It’s no secret that reviews are pivotal to the success of your business, regardless of the industry. Whether you are shopping for a birthday gift on Amazon or looking for a design team to revamp your company’s website, reviews are paramount in influencing a purchase.
In 2022, Google released a series of Product Review Updates, designed to prioritize valuable review content and research right within the organic search results. As more review articles enter the SERP, a site’s organic visibility has the potential to drop. And that’s where paid marketing can come into play.
According to Gartner, 71% of B2B buyers start their research with a generic search for products or services, and then explore directories and ranking sites to find the best fit for their needs. It is important for B2B companies to opt into these review site partners like Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice not only to bolster their SEO presence but also as an alternative lead gen strategy to paid search. Websites like Capterra are exclusive to B2B software solutions and attract visitors who are further down the conversion funnel, since they are comparing software and looking for rankings.
Pay-Per-Click vs. Pay-Per-Lead on Review Sites:
Gartner Digital Market’s Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice offer both pay-per-click (PPC) and pay-per-lead (PPL) solutions for advertisers through their vendor portals. By upgrading your free basic listing to a paid account, you can opt into “bidding” through the PPC program. Like Google search, PPC programs use max CPC bids to show your Capterra listing across 1,200 different software categories. The higher your bid, the higher your listing will rank across dedicated software category pages. You can then view click, cost, position, and conversion data. You will only be charged when a user clicks off the Capterra domain and onto your landing page. Therefore, you can also improve overall brand awareness and credibility of your site.
The pay-per-lead (PPL) program offers marketers an alternative way to reach the right software customers and generate sales qualified leads. When a user opts into the PPL program through Software Advice, they participate in an overview with a Gartner rep who will work with the team to determine targeted buyer profiles. They can then set max CPC bids, like the PPC program, on the leads they want to purchase. These leads have already been pre-screened by free dedicated sales representatives who are experts in the targeted industry to ensure that the lead best fits the organization’s target customer profile. Once approved, the hot lead is sent to the appropriate sales team for further nurturing.
The Benefits of Investing in Gartner Digital Markets:
Efficient Cost/Lead and CPCs:
In most cases, conversion rates across Gartner Digital Market sites are stronger than Google search, leading to a more efficient cost/lead. This is likely due to the user being more targeted and further down the funnel, looking for a B2B software solution. Consider the data below, from an organization that completely shifted away from Google due to high CPCs within their industry and devoted their full marketing budget to the Capterra PPC program.
Global Reach:
Every month, 9 million highly invested B2B customers visit review sites looking for software solutions. Additionally, listings are available in 60 different countries.
Strong Customer Service:
Once you opt into a paid listing within Gartner Digital Markets, you are linked with a dedicated service representative. These reps are available for phone call meetings, budget projections, optimization recommendations and general consulting needs.
Landing Page Creation:
Gartner’s team of experts offers services to create conversion-optimized landing pages for PPC clients. Depending on the package type, these landing pages can be translated into different languages and will connect with your CRM system to funnel lead volume.
Easy to Manage:
The vendor portal platform within Capterra is easy to use and manage. Bid management for all three sites (Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice) are located under one view. The bid simulator will give estimated positions which can better help determine bids.
Strong Competitor Insights:
With the help of your rep, you can perform deep-dive competitive analyses to see which competitors have opted into paid listings and which categories they are actively bidding on.
As a lead gen focused agency, we are constantly looking for methods to better improve our lead volume to drive qualified, targeted opportunities for our clients. For more information about review site paid efforts, please contact us by email at sales@synapsesem.com or phone at 781-591-0752.
