It’s estimated that there are more than five billion Google searches every day. Every search is an opportunity to connect your brand to potential customers. That is, if you know how to reach those potential customers. While you’re probably familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) and its benefits, there’s an even more reliable way to get your brand in front of an audience: Google Ads.
Google Ads uses a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) model, meaning you pay a fee when a user clicks on your ad. When creating your ads, you choose relevant keywords, so the ad appears at the top or bottom of the page of relevant search results. With Google Ads, you can target people at various stages of the marketing funnel: top, middle, and bottom. Let’s take a look at the benefits of using Google Ads to connect with people at the top of the funnel and explore why reaching those at the top is worth it.
The top of the funnel is the very beginning of a potential customer’s journey. They’re just starting to explore a certain topic or need. At this point, they might not even know that your brand exists. They definitely don’t know the benefits of using or working with your brand yet.
The folks at the top of the funnel are cold. They’re not itching to buy or finalize the deal. At this stage, they want information. It’s your job to get on their radar and build awareness of your brand.
There are often a lot of people at the top of the funnel, as it’s the widest part. Users at this stage most likely have a diverse set of needs and interests. One user can have a very different goal than another. However, it’s important to know that not everyone at the top of the funnel ends up moving down to the middle or bottom.
Is it a waste of time to target a cold audience? Absolutely not. Focusing on the top of the funnel is most likely the best use of your time and the best use of your PPC ad campaign money.
When you target the top-of-funnel audience, you’re reaching people who don’t yet have a lot of exposure to what your brand does. This type of audience is not yet saturated with ads or has a hundred million choices in front of them. In other words, you’re targeting a fresh audience. Focusing on the top of the funnel lets you get your message out there first before your competitors can swoop in. When you start with an audience from the beginning, you have more time to nurture them and build a relationship with them as they move through the marketing funnel.
Your top-of-funnel PPC strategy will look different from the strategy you’d use to target audiences in the middle or at the bottom of the funnel. The focus should be on providing information and educating the audience. The top of the funnel is not the place for the hard sell.
Some examples of the type of content you want to share with a top-of-funnel audience include videos, how-tos, articles, and courses. The ads should direct users to something of value, which helps solve their problems without forcing them to open their wallets just yet.
Certain types of Google Ads are better suited for the top-of-funnel audience than for others. Here is a variety of Google Ads you can implement into your top-of-funnel strategy:
Search ads reach users right on Google. They provide you with a great opportunity to connect with an audience while they look for an answer to a problem. The audience is vast, and the keywords they use are likely to be general. For example, someone might search for “What type of coat do I need to keep warm in freezing weather?” or “How can I learn French?” If you target keywords like those, you’ll reach more people without breaking your advertising budget.
Discover, display, and video ads all allow you to target a specific audience type. You can choose to focus on demographics, interests, or major life events. These three ad types let you connect with an audience just as they’re about to embark on a new journey. In fact, the users you connect with might not even be aware that they’re about to go on the journey yet.
At the top of the funnel stage, the broader your target, the better. You’ll be more likely to reach people at exactly the right moment.
If you’re ready to create a Google Ads campaign that reaches the top of the funnel audience, Zero Gravity Marketing can help. We’ll work with you to develop an effective top-of-funnel strategy. Contact us today to learn more.