PPC for SaaS Marketing: 9 Proven Ways to Use Paid Search

Does pay-per-click (PPC) marketing for software as a service (SaaS) companies feel like pouring budget into advertising activities offering very little return? Trust us when we say you’re not alone—many businesses have had the same experience. Let’s discuss this in detail, and we’ll explain how PPC marketing for SaaS companies can be simplified. 

Introduction

In SaaS marketing, speed and efficiency are the keys to success. However, bringing SaaS products to the market at the right time is challenging for many reasons. First, your SaaS product is most likely required to compete in highly competitive markets. Second, organic reach seems almost impossible when you have multiple marketing deadlines to meet. In such cases, PPC advertising effectively introduces your product when it’s truly valuable. 

But there’s a catch: selecting and finalizing PPC strategies is challenging because not all PPC strategies in SaaS are equally effective. Most SaaS PPC campaigns need to be customized based on requirements unique to SaaS companies. For example, you must consider longer sales cycles, trial offers, and multiple stakeholder input while developing SaaS PPC plans. 

How should SaaS businesses use paid search? Are there any defined rules for acquiring qualified leads, optimizing ad spend, and supporting business growth? Let us discuss nine proven strategies to help you meet your PPC for SaaS requirements. You can use these tips to launch a new product or service or modify your existing ad strategy for better results. 

The Importance of PPC for SaaS

The pressure to develop and implement successful SaaS PPC campaigns is real for many SaaS marketers. You know this is true if you’re a SaaS marketer. Your company wants maximum return on investment (ROI) and requires a shorter sales cycle. This means generating qualified leads is crucial to achieving your targets. Moreover, you might face a tight budget allocation even in highly competitive markets. 

If what we have described above applies to you, you should try PPC marketing. Here’s why PPC matters in SaaS and what you can do:

• Speed Is Good: SEO may take time, but PPC ads deliver results almost immediately.
• Targeting Is Accurate: Targeting prospective customers using PPC can be easier than other forms of marketing because you can define the required customer persona using keywords, job titles, behaviors, etc. Accurate targeting starts with keyword research. So, focus on all relevant keywords and not just high-volume ones.
• Scaling Is Possible: A successful PPC campaign can be scaled quickly if you receive more leads or are assigned a higher budget. 
• Decisions Are Sound: PPC advertising platforms like Google Ads and Bing Ads offer users tools that highlight performance and help them refine and optimize campaigns. Data from these platforms can provide practical tips for better decision-making and faster growth. 

Before we move to the strategies, here’s a number that makes this discussion relevant. The global SaaS market is expected to reach USD 1,131.52 billion by 2032.

Source: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/software-as-a-service-saas-market-102222 

9 Effective Strategies for Using Paid Search

You already know that PPC for SaaS is essential. You’ve seen the results, right? You may have read case studies of those who successfully implemented PPC campaigns in your industry. 

Despite such input, many SaaS marketers realize late that running paid ads is more than just bidding on the right keywords. It is also about learning to move when the time is right. People must see your SaaS product or service at the right place and time; your message must also be compelling when this happens. All this takes more than an ad budget; it requires strategy. 

PPC ads that generate leads are the backbone of your business. They are precisely targeted, timed, and tailored to solve serious business problems that likely keep your prospective customers awake at night. So, let’s study nine strategies that make the best SaaS PPC campaigns possible. 

Build Audiences Based on Existing Users

This strategy does not receive much attention. It involves using your user base to reach more people. For this, consider doing the following:

• Analyze existing users to check what keywords they searched for before they became customers and which ad campaigns they found most impactful. 
• Identify the PPC ad campaigns that helped you bag high-value accounts.
• Look for specific patterns in customer accounts that the company has successfully retained over the years. 

After identifying your best campaigns, you can analyze the customers they attract. You can target customers with similar profiles or personas based on this information. For this, consider using Google Ads to define demographics, behaviors, and interests for your next campaign. The Customer Match feature in Google Ads can help you do this quickly.

Next, categorize this audience. Some may be free trial users, while others may be paying customers. List any other relevant categories and build a PPC strategy around them. You can try upselling, offering more features, approaching referrals, or cross-selling. In this manner, you can enhance your performance metrics and maximize the value of your advertising expenditure. A reliable SaaS marketing services agency can help secure qualified leads.

Targeting Competitor Brand Terms

Targeting can be dicey territory if things go wrong. However, bidding on keywords your competitors use can be incredibly effective in B2B SaaS marketing. For example, if your company offers customer relationship management SaaS and people search for CRM alternatives for a specific SaaS CRM brand, your product can be their chosen solution. 

Let’s see how you can achieve this: 

• Create custom landing pages to show how your product is better than competitors. These are PPC landing pages explicitly developed for comparisons when targeting competitor keywords. 
• Show positive attributes that differentiate your product from the competition.
• To prevent potential legal problems, avoid using competitor names in your ad copies. SaaS content marketing services can help you create valuable content.

This strategy might lead to changes in buying behavior as new information is presented to customers looking for specific SaaS solutions. 

Use Negative Keywords and Exclude Audiences

A successful PPC campaign also considers negative keywords. Negative keywords cannot be ignored since wrong clicks also contribute to costs. These keywords prevent your PPC ads from being displayed against irrelevant or unsuitable searches. Here are the key advantages of using them to exclude specific audiences:

• They help filter irrelevant search queries and keep the ads targeted.
• Negative keywords help you avoid wasted ad spend. They can help optimize ad spend. 
• They improve click-through rates.
• They lower bounce rates. 

You can exclude audiences based on geographical locations, age groups, buyer personas, current or existing customers, and previous customers. This strategy ensures your PPC ads show up only in the right places. 

Adjusting Campaigns to Match the Funnel Stage

Running the same PPC ads for every user, irrespective of where they are in the SaaS sales funnel, can be a grave mistake. SaaS marketers must segregate users based on whether they are first-time visitors, trial users, or others. By doing this, they can use their ad budget wisely instead of spending it mindlessly on activities that do not offer conversions.

So, check the customer journey and design your PPC campaigns accordingly. Here’s how it can be done: 

• Top of Funnel (TOFU): This stage is all about awareness. Users must know they have a problem to solve. Using keywords that educate them about your SaaS product or service is key here. At this stage, take visitors to content-based pages, like blogs or articles. PPC ad types that help here include display, video, search, etc. 

• Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Here, use paid ads to promote SaaS products via webinars, free trials, etc. This is because prospects have realized a need (for a SaaS product). PPC ad types that work at this point include search ads, display ads, remarketing ads, etc. 
• Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Prospects reaching this stage have genuine intent and plan to take action. Running PPC ads with Call to Action (CTA) lines like “Start Free Trial” or “Compare Pricing” is a good idea. Also, use PPC landing pages to ensure your message reaches them. 

Matching your ad strategy to the funnel stage can increase Click-Through Rate (CTR) and customer acquisition numbers. Here are some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor at each stage: 

Perform Regular PPC Audits for Constant Optimization

The best PPC marketing campaigns become outdated and irrelevant over time. Hence, PPC audits are needed to check the relevance and usefulness of campaigns. SaaS businesses must conduct detailed audits to maximize ROI. Here’s a list of things to check:

• Conversions and Quality Score: Are your ads giving you sign-ups or purchases? Google ad ratings must be monitored, including checking ratings for landing pages and keywords. A reasonable quality score (as high as possible) means better ad placements and lower cost per click. 
• Keyword Performance: Verifying whether the most important or highly used keywords are performing is necessary. 
• Search Terms: Has your negative keywords list been updated? Add more keywords to ensure exclusion and focus on targeted reach. 
• Ad Copy: Revisit your ad copy to check headlines, CTAs, etc., and make changes if needed. 
• Landing Pages: Do you need more custom landing pages for your ads? Measure conversions to make these decisions.
• Competitor Analysis: Study your competitors’ performance and check whether your campaigns have delivered the value you originally intended to secure. 
• Search Engine Algorithms: You can strengthen your SaaS PPC campaigns by understanding how search engine algorithms rank ads.

Hiring a SaaS PPC agency is a fantastic idea if all this seems too tricky to manage independently. A reliable agency can ensure all performance metrics are suitably tracked and used to make decisions. 

Avoid Relying on a Single Advertising Platform

Google Ads are immensely popular. So, many SaaS businesses may want to assign all their budget to this platform. However, that can be risky because target audiences are likely active on other platforms. 

A good paid marketing strategy must consider other platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube, and others. Let’s understand this further. 

• LinkedIn Ads are perfect for B2B SaaS, as you can target by job title, industry, etc., to reach your audience.
• Bing Ads can be highly cost-effective, particularly in geographical regions where Bing is used extensively. 
• Facebook and Instagram Ads can be good for B2B SaaS brand awareness. 
• YouTube Ads are suitable for product demos, walkthrough videos, and other forms of storytelling.
• X (Twitter) Ads can help promote content, webinars, etc., to a professional audience that focuses on business goals and seeks solutions. 

Based on your ad requirements, consider other platforms like Reddit, Quora, etc. Different search engines can also guide your decisions by offering new data about user behavior.

Optimize Landing Pages for Higher Conversions

Once PPC ads are in good shape to get your business, landing pages must be perfected to close deals. Check the following to optimize your landing pages for higher conversions:

• Your custom landing page must prominently display the message conveyed through your ad. For example, if you offer a free 3-day trial, highlighting the offer on the landing page is essential. 
• Concentrate solely on topics or content that encourage conversions. To reduce distraction, remove unnecessary information, footers, links, etc. 
• Testimonials and reviews are social proof that your products are reliable. 
• The landing page must load fast to retain interest; optimizing it for mobile viewing is necessary. A specialized SaaS website design agency can create mobile-optimized landing pages. 

These changes can improve your SaaS PPC ad results. Monitor how your ads perform on various ad platforms to optimize your campaigns based on results instead of guesses.

Utilize Cross-Channel Retargeting

Retargeting wouldn’t have been necessary if every prospective customer converted on the first visit or inquiry. However, since that doesn’t happen, SaaS companies usually employ retargeting strategies. 

Cross-channel retargeting helps businesses get in touch with previous or past leads. Some innovative retargeting strategies include

• Segmentation by Behavior: Segment your audience based on their actions. Have they read the pricing details? Did they sign up for a free trial? 

• Send Custom Messages: Customer messages for different audience segments can help generate interest and leads. Check which message format will be suitable depending on a customer’s activity. For instance, blog readers may respond better to webinar invitations than direct testimonials.

• Create New Copy and Ad Creatives: Changing ad copy and creatives keeps your SaaS company’s marketing material fresh and engaging. 

• Determine Ad Frequency: Setting the right ad frequency is crucial because you want visibility without being annoying. Limit or control how often your ads appear to ensure potential buyers do not find your SaaS content off-putting.  

Improve Click-Through Rates (CTR)

Low CTR can’t be good—it never is, naturally! While costs rise, ad rank falls; traffic goes down as well. This can be resolved with the following strategies:

• Instead of simply highlighting a product’s features, use compelling headlines to communicate its value to prospective customers and users.

• Personalizing ad copy can help you match search intent to your company’s offering and gain business.

• Clear CTAs help people take immediate action. Including them on your website is necessary.
• Optimizing PPC ads for mobile viewing is necessary. 
• Other strategies that help include conducting A/B testing, using ad extensions, testing various extensions, adding videos, etc. 

Conclusion

Running PPC campaigns for a SaaS business requires patience, strategy, and ongoing practice for positive results. Testing and refining are key elements of this process. PPC advertising can be compelling for lead generation, customer acquisition, and retention.

Generic PPC strategies don’t work because the SaaS industry presents a different level of complexity to marketing teams. This makes specificity in marketing efforts non-negotiable. A good PPC plan is always data-driven and flexible, focusing on customer satisfaction. 

Building campaigns for various target audiences, handling landing page optimization, and experimenting with different ad platforms demand attention to detail. Every strategy you implement for a SaaS business model can eventually yield compounding returns. 

At Wytlabs, we excel at PPC for SaaS. We build high-performance campaigns that bring traffic to your website, reduce ad spend, and deliver maximum ROI. Don’t struggle with low conversion rates anymore—call our experts to ensure your paid ads offer worthwhile returns. Book a strategy call with us today!