PPC for Professional Services: 7 Tips for Exceptional Campaign Management

These seven PPC tips for professional services businesses will help you to set up and manage your campaigns effectively. If you’re already running ads in Google Ads, the leading PPC platform, this will help you achieve the lead and enquiry goals you’ve set for your business.

 

However, there are many different professional services businesses and sometimes it can be a challenge to know what works for yours. For example, if you’re an accountant or legal firm or architect, you’ll need to consider your goals and your target audience.

 

The good part is that platforms like Google Ads will help you along the way. They provide you with targeting tools and optimisation tools to manage your campaigns effectively. So, follow these tips to help improve your ads today.

 

1. Setup conversion tracking

 

Setting up conversion tracking in PPC accounts for professional services is important because it helps to track all enquiries and leads. This tracking includes calls that are directed from ads in Google Ads and from websites. And it also includes tracking of form submissions on your website, for example on the Contact page.

 

 

Also, you should look to set up goal tracking in Google Analytics. The benefit of this is that you get to track all your traffic sources and not just Google Ads traffic.

 

To set this up, go to the Admin page and click on the Goals link and use the available templates to create your tracking. And you can link your Google Ads and Analytics accounts in Admin too and then import the goals into Google Ads for conversion tracking.

 

2. Add new negative keywords

 

Part of your campaign management should include adding new negative keywords to help block searches that you don’t want to appear for. You can add negative keywords at the account, campaign and ad group levels.

 

 

The best place to find negative keywords to add is in your search terms report. And you’ll find this report under your Keywords tab in your campaign.

 

Also, you should look for new keyword opportunities as you do keyword research. There are some search terms there that could trigger your ads and lead to clicks that are not relevant for you.

 

3. Check Recommendations

 

For professional services companies running PPC campaigns in Google Ads, regular updates to the ads is important. But many are not sure how to start and which parts of the campaigns should be monitored and optimised.

 

A good place to start is with the Recommendations page in your account. This shows up to 50 different recommendation types that are designed to improve the performance of your campaigns. Some of these include bid strategies, keywords, dynamic search ads, audiences and many more

 

 

Not all of them will appear of course and some that appear will not be relevant for your business. So, take some time to review them and apply the relevant ones and dismiss those that are not. And this will help to increase your account’s Optimisation score.

 

4. Find new keywords

 

Adding more keywords is one of the recommendations you’ll find in your campaigns. You’re likely to see a long list of keyword suggestions that you could add that will bring more traffic and conversions for your business. But like other recommendations, only add them if they’re relevant and dismiss the non-relevant.

 

Another way to find new keywords is to use the Keyword Planner tool, especially if you haven’t used it before. This tool is in your Google Ads account under Tools & Settings.

 

 

Also, check your search terms report as described above. You will see some searches that are relevant and are appearing because of phrase match or broad match keywords, but do not have keyword equivalents. Adding them as keywords gives you more control over when you appear for them and how they appear in ads.

 

5. Update bid strategy

 

A good PPC bid strategy for professional services businesses to start with is Maximise Clicks. This automated bid strategy works to get you as many clicks as possible for your budget spend. There are both automated and manual bid strategies but this one is one of the best to start with.

 

 

Also, in the Recommendations page, you’ll likely see a recommendation to change to another bid strategy. This is often a Smart bid strategy especially if you’ve started with Maximise Clicks or Manual CPC and if it has found opportunities to improve your campaign.

 

6. Do competitor analysis

 

As a professional services company there are tools and platforms that will help you research your competitors. A platform I recommend is SERanking which you can use to see what other professional services companies are doing. And the Competitor tool in there will help.

 

 

With this tool you’ll be able to see which keywords your competitors are bidding on and where they rank for them and how much they pay for each click on average.

 

Also, check the Auction Insights report in your Google Ads account. You’ll find this in your campaign under the Ad groups tab. This report shows how you rank in the Top and Absolute Top positions in the search results when your ads have appeared.

 

 

7. Consider broad match type keywords

 

Broad match keywords will help you to increase traffic to your ads and website. You can add broad match versions of your phrase and exact match keywords and you’re likely to see a recommendation for this too.

 

However, you should be careful about the broad match keywords that you add. That’s because this could bring you many more searches that are irrelevant and they could waste your budget.

 

So, you should ensure you have a good negative keyword list to block all searches that are not relevant. And continue adding to this list as you find them – and that will help improve your conversion rate.

 

Case Study

 

MBS Accountants is an accountancy practice that helps small businesses achieve great success. Their goal is to make each client thrive by improving profitability. They contacted me because they needed help with their Google Ads account. I setup a new campaign that achieved conversion rates of up to 12% for some of their keywords. Read the full case study.

 

Get in Touch

 

PPC marketing for professional services is an area I have a lot of experience in and would be happy to discuss your requirements. Please contact me below to discuss.