourself from the competitors and clarifying what it is you offer that makes you the better choice.
According to Google "cognitive biases shape shopping behaviour and influence why clients choose one product over another. While many hundreds of these biases exist, we prioritised six in our research: Power of now; Social proof; Scarcity bias; Authority bias; Power of free."
Power of free for instance is often used in the form of a 'lead magnet' which is usually a free ebook or a website audit. Giving away free content and expert tips helps your business establish itself as an industry authority and form trust with potential clients.
The perfect freebie to give away is something you could productize and offer while qualifying your lead, such as financial assessment. If after the initial assessment and free content the lead does not qualify, your business can ask for a Trustpilot review which would then be used as social proof - don't let leads go to waste, even if they don't qualify at this particular time.
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