PPC Case Study: How to Scale a B2B Certification Project in 3 Months with Google Ads
A certification center that assists companies in the acquisition of permits throughout Kazakhstan
– Obtaining a steady stream of targeted leads from businesses
March, 2024 - present
Kazakhstan
Project analytics prior to collaboration
The client’s organization is involved in the certification of products and services in Kazakhstan. It provides services for the acquisition of various types of certificates, licenses, and declarations of conformity. They also assist in obtaining technical specifications and permits.
The company’s primary clientele consists of manufacturers and suppliers of products seeking to enter the Kazakhstan market or other countries where appropriate certification is required.
There are some difficulties in promoting in this niche:
– Small audience.
A particular customer base requires certification services, which can restrict the scope of potential customers and increase the cost of acquiring one. It is essential to refine your targeting strategy and utilize relevant keywords.
– Legal and regulatory restrictions.
In some countries, the advertising of certain types of certification-related services is subject to restrictions and requires the acquisition of additional permits. It is advisable to consider the issues of ad moderation.
– The necessity of building trust.
Potential clients seeking certification services are typically highly selective and attentive to a company’s reputation. This indicates the necessity for ongoing efforts to enhance brand credibility through the use of reviews, case studies, and other forms of reliability.
Team actions
Development of Search Campaigns and Performance Max.
Given the allocated budget, the team decided to create separate search campaigns at the beginning of the project, dividing key phrases into three categories: general, product, and marketplace.
The overall search campaign included the following keywords: “obtaining a certificate of conformity”, “product quality certification”, “obtaining a quality certificate for business”.
In regard to the product campaign, the focus was on the key niches, namely food certification, quality certificates for cosmetics, and the attainment of a certificate for semi-finished products.
The search campaign for marketplaces already included keywords within the structure, such as “certificate for Kaspi,” “certification for Wildberries,” and other similar terms.
Given the limited size of the target audience, we chose the Maximum Clicks strategy, which has no CPC limits, to get the maximum traffic.
This strategy still works successfully today and provides the best results. Experiments with conversion strategies have resulted in a significant decrease in traffic and leads.
By following this strategy and clearly structuring search campaigns, the company was able to maintain a 98% hold on the top search positions, outperforming competitors.
Screenshot of the auction, compared to competitors in search results since the start of the project:
At the same time, we launched the Performance Max campaign on Maximum Conversions without CPA restrictions. This campaign targets a specific audience of individuals aged 25 and above, seeking certification, and excludes other restrictions.
The objective of launching this campaign was to achieve maximum coverage across all Google platforms, including YouTube, the Display Network, Gmail, and Discover. This allowed us to attract the maximum audience interested in certification services through the use of specific key phrases. In the field of certifications, where each lead is of significant value, this has significantly increased the effectiveness of advertising, reducing the cost of acquiring one client. In contrast to search campaigns, which target users who are already aware of their need for a particular service and actively seeking it out, Performance Max is designed to engage customers at various stages of their purchasing journey, from initial awareness of a need to making a decision.
Results
Following several months of successful campaigns, maintaining conversion costs within the specified KPI range (up to $10), and allocating additional budget for the project, it was determined that creating separate search campaigns for Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, was a viable course of action. The decision was based on the fact that the Astana region yielded the most targeted leads, despite a slightly higher CPA than other regions. A separate budget was allocated for the capital, which enabled us to attract customers from this region even more effectively.
After splitting the structure of search campaigns, we managed to scale the number of conversions by almost 2.5 times in 3 months. The dynamics of the project are shown in the screenshot below.
As you can see, after splitting the structure and additional budget, the number of leads increased dramatically:
Let’s also look at the overall results of Google Ads campaigns in the first and current months of working with RegisTeam.
Results for the first month of working with RegisTeam:
– Conversions (leads) received -334;
– Cost per conversion – $4.3;
– Expenses – $1,439.
Results for the current month:
– Conversions (leads) received -1122;
– Cost per conversion – $2.11;
– Expenses – $2,372.
Summary
Launching Performance Max campaigns in conjunction with Search campaigns in the B2B segment is not only effective, but also a necessary step to achieve maximum results. The synergy between Google’s various platforms allows you to achieve greater reach, optimize budget utilization and increase conversions, even in a highly competitive environment. To succeed in such a targeted and competitive environment, it’s essential to strategically structure campaigns and target keywords and audience segments with precision.
