Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising represents a quick and effective way to get marketing messages in front of customers while spending every penny wisely. However, PPC marketing done haphazardly can be so ineffective as to make advertising not worth the time and effort. Enter the full funnel PPC strategy.
Full funnel PPC is a PPC marketing strategy that accounts for what the marketing industry refers to as the ‘sales funnel’. In turn, the sales funnel is a visual representation of a customer’s journey from introduction to post-sale follow up. Master the customer journey and you master the funnel. PPC marketing can be a part of it.
It Doesn’t Have to Be a One-Time Thing
The opposite of full funnel PPC is approaching PPC marketing from a one-time perspective. In other words, you launch a new ad campaign with the goal of driving and converting traffic throughout its run. Every new campaign represents a new and separate effort to boost sales.
Full funnel PPC is a lot more involved. It is an approach that targets customers along the entire funnel path. As such, you have multiple campaigns going on simultaneously. Each one pertains to one of the three generally accepted tunnel phases:
- Top of Funnel (TOFU) – TOFU refers to the awareness stage. This is the initial stage during which a potential customer comes to realize a need that has to be met.
- Middle of Funnel (MOFU) – MOFU refers to the stage at which potential customers are working through the different solutions. They want data that will inform their eventual decisions.
- Bottom of Funnel (BOFU) – BOFU refers to the final stage at which a potential customer makes a decision. That decision could be a direct purchase or a secondary action, like signing up for a loyalty program or joining a newsletter list.
Full funnel PPC relies on advertisements that inform customers regardless of the stage they find themselves in. Different stages come with different goals, so advertisements need to be targeted accordingly.
PPC Marketing With Keywords
Keywords play a key role in PPC marketing. They touch everything from bid amount to where ads are displayed. As such, choosing keywords provides a perfect illustration of how full funnel PPC works.
Ads targeting customers in the TOFU stage are the most generic of all three types of ads. However, keywords are still important. PPC marketers will focus on broader keywords paired with ads designed to increase brand awareness.
Targeting the MOFU stage are PPC advertisements aimed at users who have either previously interacted with the brand or are at least familiar with it. Keywords are more targeted to take advantage of existing brand knowledge.
Finally, PPC ads designed for the BOFU stage are very specific. Highly targeted keywords are chosen, keywords that are likely to promote traffic from customers ready to make a decision. In an ecommerce setting, these would be keywords that showcase specific products within a brand.
Putting It All Together
Choosing the right keywords based on funnel position is just one aspect of full funnel PPC. There is a lot more to it. Putting it all together is the job of a PPC marketing firm that specializes in such services. Note that not every PPC agency offers PPC services, let alone full funnel PPC.
Rest assured that PPC services are on the menu here at Webtek Digital Marketing. Our dedicated PPC team knows and understands the full funnel approach. If you are looking to maximize your PPC spend, we invite you to reach out to learn more. We can help you make PPC work across the entire sales funnel.
