PPC for Manufacturers

Manufacturing is an extremely important, yet highly competitive industry, both in the United States and around the world. This makes a comprehensive marketing strategy essential. You need a way to stay ahead of your competitors, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the best methods available today. PPC campaigns can help you jumpstart your inbound lead generation, and give you an edge over other manufacturing companies both in your area and nationwide.

What is PPC for manufacturers?

If you regularly use search engines like Google, you’ve probably seen plenty of PPC ads, whether you realized it or not. These are the text-only ads that appear above search results, and are related to the terms you searched. You can place ads in search results based on the keywords a user searches, and bid on how much willing you’re willing to pay for each.

How does PPC for manufacturing work?

Then, as the name implies, you pay that amount for every click to your site – but if no one clicks your ad, you don’t pay a cent. PPC ads operate on a bidding system, and you bid against other advertisers trying to place ads for the same keywords as you.

Certain keywords are more popular, and more competitive to advertise for -meaning that you’ll have to bid more for your ad to display. As an example, let’s say you want to reach searchers looking for “heavy equipment.” This is a fairly broad search, and one that lots of advertisers probably want to compete for. As a result, your bid would need to be pretty high to display. If you narrow that down to “heavy equipment for sale in [your city],” however, there’s likely far less competition, so your bid can be lower.

If there is very little interest in the keyword, you can snag an exceptionally low per-click cost. Creating your first PPC campaign can be confusing, and the right strategy is unique to every business.

Best practices for manufacturing PPC

However, there are a few best practices we keep in mind when creating campaigns for all of our clients.

Look for long-tail keywords

Try not to focus on short or one-word keywords for your PPC ad campaigns, as they tend to cost the most per click. Instead of paying high amounts for general traffic, narrow your audience with relevant words and pay less for qualified visitors.

Write compelling ad copy

You only have a few lines of copy to convince searchers to click your result, so spend the time to make those lines as compelling as possible. Tell them what they can expect when they click your ad, and set your business apart from other results on the page.

Monitor and analyze regularly

While PPC can be very cost-effective, you should make it a priority to regularly check in on your campaigns and look for room for improvement. This will help you make the most of the platform and generate as many qualified leads as possible.

Optimize your landing pages

Every PPC ad will take the visitor to a specific landing page on your manufacturing website. Make sure that each of these pages has been written to satisfy the visitor’s needs, and include clear calls to action (CTAs) encouraging them to fill out a contact form or call your business. You should also optimize these landing pages for the highest possible conversion rates.

Focus on conversion

Many advertisers make the mistake of focusing only on how many clicks their ads receive, but it’s important to remember that these clicks don’t necessarily translate to revenue. Instead, focus on driving conversions and maximize the ROI of your campaign.

Perform competitor research

With any PPC campaigns, you’re directly competing with other advertisers in your industry. You’ll want to keep track of these competitors, and see how you can improve your own campaigns to compete more effectively.

Split test your ad copy

Split testing is a remarkably efficient way to determine whether one PPC ad is going to perform better than another. Give enough time for the test to produce results, and then figure out which ad is the better performer. But remember, you’re never going to be finished with your testing. It’s an ongoing process to keep you growing and getting better.

PPC campaign management

PPC campaigns can produce excellent results for businesses in any industry, and manufacturing companies are no exception. If you’re interested in trying PPC, we’d love to help. At IndustrialFX, we have years of experience creating custom PPC campaigns for industrial clients, and we’ll do the same for you. Contact us today for more information and a free quote!