Those responsible for performance marketing deal with digital marketing tools. The instruments are coordinated in such a way that they attract as many interested parties and customers as possible. In addition to the use of online marketing tools, the measurement of success (e.g. via Google Analytics) and the ongoing optimization of the tools are extremely important. Here are some examples of activities within performance marketing:

• Website: Improve user-friendliness
• Content marketing: Creation of attractive content from the perspective of existing or potential customers (e.g. tips, answers to questions)
• Search engine optimization: Placement of attractive content on landing pages (target pages), procurement of external links from related external websites
• Search engine advertising: launching and optimizing Google Ads campaigns
• Newsletter activities: Regular distribution of a newsletter with attractive content and a link to corresponding landing pages (target pages)

Advertising message:

The first step is to create a meaningful and promising basic message that answers the following questions:

• Who are we?
• What do we offer?
• Why should customers choose us (positioning)?
• Which customer needs are addressed and how (texts, images, moving images)?
• What evidence of trust do we have (ratings, references, certifications, success stories, etc.)?
• How can potential customers contact us?

Website:

The website is the central communication tool, and an appealing and user-friendly design is extremely important here

Content Marketing:

By creating and communicating attractive content, your own website is greatly enhanced from the perspective of existing and potential customers. Attractive content also ensures better search engine rankings.

Conversion rate:

Optimizing the conversion rate encourages more anonymous visitors to your website to make an inquiry or place an order. This includes, for example, addressing the right target groups, clear calls to action or appealing online forms (e.g. splitting large forms into 2 or 3 stages)

Marketing automation:

Marketing automation is software that automates various marketing processes such as follow-up activities or campaigns. Unqualified leads (inquiries from interested parties) are contacted and further qualified by sending emails with attractive content until they are passed on to sales.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Good search engine positions with relevant search terms take potential customers directly to the corresponding landing pages of your own website, which increases the chances of inquiries or orders enormously

Other suitable tools for acquiring prospects and customers

The following tools also support the acquisition of prospects and customers: search engine advertising (SEA), newsletters, social media marketing (especially paid ads), affiliate marketing, etc.

Based on the business priorities, specific objectives and KPIs (key performance indicators such as number of visitors, conversion rate, orders, etc.) are defined and recorded in a tool such as Google Analytics. This allows the most important KPIs to be continuously monitored and, if necessary, corresponding optimizations to be implemented in the performance marketing instruments.

In addition to your own website, the interaction between content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) is of great importance. In content marketing, attractive content such as answers to questions, tips, guides, etc. are created and communicated from the perspective of potential customers. Attractive content generates positive user signals from website visitors, such as longer visits, clicks or completed forms, which can be measured by search engines such as Google or Bing.

Today, content marketing is the most important ranking criterion in search engine optimization and makes all other instruments within digital marketing more successful. Thanks in part to content marketing, search engine optimization ensures that a company is found in the top positions on Google and other search engines with relevant search terms or keyword combinations. This ensures regular inquiries from potential customers and supports customer acquisition.

In addition to the website, content marketing and SEO, there are other suitable tools for performance marketing:

• Optimization of the conversion rate
• Marketing automation
• Search engine advertising (SEA)
• Newsletter
• Social media marketing (especially the paid ads)
• Affiliate marketing (advertising on a success basis)

One agency offers the following performance marketing services:

• Consulting
• Workshops, courses, seminars, training
• Concept: initial situation, objectives, target groups, strategy, measures, budget, performance reviews
• Implementation of measures
• Performance reviews
• Project management
• Design and usability services (user-friendliness of a website)
• Content creation (content marketing)
• Launching campaigns
• Technical support

Applicants for a job as a Performance Marketing Manager usually have a sound education and further training in the fields of business administration, business informatics, communication and media sciences or marketing with a focus on digital marketing.

A performance marketing manager knows the most important performance marketing tools and can use them successfully to acquire prospects and customers. Conceptual and analytical skills are also required to measure the success of their own campaigns using predefined KPIs and analysis tools such as Google Analytics. You also need a feel for customer needs and creative ideas for optimizing tools and measures.