When it comes to sharing the story behind your business - your mission, your vision, and your accomplishments - there is nothing better than presenting your services and showcasing the results of your PPC agency. If that sounds complicated, worry not! It's not. We are simply talking about creating pieces of content that can both highlight your services, and prove your abilities: case studies. 

Case studies are a great way for PPC agencies to showcase their work while offering useful information and building good customer relationships. In this article, we will share insights into why case studies can be the 'secret sauce' in a PPC agency's content marketing strategy, but also offer tips on how you can start creating your own case studies.  

Why Are Case Studies So Important for PPC Agencies?

What do you usually do before making a big purchase? Say - before buying a new laptop? Most of us will go online and search for customer reviews. When it comes to consumer products, customer reviews are a great source of information and we've all gotten used to 'investigating' other buyers' opinions.

But what about the B2B world? You can think of case studies as being next-level reviews for your PPC agency. They are more complex than a review, but also give a lot of insight into how your agency solved the needs of a certain customer. A case study can offer information and solutions, together with a recommendation from a trustworthy source.

In case you are not convinced yet, here is why you should start writing case studies for your PPC agency:

They help you build trust and credibility

Case studies show that a certain customer/brand has trusted you to solve their PPC challenges, but also that they are willing to publicly associate their name with yours. A well-written case study can help you position yourself as an authoritative voice in your field. The message behind publishing a case study is simple: you can understand and help your audience. 

Case studies are both a great way of building trust in your company, but also credibility: you are a PPC agency that solves the real needs of real companies. 

They are relatable

Because case studies are usually niche-specific, they are easy to relate to. For example, if your PPC agency is targeting small local businesses, your case studies should highlight that both through the choice of customer presented, and through the overall voice of the case study. 

They are informative and pain-point oriented

Case studies offer your potential audience real solution-oriented information. They are informative and will offer an answer to a very real challenge. Your case studies can offer your audience the information they are looking for, while at the same time branding you as an expert PPC agency. 

They provide social proof for a business

As we've already pointed out, we live in a world where we don't trust direct marketing messages anymore. Before making a purchase, we search for opinions from our fellow peers. In fact, statistically, more than half of the people who have an intent to buy something research it online first. Part of that research is looking for social proof (i.e. looking into who else made the same purchase and what their opinion is about it).

Your PPC agency's case study collection can function as social proof that your services are a solid choice. 

What Should a PPC Agency Case Study Look Like? 

In all things marketing - the sky's the limit. You can make your case studies as creative and innovative as you wish. You can and should include information about both the customers, and your services. However, make sure you explain the problem and the solutions behind your customer's choice.

In terms of content, a case study usually covers three main aspects:

• The challenge: This refers to the customer pain-point that made your client search for help like that provided by your agency. 
• The solutions: How the challenge mentioned above could be solved and what the customer finally chose.
• The results: How the chosen solution(s) helped the customer improve his/her results, both short-term, and long-term. 

For more inspiration about case study creation, we also recommend you have a look at our webinar with Ekaterina Howard, a Conversion Copywriter who focuses on case study creation.

5 Tips for Creating a Convincing Case Study

You have good services, lovely customers, and good stories. How do you go about writing your case study? Your PPC agency's case studies should be informative, easy to understand, and accurately share your customer's experience. 

Here are 5 useful tips that can help you with your creative process:

Make it relatable.

Your case studies should tell your customer success story, but they should also make it easy for potential customers to identify with the story you are sharing. That is why you should choose either 'big' customer names for your case studies, or simply customers who are easy to relate to - who are typical for your target audience. 

When writing the case study, make sure that the problems and solutions presented are described clearly and in a relatable way. 

Tell the whole story

How did your strategy help your customer in the first month since launching the new campaign?

How about half a year from that point? Are you still working with that customer? When possible, tell the whole story. Share both the short-term and the long-term impact of your collaboration. Did you work with that customer for several years? Was the customer happy enough to come back for new campaigns? The more information you share about your collaboration, the more compelling the customer success story will be. 

Include numbers and statistics

Did your PPC campaign increase the conversion rate by 10%? Did traffic increase by 12% in the first month? That's great! We'd love to read more about that in your case study! 

Just like with social proof, we tend to trust numbers and statistics. They are more convincing as they show measured results. Whenever you can (and your customer agrees), include numbers and statistics that highlight your results. 

Make it easy to read

Your case study should be thorough, include a lot of information, and also be relatable. But it should also be easy to read. It will be read mostly online (or on a device screen) and your reader will want to find out how you can help as soon as possible. That is why you should structure your case study in a way that is easy to follow - use paragraphs, lists, but also graphic resources when possible. You should also keep it short and simple - include as much information as you can, in a very concise manner. 

Make it easy to be found

Last, but not least - don't forget to share your case study. Once it is done, don't 'hide' it away on a remote part of your website. Share it with your team and your audience, promote it through various channels, so that it reaches as many people as possible. That is the best way to increase your odds of it reaching more potential customers. 

Have you used case studies in your PPC agency before? Are you ready to take your marketing to the next level with the 'secret sauce' of case studies? What will your PPC agency's ideal case study look like? We are curious to find out more about your experience!