How To Use Customer Journey Maps to Manage PPC Spends
If you are a marketer or a brand owner, you know how important it is to optimize your PPC campaigns for maximum ROI. You want to reach the right audience, at the right time, with the right message, and with the right budget. But how do you do that?
Why Do You Need to Create Customer Journey Maps?
One of the most effective ways to optimize your PPC campaigns is to use customer journey maps. Customer journey maps are visual representations of the steps that your customers take from the moment they become aware of your brand to the moment they make a purchase (and beyond). They help you understand your customers’ needs, pain points, motivations, and behaviours at each stage of the buying process.
By using customer journey maps, you can align your PPC campaigns with your customers’ expectations and preferences. You can also identify the gaps and opportunities in your marketing funnel, and allocate your PPC budget accordingly. This way, you can improve your conversion rates, reduce your cost per acquisition, and increase your customer lifetime value.
In this article, we will show you how to create customer journey maps for PPC campaigns, and how to integrate them into your PPC strategy. We will also share some tips and best practices for managing your PPC spends using customer journey maps.
How to Create Customer Journey Maps for PPC Campaigns?
The first step to creating customer journey maps for PPC campaigns is to define your buyer personas. Buyer personas are semi-fictional profiles of your ideal customers, based on real data and research. They help you segment your audience and tailor your marketing messages to their specific needs and goals.
To create your buyer personas, you need to collect and analyze data from various sources, such as:
- Your website analytics
- Your CRM and email marketing tools
- Your social media platforms
- Your customer feedback and surveys
- Your sales and customer service teams
- Your competitors and industry trends
Once you have your buyer personas, you need to map out their customer journey. The customer journey consists of three main stages: awareness, consideration, and decision. These stages correspond to the top, middle, and bottom of the marketing funnel, respectively.
At each stage, you need to answer the following questions:
- What are the goals and challenges of your buyer persona?
- What are the touchpoints and channels that they use to interact with your brand?
- What are the keywords and queries that they use to search for information or solutions?
- What are the emotions and pain points that they experience?
- What are the triggers and incentives that motivate them to move to the next stage?
- What are the barriers and objections that prevent them from moving to the next stage?
You can create your customer journey maps online and collaborate with your team for better optimization and budgeting of your ad spends.
How You Can Create Customer Journeys at Each Stage of the Funnel
Here are some examples of how to create customer journey maps for PPC campaigns for each stage of the funnel:
Optimizing PPC Campaigns by Creating Customer Journey Maps for ToFu
ToFu stands for top of the funnel. This is the stage where your buyer persona is aware of their problem or need, but not aware of your brand or solution. They are looking for general information, education, or inspiration.
At this stage, your goal is to attract their attention, generate awareness, and build trust. You want to use broad and informational keywords, such as:
- How to [solve a problem]
- What is [a topic or term]
- Best [category or type] of [solution]
- [Solution] tips or guide or examples
You also want to use display and video ads to reach your audience on various platforms, such as:
- Google Display Network
- YouTube
Your ad copy and landing page should focus on providing value, not selling. You want to offer free resources, such as:
- Blog posts
- Ebooks
- Webinars
- Podcasts
- Infographics
- Checklists
You want to capture their email address or phone number, so you can nurture them and move them to the next stage.
Optimizing PPC Campaigns by Creating Customer Journey Maps for MoFu
MoFu stands for the middle of the funnel. This is the stage where your buyer persona is aware of your brand and solution, but not ready to buy yet. They are looking for more specific information, comparison, or validation.
At this stage, your goal is to engage your audience, generate interest, and build credibility. You want to use narrow and commercial keywords, such as:
- [Brand name] vs [competitor name]
- [Brand name] review or testimonial or case study
- [Brand name] features or benefits or pricing
- How to use [brand name] or [solution]
You also want to use remarketing and search ads to reach your audience on various platforms, such as:
- Google Search Network
- Google Shopping
- Bing
- Amazon
- Quora
Your ad copy and landing page should focus on highlighting your unique value proposition, not competing on price. You want to offer free trials, demos, or consultations, such as:
- Free 14-day trial
- Free live demo
- Free 30-minute consultation
- Free quote or proposal
You want to collect their name, company, and role, so you can qualify them and move them to the next stage.
Optimizing PPC Campaigns by Creating Customer Journey Maps for BoFu
BoFu stands for the bottom of the funnel. This is the stage where your buyer persona is ready to buy your solution but unsure which option to choose. They are looking for final information, confirmation, or incentive.
At this stage, your goal is to convert your audience, generate action, and build loyalty. You want to use exact and transactional keywords, such as:
- Buy [brand name] or [solution]
- [Brand name] coupon or discount or offer
- [Brand name] free shipping or delivery or installation
- [Brand name] customer service or support or warranty
You also want to use dynamic and call-only ads to reach your audience on various platforms, such as:
- Google Ads
- Facebook Messenger
- Phone
Your ad copy and landing page should focus on creating urgency, not delaying. You want to offer limited-time offers, guarantees, or bonuses, such as:
- 50% off for the first 100 customers
- 100% money-back guarantee
- Free lifetime updates
- Gift or bonus
You want to collect their payment information, address, and feedback, so you can complete the transaction and retain them as customers.
6 Tips for Integrating Customer Journey Mapping into PPC Campaigns for Optimizing Ad Spends
Now that you have your customer journey maps for PPC campaigns, how do you use them to optimize your PPC spends? Here are some tips and best practices to follow:
1. Align your PPC campaigns with your customer journey stages
You want to create separate campaigns for each stage of the funnel, and use different keywords, ad formats, and landing pages accordingly. This way, you can deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time, and increase your relevance and quality score.
2. Segment your PPC audience based on your buyer personas
You want to create different ad groups for each buyer persona and use different targeting options, such as demographics, interests, behaviors, and locations. This way, you can tailor your ads to their specific needs and goals, and increase your click-through rate and conversion rate.
3. Track and measure your PPC performance across the customer journey
You want to use different metrics and KPIs for each funnel stage, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, cost per click, cost per conversion, and return on ad spend. This way, you can monitor and evaluate your PPC results, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your campaigns.
4. Test and optimize your PPC campaigns continuously
You want to use different tools and techniques, such as A/B testing, multivariate testing, and split testing, to experiment with different elements of your campaigns, such as keywords, ad copy, landing page, and call to action. This way, you can find the best combinations that work for your audience, and improve your performance and efficiency.
5. Use customer feedback and data to update your customer journey maps
You want to use different sources and methods, such as surveys, interviews, reviews, analytics, and heatmaps, to collect and analyze customer feedback and data. This way, you can understand how your customers actually behave and feel, and adjust your customer journey maps accordingly.
6. Adopt a holistic tool for seeing unified ad targeting, performance, and expenses on each marketing channel.
You want to use a platform like Pixage to measure your ad spends and scale your brand effectively.
Pixage.io helps you to:
- Connect and integrate your PPC campaigns across different platforms, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and more.
- Track and measure your PPC performance across the customer journey, using advanced attribution models, such as first-click, last-click, linear, time-decay, and position-based.
- Optimize and manage your PPC spends across different channels, using smart budget allocation, bid optimization, and campaign automation.
By leveraging a platform like Pixage, you can save time, money, and resources, and get a clear and comprehensive view of your PPC ROI across the customer journey.
Conclusion
Customer journey mapping is a powerful tool for optimizing your PPC campaigns and managing your PPC spends. By using customer journey maps, you can align your PPC strategy with your customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviours at each stage of the buying process. You can also improve your PPC performance, efficiency, and ROI, by using a holistic platform like Pixage.io, which helps you to measure and scale your media spends across different channels. If you want to learn more about how Pixage can help you with your PPC campaigns, visit our website or contact us here today. Thank you for reading this article, and happy PPC-ing!
