Pay Per Click (PPC) is a powerful tool for driving traffic, boosting sales, and enhancing brand visibility. And this is why it shouldn’t surprise you to see many brands buying visits to their websites and landing pages. However, there’s an art to PPC advertising. Creating a successful PPC campaign isn’t just about bidding on keywords—it’s about crafting a strategy that resonates with your audience and drives measurable results.
Thankfully, we can literally stand on the shoulders of giants as we learn from real-world retail success stories on how high-end supermarket Booths and online eyewear company, Warby Parker, harnessed the power of PPC to generate over 5x return on investment (ROI). By studying their strategies, you’ll uncover actionable insights to elevate your own digital marketing efforts.
First, let us introduce PPC advertising.
What is PPC Advertising?
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising is a digital marketing model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. It’s a way of buying visits to your website rather than attempting to earn them organically. Note that you typically have to bid for ad placement in the search engine.
Popular platforms like Google Ads and social media channels offer opportunities to place targeted ads that appear in front of the right audience at the right time.
When done right, PPC can:
- Increase website traffic
- Boost brand visibility
- Generate qualified leads
- Drive higher conversion rates
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Using Targeted PPC Campaigns to Drive Increased ROI: Retail Success Stories
The two success stories that we’ll consider here serve as a powerful illustration of the powerful impact that PPC advertising and its real-life application can have on the growth of businesses.
You can pay particular attention to their initial challenges, the strategies they implemented to address the challenges, and the results they generated. You can learn why their strategies worked and how you can apply similar techniques to your campaigns.
Driving 560% ROI Increase with PPC: The Booths Success Story
Booths, a premium supermarket brand in the UK, sought to enhance its online services, including ‘Click & Collect’ and ‘Food To Order’ offerings.
PPC Campaign Objectives
Looking to improve their business and sales goals, Booth partnered with a PPC Agency – Circus, an agency with good work experience in the retail and grocery sector. This partnership focused on achieving Booth’s Adsmart goals for the Christmas 2021 festive season. They also created a PPC account aimed at the following goals:
- Achieve a 3x ROI during non-festive periods
- Aim for a 10x ROI during the festive seasons
- Boost online sales and revenue
- Enhance brand visibility
Related: Core Web Vitals: How to Optimize Your Site for Better Rankings
The PPC Campaign Delivery Process and Strategy
Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 restrictions, Booths executed a dynamic PPC strategy comprising:
- Search Campaigns for intent-driven traffic
- Display Campaigns to boost brand visibility
- YouTube Video Campaigns to increase brand awareness
The Success of Booth’s PPC Campaign
The results of the Booth’s PPC campaign were as follows:
- Achieved 13.4x ROI in October and a 12.4x ROI in November
- Generated 4,000+ orders from October to December.
- A comparison of e-commerce conversion rates of the January to March 2021 and 2022 quarters revealed an 84% increase as well as a 10% increase in revenue.
- Achieved a 560% (11x ROI) growth during the first three months as compared to the previous period.
- Boosted video campaign engagement rates by 57% during the festive season.
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Ramping up nearly 203k monthly PPC Clicks: The Warby Parker Success Story
The Warby Parker brand was established in 2010 as an eyewear company and has blazed a distinct trail in the eyewear industry by implementing an online-based direct-to-consumer business model that effectively cuts out the middleman. Customers can directly order trendy glasses and sunglasses through its online platform. Their PPC strategy focused on driving traffic and boosting brand visibility through innovative online tactics.
Key Objectives of Warby Parker’s PPC Campaign
Warby Parker’s PPC campaign objectives were two-fold,
- Increase online sales
- Strengthen brand awareness
Key Elements of Warby Parker’s PPC Strategy
Here are some elements of Warby Parker’s campaign PPC strategy that led to their success.
- Audience Targeting: They were able to identify and understand the needs and online behaviours of their target audience. Then, they created targeted buyer personas.
- Compelling Ad Copies & Landing Pages: The creation of compelling ad copy as well as the use of user-friendly landing pages made the ad campaigns effective.
- Audience Retargeting: Potential customers were retargeted through the “Home Try-On” program which helped to drive high conversion rates.
- Targeted Keywords and Creative Messaging: This was implemented in platforms such as Google and social media to help them promote brand values.
- Social Media Integration: The integration of social media marketing in their targeted PPC campaigns helped them extend their reach.
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PPC Campaign Monitoring and Optimisation
Warby Parker did not stop at identifying the right audiences and crafting relatable ad copy. They ensured that they wisely managed their ad spend, monitored key metrics, and made useful adjustments to boost ROI and reduce cost-per-click (CPC).
Furthermore, Warby Parker regularly performed A/B testing of ad variations and landing pages, they used detailed analytics and insights to optimise audience targeting and improve conversion rates.
The Success of Warby Parker’s PPC Strategy
Warby Parker’s PPC campaign strategy translated into increased brand awareness, high conversion rates, and a positive brand image. Here are some key results that their campaign was able to generate:
The “Home Try-On” program helped to attract new customers.
Warby Parker’s combination of an organic SEO strategy with their PPC campaigns resulted in almost a million total clicks from SEO per month.
No surprise, their PPC campaigns had a staggering 203K monthly PPC clicks with 19,254 paid keywords within the 2015 to 2020 period.
Also read: 8 Steps to Master Customer Journey Mapping: A Step-by-Step Guide
Key Takeaways for Retail Brands from Successful PPC Campaigns
The success of Booths and Warby Parker offers valuable lessons for retail brands:
Know Your Audience: Develop detailed buyer personas to create personalised campaigns.
Use Multiple Ad Formats: Leverage search, display, and video ads for broader reach.
Optimise Continuously: Regularly conduct A/B tests and monitor metrics for ongoing improvement.
Invest in Retargeting: Re-engage potential customers with personalised offers.
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