Can Paid Ads be ‘Inbound-y’ or are HubSpot just cashing in?

During Dharmesh Shah’s and Brian Halligan’s keynote at Inbound 2015 they announced Hubspot’s new Ads feature which, for the first time, aligned Hubspot’s inbound marketing methodology with more 'traditional' paid search.

When I heard this it raised an important question for me; do paid ads really fit into the inbound model or are Hubspot are simply looking to cash-in?

The case against: Are Hubspot just cashing in?

During the announcement Hubspot said that 53% of their users already use paid ads, which means they have instantly created a captive audience of more than 7,500 subscribers, which is handy.

Remember that this feature is also a paid ‘add-on’, if it were truly a part of the Inbound Methodology, would it not be made part of the standard software? I may be being picky as new reporting tools and other add-ons were announced at the conference but you can see the reasoning in the idea that this could have been created to cash in on an already active paid search audience.

It's also worth noting that Hubspot's historical view of paid search has been less than complimentary. Negative PPC stats have been used in numerous communications as a way to promote Inbound, for example:

• The average click-through rate for paid search in 2010 (worldwide) was 2%.
• 54% more leads are generated by inbound tactics than traditional paid marketing.

In fact, both these stats are still used on Hubspot’s website today. Furthermore, Hubspot's latest State of Inbound report considers paid search as the #1 most overrated marketing technique by over 4000 marketers. It's interesting that they should choose to build such an overrated tool into their software don't you think?

Although the above sounds quite critical - I actually think the phrase 'cashing in' is wrong, Hubspot are trying to create the most popular marketing platform in the world and are simply catering to their loyal customers. If over half of my customer base actively used paid search, it would be in my best interests to allow them to do this within my ecosystem. 

Let's not forget that this will allow Hubspot to collect vast scores of data whilst providing their customer base with genuine process improvements such as clearer ROI tracking which they know improves management buy-in and budget increases. 

In my opinion over half of hubspot customers use paid ads with inbound because ads can be inboundy...and do work!

The case for: Do paid ads fit into the inbound model?

I have actually used paid ads alongside inbound for some time now, with great results. My classification of an inboundy ad is that is must satisfy at least two of the below criteria:

• The Ad is shown to the right people, at the right time
• The Ad presents a direct solution to a search query
• The Ad moves the searcher further down the buyer's journey 

Alternatively, Hubspot’s definition asks for ads to simply:

• Satisfy an expressed need
• Amplify engaging content

I've found a sum of both definitions works best for Inboundy Ads. This basically means that the ads must be relevant and helpful to the user.

By mixing the above I have been able to craft a set of helpful guidelines that quickly cut out any of the old-school type paid ads you will have no doubt seen following you around the web. They interrupt you the searcher and are unhelpful, which goes against the methodology (get rid of them.)

How can ads be used to inbound effect?

Here's how I see ads being used to great Inbound effect:

• They move people further down the buyers journey - does your ad encourage someone to upgrade their free trial (that they have begun), or encourage someone to read a blog on a more advanced topic once you're aware of the previous content read?
• Show value adding content to targeted people - by selecting marketing qualified leads from your own database and targeting them across other platforms, you can provide timely and relevant content to primed prospects.
• Give people an answer / solution to their query - it sounds like common sense but is rarely carried out. Keep it simple, and make sure your ads are only targeting searchers that want what you are offering.

By following what I believe are sound guidelines for paid search advertisements in an increasingly inbound world, it's possible to create paid search strategies that satisfy the needs of the Inbound Methodology, and the searcher!

About the author

Rikki Lear is a director at Digital 22: a UK based inbound marketing agency. Rikki has been in the digital marketing industry for 8 years and is certified by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Google, Bing and Hubspot.  

Thanks to Rikki Lear for sharing his advice and opinions in this post. Rikki iis a director at Digital 22: a UK based inbound marketing agency. Rikki has been in the digital marketing industry for 8 years and is certified by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Google, Bing and Hubspot. You can follow him on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.