CASE OVERVIEW:

A B2B manufacturer was running pay-per-click campaigns that were seemingly following best practices. Their ads were being engaged with and had high click-through-rates but were providing few quality leads resulting in zero direct sales from marketing.

After taking a look under the hood, the data helped to identify three main factors contributing to this issue; the key messages and propositions in the ads, the audience and keyword targeting, and the site content. So, we fine-tuned the audience targeting and adjusted the keywords, message-tested different propositions using a pay-per-click campaign and adjusted the site content to reflect the winning message. This led to:

33
Ad CTR increase
53
Product Click-Through Increase
81
Total Website Leads Increase
4.5
Return On Ad Dollars

THE PROBLEM:

  • Previous pay-per-click campaigns had significant spends with little to no measurable results
  • These campaigns seemed to follow best practices. They had strong click-through-rates, provided significant traffic, and had campaign focused landing pages, however these campaigns were providing few quality leads and zero direct sales.
  • After popping the hood and taking a closer look, we suspected that there may be more than one factor contributing to this issue, including problems with audience targeting and keywords, ad messages, as well as site content.
Our Diagnostic Approach Uncovers The Quick Wins

THE FIX:

Audience Targeting And Keywords

  • After analyzing previous analytics, we found that broader keyword targets were reaching consumers, not businesses.
  • Underperforming keyword phrases were paused, longer more sophisticated phrases that were likely to be used by businesses were implemented, and a long list of negative keywords was added to eliminate consumers.

Ad Messages And Propositions

  • The initial assumption was that this category was product feature and price driven and the previous campaign messages reflected this.
  • Instead of blindly accepting this assumption, a campaign designed to a/b test several different propositions was implemented.
  • It was found that this category was not product feature and price driven as initially thought, but was actually driven by the product’s ability to aid in the overall success of a greater problem.
  • Ads including messages about the product’s core benefit outperformed ads with messages about the product’s features and price.

Website Content

  • After we determined the winning message and proposition we realized that the content on the website did not adequately provide the information that our audience actually wanted.
  • Another issue with the website content was that there had been a previous assumption that visitors and potential customers were ready to make a purchase once they visited the website, when in reality many of them were still in the research phase.
  • By anticipating and answering common questions on the site, as well as providing evidence that the products would assist in the overall success of the programs, we were able to significantly improve conversion rates.