Google Ads can be a powerful tool for building sales. But, is it best for upper funnel action, mid-funnel or bottom of the funnel? Well, the answer is all three. You can and should use Google Ads throughout the sales funnel. Properly constructed, Google Ads are effective at attracting new site visitors, nurturing mid-funnel prospects and closing interested consumers.
Mapping
A great way to start with a sales funnel is by mapping the current path to conversion for your business. By reviewing Google Analytics, you can get a picture of how people first come to learn about your product or service and what touch points bring them to convert. If you do not have that data, then think through some logical progressions and start with those.
Types of Google Ads
To understand how to use Google Ads throughout the sales funnel it is important to remember that Google Ads consist of Display and Search ads. Display ads can be the traditional banner ads that appear throughout your experiences on the web, and Retargeting ads, the display ads that remind you of sites you have previously visited. Each type of ad has its’ own tactical uses.
Upper Funnel
Loading the top of the sales funnel requires introducing your product or service to people who do not know you. One tactic is using Google Display advertising. Display advertising is relatively inexpensive, whether on a Cost-per-Thousand basis or Cost-per-Click. Display advertising allows for numerous targeting options including interests, demographics, life events and intent. Display advertising can bring large numbers of qualified prospects to your website or landing page.
Top of funnel search ads are not branded, as the consumer does not know who you are. More likely, they are informational. The prospect knows the product or service and may start by looking for reviews, specs or just who offers what they think they want. Keywords should be broad match. A camera store would serve ads for “digital cameras” or “what are mirrorless cameras”. Your goal is to make people aware of your company.
Keyword, Ad and Landing Page Match
When writing Google ads for a sales funnel match your keywords and ads to the copy on your landing page. Google wants every user to have a great experience, so they give a Quality Score to each ad. A number of factors go into a Quality Score including keyword relevance, ad relevance and landing page experience. When those 3 align, Quality Scores go up and the bid price for your ad to show goes down. This is a great way to stretch ad dollars.
Mid-Funnel
The middle of the funnel is the interest and consideration stage. Prospects are thinking about their options and you want to demonstrate that you are the authority on the subject. This is a good time to develop custom Intent audience segments or a custom affinity audience for Display. Retargeting should also be integrated into mid-funnel efforts. Consider serving ads to people who have read your blogs or white papers. Serve retargeting ads to people who have viewed 2 or more pages of your website. Remember, just because someone leaves your site without buying does not mean they have said “no”. Most likely, it means they have said “not now”.
Search ads should also be more targeted. Think about popular features of your product or service and integrate those into your keywords and ads. Now the camera store will use keywords such as “full-frame mirrorless camera”.
Bottom Funnel
At the bottom of the funnel we want to drive conversions. This is where buyer intent is strongest. Keywords will be the most detailed (long-tail keywords), to focus specifically on buyer desires. Search ads should use branded terms. (Nikon Z7 Mirrorless Camera) Keywords such as “buy” “quote” “call” “contact” are effective as are price comparison keywords such as “how much” or “cost of”. Bidding on competitors’ terms also works at this stage.
Search and Display retargeting play a large role in the bottom of the funnel as well. Search retargeting against proven long-tail keywords is very effective at creating conversions. Now is the time for more precision. Dynamic retargeting, which shows display ads of specific products a prospect has viewed are great at converting people who have viewed items on your site.
Google Ads Throughout The Sales Funnel
Each stage of the funnel is different and requires different tactics. Building your Google Ads account to parallel your sales funnel ensures that every search query is met with compelling ad copy and the perfect landing page offering. It takes more time to create campaigns that address consumer needs as they progress. But with some thought you can absolutely use Google Ads throughout the sales funnel.
