What is PPC?
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is a digital advertising model where you pay only when someone clicks on your ad. Instead of paying for impressions (views), you pay for actual engagement. Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Facebook Ads, and Bing Ads all operate on PPC models, though each platform has its own auction mechanics and pricing dynamics.
PPC is the most common pricing model in digital advertising because it aligns advertiser costs with measurable actions.
Why PPC Matters for B2B Sales
PPC gives B2B companies precise control over who sees their ads, when, and at what cost. Unlike brand advertising where ROI is fuzzy, PPC is directly measurable, you can track exactly how many clicks, leads, and customers each dollar generates.
For B2B, LinkedIn PPC and Google Search PPC are the highest-performing channels because they reach prospects with professional intent. LinkedIn allows targeting by job title, company size, and industry. Google captures active search intent.
Key Metrics
- CPC (Cost Per Click): What you pay per click, B2B averages $2-$15 on Google, $5-$12 on LinkedIn
- CTR (Click-Through Rate): Percentage of people who see your ad and click, B2B average is 2-3%
- Conversion Rate: Percentage of clicks that become leads, B2B average is 2-5%
- Quality Score: Google's 1-10 rating of ad relevance that affects CPC
- ROAS: Revenue generated per dollar spent on ads
Common Mistakes
- No conversion tracking: Running PPC without tracking what happens after the click
- Weak landing pages: Sending PPC traffic to a generic page instead of a targeted landing page
- Ignoring negative keywords: Not filtering out irrelevant searches wastes budget fast
- Budget spreading too thin: Better to dominate a few high-intent keywords than barely appear on many
- Not testing ad variations: Always run A/B tests on headlines, descriptions, and CTAs
How FlowStrata Approaches PPC
FlowStrata uses PPC strategically to complement outbound lead generation. We run targeted Google Ads campaigns on high-intent B2B keywords and LinkedIn campaigns targeting decision-makers at companies that match our ICP. PPC-generated leads enter the same nurture sequences as outbound prospects, creating a unified pipeline where paid and outbound channels reinforce each other.