How To Create Effective PPC Campaigns for SaaS Companies
Brittany Charbonneau Writer
April 13, 2023 | 5 Min Read
Article updated on April 20, 2023
PPC campaigns are applicable to all kinds of businesses: start-ups, franchises, enterprises, small-to-medium businesses, and more. However, the way the PPC campaign is used should be slightly altered depending on the business. No one strategy can have the same impact on multiple businesses. SaaS PPC has its differences, and they’ll be outlined here so you can develop effective SaaS marketing strategies.
SaaS companies are typically working in a fast-paced environment, so their strategies and adapting capabilities must follow suit. That’s one of the ways SaaS PPC campaigns can help; they’re fast-paced. While SEO focuses more on long-term growth, PPC is quick and everchanging to keep pace with customer needs and expectations.
SaaS businesses often have clear goals to reach, in fixed timelines, and PPC campaigns can help them reach those goals. It’s a results-oriented strategy that makes it easy to see progress and obstacles.
Starting with a low CTR will give the ads a low score with fewer impressions and higher costs. Before getting too involved in PPC campaigns, run an ad that targets the right audience with relevant content so it’s scored well by the search engines. This will help improve CTR as well as the likelihood that future ads will be displayed more.
Shoot for new PPC campaign content every month. This creates more interest, drives clicks, and keeps the cost low. PPC ads that begin to drop in performance will start to cost more.
Learn from the analytics of the PPC campaigns to continue optimizing future SaaS marketing strategies. Get to know what the audience wants so you can address their pain points, wants, and expectations. Sometimes switching up a PPC campaign can be as simple as mix-and-matching headlines, descriptions, and CTAs.
Firstly, negative keywords tell search engines which words the PPC campaign should not show up for. A common example is if the business sells a CRM tool, they might want to use keywords like “CRM tool strategy” and not “CRM tool jobs.” One keyword does apply to the SaaS business PPC campaign, the other doesn’t.
Secondly, negative keywords can be used to avoid the wrong audience. For example, if the cost of the CRM tool is high, negative keywords might include “small business” so users searching for a CRM tool for small businesses won’t see a PPC ad that doesn’t apply to them. Similarly, a business selling a fitness app specifically targeting women would add “fitness app for men” as a negative keyword, so they don’t waste resources on the wrong audience.
SaaS PPC campaigns can target each stage of the sales funnel using the right keywords. Use data tracking to see which users have already had a touchpoint with the business and then show them the next relevant ad to bring them to the next stage.
What changes in PPC campaigns for SaaS businesses?
SaaS businesses deal with many competitors, especially over the last few years when technology has advanced exponentially. New software is developed often to solve other businesses’ pain points. With a higher level of competition comes the need to excel at PPC campaigns to get in front of the right target audience.SaaS companies are typically working in a fast-paced environment, so their strategies and adapting capabilities must follow suit. That’s one of the ways SaaS PPC campaigns can help; they’re fast-paced. While SEO focuses more on long-term growth, PPC is quick and everchanging to keep pace with customer needs and expectations.
SaaS businesses often have clear goals to reach, in fixed timelines, and PPC campaigns can help them reach those goals. It’s a results-oriented strategy that makes it easy to see progress and obstacles.
Your guide to SaaS marketing strategies
1. Start with a good CTR
Launching PPC campaigns without a decent CTR is pointless. If the CTR isn’t already high enough to see consistent results, then PPC campaigns will cost the business time and money without actually providing results.Starting with a low CTR will give the ads a low score with fewer impressions and higher costs. Before getting too involved in PPC campaigns, run an ad that targets the right audience with relevant content so it’s scored well by the search engines. This will help improve CTR as well as the likelihood that future ads will be displayed more.
2. Match the fast-paced market with fast-paced PPC campaigns
Ad fatigue can happen quickly if the PPC ad is displayed often. While it’s a good thing to be displayed, that means new content is necessary more often so the audience doesn’t begin to tune it out.Shoot for new PPC campaign content every month. This creates more interest, drives clicks, and keeps the cost low. PPC ads that begin to drop in performance will start to cost more.
Learn from the analytics of the PPC campaigns to continue optimizing future SaaS marketing strategies. Get to know what the audience wants so you can address their pain points, wants, and expectations. Sometimes switching up a PPC campaign can be as simple as mix-and-matching headlines, descriptions, and CTAs.
3. Use negative keywords and audience exclusions
To save on resources, conduct keyword research and use negative keywords and gear the content toward the right audience by using audience exclusions. Otherwise, a great PPC campaign could be displayed to the wrong audience, and the scores will plummet.Firstly, negative keywords tell search engines which words the PPC campaign should not show up for. A common example is if the business sells a CRM tool, they might want to use keywords like “CRM tool strategy” and not “CRM tool jobs.” One keyword does apply to the SaaS business PPC campaign, the other doesn’t.
Secondly, negative keywords can be used to avoid the wrong audience. For example, if the cost of the CRM tool is high, negative keywords might include “small business” so users searching for a CRM tool for small businesses won’t see a PPC ad that doesn’t apply to them. Similarly, a business selling a fitness app specifically targeting women would add “fitness app for men” as a negative keyword, so they don’t waste resources on the wrong audience.
4. Adopt retargeting strategies
In SaaS businesses, it’s more common to see buyers in the sales funnel for longer as they take their time deciding on the best possible solution before making a commitment. This is especially true in SaaS for B2B markets. Retargeting ads are crucial for SaaS businesses to continuously nurture leads throughout the buying process.SaaS PPC campaigns can target each stage of the sales funnel using the right keywords. Use data tracking to see which users have already had a touchpoint with the business and then show them the next relevant ad to bring them to the next stage.
SaaS marketing strategies with Pedestal Search
At Pedestal Search, we have an arsenal of resources for SEO, PPC, SaaS, B2B, and plenty more. All of our efforts go toward helping businesses grow by targeting the most relevant and beneficial keywords and markets for them. Let’s get to know each other so we can help your business break out into the next level of success. Contact us.Categories: