PPC and Content Strategy: How They Work Together

It seems like a no-brainer that pay-per-click (PPC) ads could help your content strategy. You pay for ads on Google which in turn gets your content noticed by the people that matter, then convert those people to customers once you’ve addressed their pain points. Job done. 

That’s assuming you have a seamless content strategy that’s chock-full of valuable and engaging content and a limitless paid media budget. That would be nice, now wouldn’t it? In reality, the critical challenge many businesses need to solve is identifying aspects of their content strategy that could benefit the most from the help of a paid ad. And conversely, how can your content strategy better serve the paid ads you run.

Here at Galactic Fed, we have insight into how PPC and your content strategy can work best together to reach new customers and grow your business. Having partnered with hundreds of companies over the years, we’ve built up a winning formula for making paid ads serve existing content strategies and vice versa. 

If you’ve found your way here but are more interested in how SEO and your content strategy can work best together, we can assist with that too! Check out our recent blog on the topic with lots of great advice gathered from our team of SEO experts. 

Now, let’s dive into the three building blocks for making your PPC ads and your content strategy work as a team to help get your great content noticed and improve those click-through rates.

Boost existing, high-performing content 

Source: Lime

Our first suggestion is all about narrowing down to what existing content you have that resonates with your target audience. If you’re not quite sure what this is, don’t worry! 

Performing a content gap analysis can help you identify what informational or educational blog posts, for example, have the most engagement and where gaps in your website content exist.

Embarrassed to admit none of your content is performing that well? That’s fixable, too, with a bit of help from a paid ad.

Once you’ve chosen that great piece of content that checks all the boxes (helps your customers, describes the value you add, and includes a compelling call to action,) why not run some A/B testing? 

A/B testing is the activity of running ads that feature different keywords or layouts for the same piece of content. Analyze the results to see why one ad performed better than the other and finesse your content with keywords that resonate the most, for example.

An added bonus of running A/B tested paid media campaigns for existing content is that it’s a super fast and efficient way to stress-test your keywords.

Get that excellent landing page noticed 

Source: Grubhub

You’ve poured blood, sweat, and tears into a landing page you know is near perfection. It helps your customers, it reflects your brand, it provides a clear CTA, and it includes superb copy and an engaging image.

There’s one problem, though. 

No one is landing on your landing page. 

PPC to the rescue! 

Turbo-boost your landing page and get it noticed by your target audience by running a paid media campaign to improve its visibility online. 

If we’re one step ahead of you, and you’re not quite there yet with developing that winning landing page, have a read of your guidance on how to create a high-converting landing page that people can’t help but engage with. 

Turning content that’s already had your most creative minds developing copy for that entices the people to act, is easy to read, and accessible for all is a large part and tricky part of your paid media campaign done. Thanks, content team! 

Amplify the value of your gated content 

If you’re a business with a selection of gated content used for lead generation, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to delivering an effective PPC campaign. 

eBooks, white papers, demos, webinars, videos, and other valuable content that visitors need to sign up to access can significantly help your paid media campaigns and vice versa.

You’ve most likely spotted these ads yourself online. 

They commonly take the form of a pop-up box in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen, like this one from Search Engine Watch promoting their series of tech talks:  

Source: Search Engine Watch

You usually need to provide your name and email address, exchanging your data for instant access to valuable tools and resources that help you upskill or grow your business. 

Lead generation content can produce impressive results when used as part of a paid media campaign, as long as they provide value to your target audience. Plus, you’ll get a decent amount of quality leads in the process. 

Paid media and content strategy: helping each other out

At the end of the day, PPC ads cost money.

To ensure you’re spending your digital marketing budget wisely, bring your paid media campaigns and content strategy together. 

By pinpointing your very best, existing content, you can have nearly half of the hard work done when it comes to creating an effective paid media campaign. A/B testing can strengthen your ads further, plus you can stress-test assumptions you may have about keyword intent. 

Get the most out of that landing page you’ve spent precious time and money crafting to get it noticed by the people that matter online while driving up click-through rates. Landing pages already have excellent copy, images, CTAs, and branding, making them a perfect match for a PPC campaign. 

Lastly, don’t miss the PPC opportunities provided by your existing gated content. You’ve no doubt put a ton of effort into your demos, eBooks, webinars, and white papers, so help them get in front of the eyes of the people who could benefit from them with a targeted paid media strategy. You’ll also build up that list of quality leads too. 

The folks at Galactic Fed are pros when it comes to running PPC campaigns that get results. We have years of experience developing robust content strategies and helping clients complete all of the vital tasks that go along with one. Contact us today if you’d like a helping hand with your company’s content strategy, PPC campaign, or both!