to make the most of PPC in your SaaS Brand //

SaaS brands are finding it harder to stand out in a market where more startups are entering.

Many have realized that and PPC are great ways to increase brand awareness, as well as attract new customers.

To run campaigns efficiently and gain an edge in the competitive market, you need a more strategic strategy.

Not enough is to simply set up a campaign and then forget about it. SaaS companies can do a lot to improve their performance.

Five ways SaaS companies can make the most of PPC campaigns.

1. Create a campaign to display cold audiences

Your brand is not known by everyone.

The majority of people know that there are ways to solve their problem. They are less likely to be familiar with specific brands that provide suitable products.

You must use marketing to reach these individuals in order to build brand awareness and influence their consideration.

Google Ads can be used to display ads to a cold audience.

Cold audience refers to people who are not familiar with a particular brand but still fit within its target audience.

Display campaigns can be used to build awareness of SaaS among new customers, and even influence them in their purchase decisions.

Display campaigns allow brands to display their software using image and video assets. This can be more eye-catching that text-based ads.

These visual assets allow SaaS companies to show potential clients how their software feels and looks.

SaaS companies can also use various targeting options to reach out to their audience as they browse the internet.

Consider targeting your campaign by:

Custom segments

Advertisers can target specific audiences using custom segments based on online behaviors such as:

• What they searched on Google
• What websites have they visited?
• What applications have they used?

To create these segments, use converting keywords from search campaigns as well as research on websites and apps that your target audience uses frequently.

In-market audiences

You can target customers who are actively researching SaaS services or products. Segments relevant to your campaign include video software, accounting software, antivirus and security software.

The individuals within these groups were classified by:

• What types of sites do they use?
• They engage with the content.
• How often they visit relevant websites.

This shows that they are likely to convert within the next few months.

Affinity audiences

You can reach out to people by identifying their characteristics, interests and habits.

Match affinity audiences with personas to target your audience. As an example, you can target high-end computer users, PC gamers, or cloud service power users.

2. Exclude customers from matching

You need to make every click count, as the average CPC for a PPC campaign is $4.22 in 2023.

You don’t need to pay for existing customers to log in to their accounts.

You can spend your advertising budget on attracting new customers and not existing customers by excluding them from the ads.

Create a new list of audience members by uploading your existing customers’ data such as their email addresses, phone number and user IDs.

You can manually exclude them from your campaigns by adding them to the Audience tab.

Consider creating exclusions to those who are currently in the “lead-to-sale” process.

For instance, those who are already in a trial period, newsletter subscribers, or contract negotiations with the sales team.

Spending money on people who already have it is a waste.

• Engaging with the Software
• Communication with the sales team
• Receive marketing communications via email/newsletters

3. Remarketing lists

Rarely is a visitor to your site for the first visit ready to make a purchase.

They will likely need more time to learn more about your company, research their situation, find alternative providers, and discuss other options.

It is important to stay top of mind during this time (which can be weeks or even months). You cannot afford to lose a customer before they reach the final decision stage.

Remarketing lists can be used to target display campaigns for Google Ads or audience ads campaigns from Microsoft Advertising.

This is because the audience will be more likely to convert if they have already expressed interest in the product.

You can get them back to your website by reaching out again to previous visitors.

Consider offering an extra message in your ads that was not available on the first website visit.

It could be additional information about your company, like a glowing review from a customer or evaluating website ratings. Or it could be extending a trial or a discount code.

As an example, if a website provides a 7-day trial offer, the message in the remarketing campaign could provide a 14-day exclusive trial.

A 7-day trial might not have convinced a person to convert. However, an exclusive extended test could be the thing that convinces them.

4. Bid against competitors

SaaS industry is dog-eats-dog. Brands need to do everything they can to stay ahead of their competition. Bidding against competitors is one way to achieve this.

Competitive bidding is the process of running search campaigns with keyword lists that target competitors’ brand keywords.

When someone searches for a specific software provider, an alternative provider is presented instead.

This is a good strategy for SaaS, as you get to a market that’s actively looking for the solution you offer.

When using competitor bidding you should consider creating landing pages that are specific to your company and focus on what makes them different from their competitors.

You could also include your exclusive features or industry-recognized ratings cards such as the ones available through G2.

The purpose of the page should be to show what makes your product great, and not to be a dejected remark about the competitor’s software.

It is important to remember that while this tactic can be used by SaaS companies to divert attention from their competitors, the rival can also do the same.

It can lead to aggressive bidding, where brands pay CPCs that are inflated for their brand name. This is a powerful but must be used with caution strategy.

5. Ad copy optimization

It is said that you never get a chance to make another first impression.

Use ad text that is both informative and persuasive to make the most of your first impressions with customers.

You need to show what you can do for them and Why they should choose your product over the competition.

Analyze and read reviews and feedback from actual users to find out the best way to communicate your points.

They are the best people to explain how the product has helped them. These individuals will use terms and adjectives that will appeal to your target audience.

A review of Google Ads, for example, can be found on Capterra.

Google Ads is very helpful in my business because it helps with advertising. In this digital age, it’s very intuitive. Bidding strategies can be adapted to suit a wide range of businesses, making it easier to run different campaigns. The real-time tracking was also made easier. Our products are easily accessible to our clients and customers online.”

You could use this to create messages such as:

• Platform that is intuitive and easy to use.
• Advertising solutions that are flexible
• Find out how to help potential customers find your products on the web.
• All businesses can benefit from a variety of campaign types.

This type of message can help you to show your brand as relevant and suitable to potential customers. It will also reassure them that they are the right solution for them.

PPC Strategies to Make Your SaaS Shine

In a fast-growing industry, you’ll have to put in the effort to manage your PPC account to increase brand awareness and influence consumer consideration.

You can use a variety of campaign types and tactics to get you there.

The post Get the most from PPC for SaaS brands first appeared on Search Engine Land.