By Jen Doyle, Senior Research Analyst

Highly effective PPC tactics are most commonly used


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In general, the more effective PPC tactics -- indicated by the positioning of the spheres along the Y axis -- are also the most commonly used tactics, as indicated by the sphere size.

The one exception is the creation of highly targeted ad groups. Creating these ad groups can have a positive impact on PPC campaigns in a number of areas, including improved clickthrough and conversion rates and improved quality scores.

An improvement in quality score will ultimately lead to ads being shown in higher positions at a generally lower cost-per-click. Since this tactic was rated as the most effective for PPC, it should also be the most commonly used. But because it was rated second in level of effort required, it is not the most commonly used tactic.

A/B testing of ad copy has been rated as a highly effective tactic, and the most commonly used in part because of the low level of effort required in its execution. With PPC, headlines, ad text and destination URLs can be efficiently tested for continual improvements in clickthrough rates, conversion rates and ultimately campaign ROI.

For additional research data and insights about B2B marketing, download and read the free Executive Summary from MarketingSherpa’s 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report.

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