Staying profitable as an electrician requires generating a steady stream of hot leads you can turn into paying customers, but being a highly skilled electrician isn’t enough. You need a strategy to put your services in front of potential customers precisely when they need electrical work, and that’s what pay-per-click (PPC) ads are for.
Pay-per-click advertising gives you a direct route to the top of search results, ensuring visibility exactly when potential clients are actively seeking your services. And unlike traditional advertising, PPC ads can use precision targeting to reach leads that are most likely to convert.
As of 2024, the average conversion rate for Google Ads was 6.96%, which is considered above average. With a high conversion rate and plenty of users, it makes sense to run ads on Google. It’s also worth looking at other platforms, like Facebook and Bing (Microsoft Ads).
Although many businesses get results, success is not automatic. Running a PPC ad campaign can be a great source of leads, but it can also become a money pit if you don’t do it correctly. Here’s what you need to know when your goal is to generate paying customers through PPC without wasting your marketing budget.
Before diving into specific strategies, it’s important to understand the basics of PPC ads. PPC is an advertising model where you pay a fee every time someone clicks on your ad. It’s a quick way to get traffic to your website. And unlike search engine optimization (SEO), you’ll start seeing results immediately. Generally speaking, the system will display your ads for users who search for phrases related to the keywords you designate. If they click, you pay.
Electrical work is a competitive market, and unless you have a huge marketing budget for SEO, it’s hard to get visibility in the search results. Running paid ads on Google and social media platforms bypasses the need to pay for SEO to start getting traffic. Since ads show up at the top of the search results, leads looking for electrical services will see your ad right away. And when you target the right keywords and phrases, you’ll catch leads who need your services now.
Now let’s get into how to build a successful PPC campaign.
Clear objectives are the foundation of every PPC campaign, so set advertising goals that align with your business goals. For example, it could be as simple as figuring out how many new customers you want each month and then setting goals to acquire that many new customers through PPC ads.
Targeting the right search queries is arguably one of the most important aspects of running a PPC ad campaign. Not all keywords related to electrical work will generate paying clients. You want to focus on phrases that indicate a strong intent to hire, like “emergency electrician near me” or “licensed electrician in [city].” Some other examples include:
· “Residential electrician”
· “Commercial electrician”
· “24 hour electrician”
· “Electrical contractor”
· “Electrician services”
· “Same day electrician”
· “House rewire”
· “Electrical inspection”
· “Electrical maintenance”
You can create variations of these phrases with other phrases like “near me” or using zip codes, counties, and cities.
Once you have a list of keywords and phrases to target, you’ll also want to build a list of negative keywords. Negative keywords are terms you want to exclude so your ads don’t show up for those searches. These are terms that are going to waste your ad spend if you get clicks. Some examples include:
· “DIY”
· “How to”
· “Free”
· “Discount”
· Other services, like “HVAC,” “handyman,” “plumbing,” and “drywall”
· Informational queries, like “how to wire an outlet” or “wiring diagrams”
It also helps to add negative keywords for cities, zip codes, or neighborhoods you don’t service, especially if they’re within your general area.
Your ads need to resonate with your ideal lead, so your copy matters. You need a strong headline to capture attention and a compelling call-to-action (CTA) that gets them to click. A strong CTA can increase your click-through rate by 2.8%.
You already know your best leads need electrical work, but you still need to write convincing copy that creates a sense of urgency. For example, you could emphasize what sets your services apart, like having 24/7 availability. Your CTA should encourage immediate action, and the following phrases are a great place to start:
· Call now for a free estimate
· Call now to schedule your service
· Book now
· Get a free quote
· Call now for immediate service
Well-crafted copy will get you more clicks from customers who will actually sign up for your services and become paying customers.
An example of good ad copy that will generate clicks from people who need your services:
“Need fast, reliable electrical repairs? Licensed electricians. Same-day service available. No hidden fees. Call now for a free quote!”
An example of ad copy that may attract casual interest:
“Fast, affordable service. Licensed and insured electricians. Call us today.”
The images you use with your ads matter just as much as the copy, but don’t go overboard trying to capture attention with chaotic or random images. Sometimes the best imagery is just bold text with a simple visual. If you aren’t sure what images to use, test some out and see for yourself.
Use retargeting to reengage leads
Retargeting, also called remarketing, is when you show ads only to people who have previously interacted with your ads or visited your website. Remarketing will keep warm leads aware of your services and can eventually get them to convert. Sometimes people need to see ads from the same company or advertising the same service a handful of times before they’ll convert.
The best part about retargeting is being able to craft your ads with different messages that only retargeting leads will see. This allows you to employ some advanced marketing strategies that utilize highly specific copy.
Use social proof in your ads
Trust is one of the top factors that a homeowner uses to hire an electrician. According to a Podium study, 93% of customers say online reviews impact their decision to buy. Take advantage of this and include customer testimonials in your ads. It will show prospects that other people have had positive experiences with your company and are satisfied with your services. Give people a reason to feel good about clicking your ad or calling you right away.
Get activity on your Facebook ads
We just covered the importance of social proof, and getting activity on your Facebook ads can be an extension of that. This works best for local companies that have an active presence in their community, so if you don’t already have a following, you’ll need to create one first.
If you have a decent amount of followers on Facebook, and you interact with people in your community through your business page, engage with people on posts about your services and then boost those posts to turn them into ads. Boosted posts work a little differently than ads, but the result is the same – locals will see them, and the more positive engagement you have on those posts, the better it makes you look.
Design effective landing pages
Strong, compelling ad copy is important, but once people click on your ad, your landing page is responsible for converting them into a phone call. An effective landing page has the following elements and qualities:
· The content matches the ad’s message and offer, creating a seamless experience
· It’s not your homepage (homepages are too general)
· Specific copy that speaks directly to your customer’s needs
· A clear CTA that instructs the user to act now
· A clearly visible phone number
· Trust signals, like badges and certifications, testimonials, and customer reviews
Your services are location specific, so make sure your ads reach the right geographic audience. Whatever platforms you advertise on, set your ads to reach people in your service area, whether it’s done by zip codes, specific cities, or a set radius around your main address.
You don’t need to spend a fortune, but you do need to set a decent daily budget to get seen. By fine-tuning your keywords and phrases, you can ensure you don’t waste your ad spend. Begin by setting your daily budget to at least $50 per day, if not $100. If you go lower than $50, your ads won’t show up as often (because you’ll be outbid by other electricians) and that will mean fewer clicks.
When you’re new to PPC, you’ll need time to play with your bidding strategies to see what works. Your options include manual CPC, enhanced CPC, and automated bidding strategies like target CPA.
· Manual CPC: You set the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each click. This seems easy at first, but it limits you in the end. You’ll need to babysit your bids constantly or you risk overpaying or underbidding and never getting seen. This method works best if you know the exact worth of a click.
· Enhanced CPC: With this method, you still set your bids manually, but the ad platform will nudge your bids up or down depending on whether the system thinks a click is more or less likely to convert. The system uses past conversion data to make these decisions, but it’s not perfect.
· Automated bidding: This method gives the system total control over your cost per click. You basically tell the ad platform what you want to pay for each lead and it will increase your bids up to that amount if it thinks a user is highly likely to convert. If a particular user is less likely to convert, the system will either lowball the bid or skip the auction altogether. This method saves time and scales better, but can waste your budget if you don’t have proper tracking and keywords.
If you’re still new to PPC, stick to manual CPC. However if you’ve been using PPC for a while then enhanced PPC might make sense. And unless you’re a PPC pro, it’s best to skip the automated bidding or hire a marketing agency.
You can’t improve what you aren’t tracking. A successful PPC campaign rests on how well you track your efforts. From the start, monitor your click-through rate (CTR), conversion rates, and cost per conversion to know how your ads are performing. It’s equally important to split test your ads to test different ad headlines, images, copy, CTAs, and even landing pages.
Ad extensions are extra bits of information you can add that make them more enticing without paying more per click. For example, on some platforms, you can add a phone number, your location, a list of services, or special offers without having to cram everything into your main ad text. One big benefit of this feature is that Google rewards ads that it thinks are more useful with better positions and a lower cost per click.
Types of PPC ad extensions include:
· Sitelink extensions. Adds extra clickable links under your main ad that can be used to direct leads to your highest-converting landing pages.
For example:
“Electrical Repairs | Panel Upgrades | Emergency Services | Free Estimates”
· Call extensions. Adds your phone number to your ad. On mobile, users can click to call you. These ads should only be run during business hours since it will generate phone calls.
· Location extensions. Shows your business address and a map link. It will boost your credibility if you link your Google Business Profile in this type of ad.
· Callout extensions. This adds short, non-clickable text snippets that highlight features.
For example:
“Licensed & Insured” | “Same-Day Service” | “No Hidden Fees”
· Structured snippet extensions. These are similar to callouts, but are grouped under a main header like “Services.” This is great to show leads the variety of services you offer. For example, a “Services” header might list “Wiring, Rewiring, Electrical Inspections, Smart Home Installation”
· Price extensions. This will show the price of a specific package or service. For example: “Electrical Inspection – Starting at $99”
· Promotion extensions. This highlights sales or special deals, like limited-time offers or holiday discounts. Promotions are great when you include a deadline to create a sense of urgency.
Ad extensions can help you get more clicks, boost your ad rank, reduce your cost per click, filter your traffic, and boost your trustworthiness. At the very least, you should be using sitelinks, call extensions, and callouts.
Getting a PPC audit will help you get better results. If you’re unsure about your strategy, experimenting, or you aren’t getting good results, an audit from a professional PPC agency can help you pinpoint exactly what isn’t working and offer a more effective strategy.
Generating leads with PPC doesn’t require throwing mountains of cash at Google and hoping for the best. It’s about reaching the right people at the right time – people who need electrical work now – with a message that gets them to call you. Done right, paid ads will bring you a steady stream of hot leads, booked jobs, and predictable cash flow.
At PPC.co, we specialize in building high-performing PPC campaigns for electricians who want to grow their business. When you work with us, we’ll craft ads that attract people ready to hire you today.
Ready to see how it works? Contact us today to request a free proposal. You don’t need more clicks – you need more calls. Let’s make it happen.
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Pay-per-click (PPC) ads can generate a steady stream of guests for anyone in the hospitality industry, whether you run a hotel, motel, hostel, vacation rental, or an Airbnb. In terms of marketing strategies, PPC ads convert 50% better than SEO and it’s easier to measure than results from organic search.
But a successful ad campaign isn’t just a matter of getting ads in front of people who are looking to book right now. You can also use PPC ads to find people who are just starting to think about their getaway and those who are comparing options. An effective strategy will reach a variety of people to get bookings now, fill future pipelines, and get repeat guests.
If you’re in the hospitality industry, here’s how paid advertising can help you drive more revenue.
To run a successful PPC campaign you need to understand the guest journey. Different people are doing different things at different times. For example, some people are researching destinations and others are comparing lodging, all while another group of people are ready to book. If you serve all these people the same ads, you won’t get the best results.
1. Define your funnel stages
There are four main stages to a hospitality funnel: awareness, consideration, conversion, and loyalty. Reaching leads at each stage requires different messaging and targeting. That’s where audience segmentation comes in.
2. Segment your audience by intent
Since each lead needs to be given a different message, it’s crucial to segment them by intent first. For example, the dreamers are people who search for “things to do in X city,” “best beach getaway,” and “romantic weekend destinations.”
The comparers search for “hotel vs. motel in X city,” “4-star stays in X city,” and “Airbnb vs. boutique hotel.”
The bookers search for a specific brand + location + dates.
Each audience segment should be served different ad copy, different offers, and of course – different landing pages.
3. Measure results according to stage
Finally, you need to measure results in several ways, like impressions, click-throughs, content engagement, and email signups. This will give you the bigger picture regarding how your ads are working (or not). For example, to measure the conversion stage, look at bookings, CPA, and revenue per booking. For the loyalty stage, look for repeat stays or referral leads.
Once you know how you’ll segment your audience and track the results, you can allocate your budget smartly. Otherwise, you risk overspending on high-intent leads and ignoring the long-term value of leads in earlier stages of the journey.
If you only bid on keyword phrases like “hotel room booking tonight,” you’ll miss all the people researching and thinking about their vacation. These people can convert, too, even if it doesn’t happen in the moment. They’re worth pursuing. You can capture their email, get them to like your social media pages, and you can also use remarketing to serve them additional ads.
The following are the general types of keywords you want to focus on:
· Broad/discovery keywords. These keywords will reach people in the awareness stage. Phrases like, “Best beaches in [location],” “Top things to do in [location],” and “Travel inspiration [country].” When you use broad modifiers (like “top,” “best,” “where to stay”) you’ll attract people in the research stage.
· Middle-funnel comparative keywords. These are phrases like, “Boutique hotel vs. Airbnb in [location],” “Hotel deals vs. motel,” and “Hotel amenities comparison.” With phrases like these, people are narrowing down their choices. The right PPC campaign can help them pick your business.
· Branded and high-intent booking keywords. These keywords reach people further down the funnel. Phrases like, “[Your hotel name] rooms,” “Hotel in [location] near [landmark],” and “cheap hotel [location][dates].” These phrases typically provide the highest conversion rates but can be competitive, so they may cost more.
· Negative keywords. To prevent wasted ad spend on irrelevant clicks, you can add certain keywords to your negative keyword list. This ensures your ads won’t show up when people search for these terms. Common negative keywords used in the hospitality industry include, “Free stay” and “Jobs at [hotel].”
Since most hotels and motels stick with keywords that target people ready to book, you can expand your reach by running ads for people in other stages. Just make sure you have a system in place to nurture your leads so they don’t go cold.
What you say matters just as much as when you say it. Copy that works for someone researching won’t work for someone ready to book with you. Every part of your ad needs to match intent, including the imagery, tone, copy, and offers. Here’s how to reach each stage:
· Awareness stage ads. At this stage, people will respond to emotional and inspirational copy. Phrases like, “Discover tranquil stays in the mountains,” or “Unwind by the sea.” Use imagery to provoke desire. Beautiful views and relaxing room setups work like a charm.
· Consideration stage ads. These people need more information, so hit ‘em with your amenities (Wi-Fi, breakfast), comparisons, reviews, ratings, and testimonials. Show them visuals of your accommodations and the local area.
· Booking/conversion stage ads. Urgency works best here. Phrases that get people to click to book now, like “Limited rooms available,” and “Book now and save.”
· Loyalty stage ads. Guests who have stayed with you before, even just once, are more cost-effective to convert again compared to chasing down new customers. Create some ads for these people by highlighting perks, upgrades, and exclusive deals they can’t get through other places. For example, you can use lines like:
“Book direct for free late checkout,” “Exclusive returning guest discount,” or “VIP upgrade on your next stay.” It also helps to use personalized copy like, “Welcome back to [your hotel name].” along with imagery of your best amenities.
Loyalty ads drive repeat bookings and increase lifetime value by bringing people back.
· Remarketing and nurturing prospects who got away. In addition to targeting people in all funnel stages, you want to bring people back who clicked but never booked or signed up for your email list. Run retargeting ads to show them what they looked at and offer them incentives or discounts. This is a great time to leverage social proof.
By matching your ad content to meet potential leads where they are in their journey, your ads will be more relevant and you’ll get more conversions.
Having a great ad doesn’t necessarily mean it will drive conversions. If your landing page is confusing or the booking process is clunky, you’ll lose people. That’s why landing page optimization is often where people see the biggest gains.
As a foundation, create a specific landing page for each target audience. You need a dedicated landing page for ads that target each funnel stage. Landing pages should be simple and clear and should be free from all distractions (like links and menus) that invite a user to click away. You want one offer and one call to action.
Social proof is critical in the hospitality industry. Show guest reviews from Tripadvisor, Google, Trustpilot, etc. It also helps to show photos of real guests enjoying their stay (with their permission). Showcasing reviews will reduce anxiety and hesitation, especially for people comparing you with other options.
If your landing pages show pricing, make sure you’re up front about all fees. Be clear about what’s included, like tax, breakfast, and service fees. People hate hidden fees. If a guest’s experience doesn’t match the impression they get from the page where they booked, they’ll probably leave a bad review.
Talk to your website developer and have them trigger a follow-up email that goes out to people who start filling out a booking form but stop. The email should show them what they left behind and you can sweeten the deal by offering a small discount or other incentive.
Having a smooth flow after a person clicks on your ad can help you convert far more prospects. Everything you can do to reduce friction and increase trust compounds.
To get conversions, your bidding strategy and budget need to align with a variety of factors, including funnel stage and seasonality.
· Increase bids for high-intent keywords, use moderate bids for middle-funnel ads, and go lower for awareness and discovery.
· Watch for online travel agents (OTAs) and large hotel chains that bid on your property’s name or similar keywords. If they undercut you in rate or bid too aggressively, you could end up with arbitrarily inflated costs per click. Research data shows this can cost around 47% more per click.
· Adjust your bids and budget during travel seasons, events, and holidays. During off-peak seasons you may want to stick with pushing awareness.
· Allocate your budget proportionately across all funnel stages.
· Use Google’s automated bidding tool for the conversion stage, but use manual methods for the consideration and awareness stage.
The right bidding strategy will ensure you don’t overspend for low-intent clicks or underinvest in more profitable funnel stages.
PPC is more than search. When you use different channels and ad formats you’ll reach people in a variety of places.
· Search ads (Google, Bing). Search ads capture high-intent demand users. They’re great for the conversion and compare phases and can make use of extensions like call, location, and reviews.
· Display and discovery/native ads. Display ads are excellent for the awareness stage. They reach people browsing travel blogs and using apps. With these ads, visuals are everything.
· Social media ads. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok are great for the awareness and consideration stages. They’re especially powerful for remarketing.
· Video ads. Short-form videos can stir emotion, show off ambiance, and be used to create a mini virtual tour. These ads are great for top and middle funnel prospects.
· Email ads. If you’re using email marketing, offer loyalty deals and off-peak discounts.
Paid search on social media converts better in hospitality than it does in other industries.
Location matters in hospitality. Geotargeting can significantly improve your conversions and reduce wasted ad spend. You can use radius bids and location extensions to target people looking for accommodations within a certain radius.
It pays to bid higher for people in feeder markets and origin cities during the holidays. You can also target departure cities for Arbnbs if that’s relevant to you.
In your ad copy, include local cues like “Only 30 mins from downtown,” and “15 minutes from airport. If you know your audience well, include the origin city (“Fly in from Seattle & Stay with us just outside Olympia”).
When offered by the ad platform, use local extensions to note your address, phone number, and any other elements offered. This will generate more bookings from mobile users.
Most people who click your ads or visit your website won’t book right away. Retargeting will help convert these “warm but not ready” leads into guests eventually.
When you target people who visited your site without converting, show them ads with refreshed offers like a free breakfast or an upgraded view. Visual reminders will help bring them back.
Show the specific rooms and properties to the prospect so the ad feels personalized. Use tools like Google dynamic remarketing and Facebook Product Ads.
For guests who did convert, show them additional special offers and upgrades. Keeping them in your funnel will make future conversions easier.
It’s crucial to know when to pull back, push forward, test more, or scale.
· Define clear ROI goals. Know your target Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA), Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), and guest Lifetime Value (LTV). If your ad spend yields bookings but loses money, it’s not working.
· Perform weekly and monthly audits. Refine keywords, ad creatives, and keep testing.
· Scale what works. Once you have a campaign producing consistent returns, increase the budget there while watching for diminishing returns.
· Adjust your offers and pricing. If conversion rates drop or your CPCs rise, start offering special packages like early-bird deals and loyalty perks.
The average travel and hospitality conversion rate for search is 3.55% so if you’re under that, there’s room for improvement. If you’re over that, scale carefully.
If you’re ready to transform your PPC campaign into a reliable machine that fills your rooms and builds a solid pipeline for the future, we can help. At PPC.co, we specialize in creating full funnel PPC strategies for hotels, motels, and Airbnbs that convert into bookings, repeat guests, and long-term loyalty. Contact us today and let’s craft a PPC strategy that drives bookings and turns first-time guests into lifelong customers.
If you’re running paid ads to promote your web hosting services, your landing pages are the core of your funnel. You can run a killer campaign with the perfect keywords and nail your targeting, but if your landing pages aren’t optimized to convert, you’re wasting money.
Your pay-per-click (PPC) ads need to capture attention immediately or you won’t get clicks. But web hosting is a highly competitive market and your landing pages need to be top-notch to turn those clicks into paying customers. To accomplish this, each page has to prove your value in seconds, overcome objections before they’re raised, and guide visitors toward signing up.
PPC strategies for generating web hosting leads apply whether you’re running your own company or building a business as a reseller. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the critical elements that make the difference between someone who buys and someone who clicks out of curiosity and bounces.
Generating leads from PPC ads starts with understanding user intent. For example, someone who clicks an ad for “best web hosting for small business” isn’t looking for the same thing as someone searching for “cheap web hosting.” They might both end up buying the same plan, but you have to sell your services differently to each group. Each lead needs to think, “this hosting plan is for me” when reading your ads and landing page. As such, you need to alter the language to speak directly to each group’s pain points, desires, and fears.
It’s worth pursuing multiple markets, but each requires a unique strategy. Success requires segmenting your traffic by creating separate landing pages for each group and then crafting ads and offers specifically tailored to those groups based on their intent. For example, you want to run separate ads with corresponding landing pages for each of the following keyword groups:
· “Reliable small business web hosting” – these leads are small business owners looking for a web host that has decent uptime and won’t go offline for a few hours every month.
Your ad and landing page copy should focus on reliability, uptime, and access to tools like email, page builders, security, and customer support.
· “WordPress hosting” – these leads aren’t tech savvy and want hosting that offers one-click WordPress installations. However, they aren’t necessarily looking for the quick installer that comes with cPanel. That’s far too complex for this group. They want a fully managed WordPress hosting account with a user interface that makes managing every WordPress installation a breeze.
To capture this group, your ad and landing page copy should focus on simple installation, easy migration, templates, automated backups, managed maintenance, and accessible support.
· “Cheap web hosting” – these leads are looking to save money and will likely sacrifice features for the right price.
Your ad and landing page copy should focus on your prices, discounts, and deals first, followed by elements like reliability and features.
· “Reliable web hosting” – these leads prioritize reliability over everything else.
Your ad and landing page copy should focus on your uptime guarantee, security, accessible support, and anything else that tells leads your servers aren’t going to crash or get hacked every week.
These are just a handful of examples of what search phrases can tell you about a user’s intent. To maximize leads, it’s crucial to segment your market based on intent to reach each group with customized marketing messages.
As with any market, before you type a single word, analyze your competition to know what you’re up against. Your competitors are bidding on the same keywords, targeting the same customers, and many are throwing down some serious cash. If your landing pages aren’t top-notch, you’re not going to make it.
Here’s how to research web hosting competitors:
· Dissect their traffic sources. Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to find out where they’re getting traffic. If you’re not using these platforms yet, it’s time to start.
· Copy their offers (but not specifically). Analyze their headlines, subheadings, CTAs, and packages/plans. Use this information as inspiration to build your landing pages and offers, but don’t copy anything word-for-word. Then, see what you can improve.
If your goal is to create better offers, keep in mind that hosting companies offer mid-tier plans that don’t make financial sense as part of a marketing strategy to get people to buy a more expensive plan. If you don’t use this strategy, it could result in fewer sales.
· Look for their hooks. What emotional buttons are they pushing? Security? Speed? Price? Support? Take their hooks and craft even better ones. For example, if their hook is “Hosting for $2.95/month,” take that up a notch to “Hosting that won’t crash - $2.95/month.”
· Read all their reviews. Take a deep dive into what people are saying about your competitors on sites like Reddit and Trustpilot. Negative customer reviews will tell you exactly where your competitors are failing, and those are the pain points you can solve (and advertise). For example, if a one of your competitors has an awful support ticket system, make it clear that you have superior-level support. For example, “No more ticket system nightmares – talk to a real human 24/7.”
Researching your competitors is the best way to avoid having to reinvent the wheel each time you need to build a landing page. It will give you the foundation needed to meet and exceed your competitors’ offers.
Your landing page headline is your first impression. If it doesn’t capture attention and resonate immediately, the rest of your content won’t matter. According to research from the Nielsen Norman Group, 79% of users only scan web page content and don’t read word-by-word. To capture attention, your content has to include scannable text, and that’s where your headlines shine.
When users scan web pages, they scroll while taking in headlines and subheadings in addition to bolded text and bulleted lists. But if your headings aren’t convincing, they won’t scan the rest of your content.
No matter what market you’re going for, craft your headlines to be value-and-benefit-driven. For example:
· “Lightning-fast hosting for growing businesses” is more effective than “Shared hosting plans.”
· “Get your website live in [time frame] – no tech skills needed” is more effective than “Build your website with us”
· “Affordable hosting that scales with your business” is more effective than “Business hosting plans.”
These are general guidelines – you’ll need to split test specific headlines to see what works best.
Landing pages generate more conversions when they load fast and aren’t cluttered with distractions and opportunities for people to click away from the page. Strip your landing pages down to simplicity. Remove sidebars, footers, links, and anything else that will allow users to escape from the conversion path. Most importantly, eliminate the main navigation menu to keep people on the page.
As previously discussed, most people scan content and don’t read it word-for-word, which means your landing pages need to give users something to focus on as they scroll and scan. This can be accomplished with meaningful headlines and subheadings, bolding important words, breaking up text into smaller paragraphs, using bulleted and numbered lists, and containing features and benefits inside visual comparison boxes.
One important feature of a successful landing page is that it provides limited options. If you give people too many choices they’ll struggle to make a selection. Whatever you’re offering, make it simple and limited. For example, say you have 20 different hosting plans spread out across shared hosting, dedicated servers, and VPS plans. Instead of listing all 20 plans on one page, list the three categories and link them to separate pages that detail all the relevant plans. When you create your PPC ads, run specific ads for each category of hosting rather than a generic ad for better results.
It’s not your amazing services that sell – it’s the packaging. In this case, it’s how you present your offer. Mediocre web hosting wrapped in a great offer will beat great web hosting wrapped in a boring offer every time.
Web hosting offers tend to do well with limited time offers that create a sense of urgency for the user to act now. Deals that end at midnight or offers only available to the first 50 signups can increase conversions. Just make sure you actually end those offers when claimed, and limit signups as advertised to avoid being fined by the FTC.
If you don’t know how to craft a compelling offer, look at what your competitors are offering and make sure your offer can compete. However, don’t just focus on price and disk space – that’s an old tactic that worked in the past, but today, people want more than generous resources. In fact, the average web hosting client won’t necessarily know or care about how much RAM or processing power your servers have.
Today’s web hosting clients want the following:
· A plan they can use without technical knowledge
· Managed WordPress hosting with automatic installation
· The ability to scale
· Ecommerce options
· High uptime
· Free SSL certificate
· A free domain name for at least the first year
· Site migration services
· AI-powered web building tools
· The option for custom design services
· Automated malware protection
· Automated backups
· A money-back guarantee
With so many unknown and scammy web hosts out there, social proof will go a long way in helping you generate leads. What others say about your business matters more than what you say about yourself. In fact, according to statistics published by Brightlocal, around 87% of people use Google to find reviews before making a purchase.
When people are researching your company, they’ll use customer reviews to determine whether or not you can be trusted. However, you can leverage social proof more powerfully by embedding testimonials right in your landing pages. Instead of bouncing to go look you up on Google right away, many users will read and/or watch your embedded reviews first.
If you’re not one of the top, well-known web hosting companies, you need social proof to gain momentum and trust in the market. Instead of posting images of 5-star reviews, highlight reviews from real people using a name and photo whenever possible. If you don’t have a system yet, you can start collecting video testimonials from sites like Storyprompt and embed them on your website.
Even though you’re selling web hosting services, users need to be told what to do for the next step. That’s where your CTA comes in. Your call-to-action (CTA) needs to be direct, bold, and specific to the targeted user. According to Hubspot data, aligned CTAs convert 202% better than basic ones.
Effective web hosting CTAs are action-oriented, like “Get started,” “Choose plan,” or “Claim your offer now.” For optimal conversions, create a custom action-oriented CTA for each segment you’re targeting.
Since people scroll through content scanning headlines and words here and there, it’s crucial to repeat your CTA throughout your text in a way that makes sense based on the content. For example, place a CTA at the end of each main section, like your pricing plan comparison charts, features overview, and testimonials section.
Mobile optimization doesn’t simply mean creating pages that can be viewed and interacted with on mobile. It requires a strategy for crafting pages that support how mobile users naturally read, scroll, and click. Effective mobile-friendly pages are plain, use limited or no images, don’t use sidebars, and have a sticky menu with a “buy” button so the user doesn’t need to scroll to the top of the page to make a purchase.
Friction makes users bounce fast. Eliminate any kind of on-page barrier that makes it hard or frustrating to get information or sign up for your services. For example, simplify your web forms and only ask for what you need at each stage. The first stage should ask for the basics, like name, email, and domain name. In the next step, ask for billing information. While users will eventually need to fill in all the information, it helps to break it down into stages. In fact, data published by Unbounce highlights a company that increased conversions by 120% just by reducing a form from 11 fields to four.
Another way to eliminate mental friction is to offer a free trial. In terms of web hosting, you can offer a heavy discount for the first month or a no questions asked 30-day money back guarantee.
Finally, include a FAQ section that addresses common questions and concerns transparently. If you can address objections and concerns that are at the top of people’s minds, they’ll be more likely to sign up.
If you’re ready to turn clicks into customers it’s time to hire a professional PPC company. At the end of the day, even the sharpest PPC strategy won’t deliver results if your landing pages don’t pull their weight. Web hosting is one of the most competitive industries around, and that means your pages can’t be average. They need to be fast, persuasive, and laser-focused on turning visitors into paying web hosting clients.
That’s where expert help makes the difference. At PPC.co, we specialize in building and managing high-converting PPC campaigns paired with landing pages crafted to maximize leads. Don’t let your ad budget leak away on clicks that never convert – contact us today and we’ll craft a tailored PPC strategy that maximizes every dollar.
