Bottom-of-funnel PPC: How to capture conversions when it matters most

Top-of-funnel gets all the glam.

Flashy product intro ads, creating brand awareness, product video views, traffic spikes…you name it.

But do you know what doesn’t get enough attention? The specific part where people actually hand over the money.

Bottom-of-funnel (also referred to as BOFU) PPC campaigns are a specific type of paid strategy solely designed to help already interested individuals convert.

It’s not about introducing your brand…you’ve already done this for these people.

It’s all (and only) about closing the deal and getting that conversion.

It’s where wallets open, final questions surface, and your CPA (cost per acquisition) either makes sense, or doesn’t.

If you’re not running BOFU campaigns, you’re not just wasting budget, you’re running your funnel with one hand tied behind your back.

Here’s what you can expect from this article:

Let’s get into it 💪

What is bottom-of-funnel PPC?

Let’s get one thing straight.

Bottom-of-funnel campaigns are not about making noise or building brand awareness.

They’re all about locking in the win - targeting the hot leads who have already done their homework, browsed around, compared options, and are now close to pulling the trigger on a decision.

Think of BOFU campaigns as your final no-nonsense, laser-focused final push designed to drive conversions and bring home the revenue.

Here’s the deal:

• You’re targeting people who visited pricing pages, added items to cart, or signed up for demos. They’re ready to convert, and you want to be front and center when they do.
• Your keywords aren’t targeting casual searches…we’re focused on money searches (as long as they scream intent).
• Your ads and landing pages cut through the friction like a hot knife through butter, making saying “yes” the easiest choice ever. 

Clearing up the confusion: BOFU vs TOFU vs Retargeting

People often mix these terms up, but they’re not interchangeable and understanding the difference of each is key to running effective campaigns.

• TOFU (or top-of-funnel) campaigns focus on everything related to brand awareness and discovery - their job is to attract cold audiences who probably don’t know about you yet. Think video views, social posts, and broad keyword search ads.
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  These campaigns build your audience, but rarely convert immediately.
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• Remarketing (also known as retargeting) is a tactic, not a funnel stage itself. It involves showing ads to people who’ve interacted with your brand before like website visitors or email subscribers. The great thing about remarketing is you can apply it to pretty much any stage, depending on your goals and audience segmentation.
  
  
• BOFU (bottom-of-funnel) campaigns are all about conversions. These are paid ads aimed at warm, high-intent audiences ready to buy or sign up…right now. These typically use targeted keywords, have tight audience segments, and direct and specific CTAs to help close sales.

Simply put:

Why brands screw this up (and why you shouldn’t)

Most marketers love top-of-funnel activity.

It’s big, bold, exciting, and makes your dashboards look busy.

But when you don’t run bottom-funnel PPC campaigns, or worse, you lump them in with everything else, here’s what can happen:

• You end up paying just to warm up leads for your competitors
• Your CAC (customer acquisition costs) stays higher than it should
• Your funnel leaks where it should convert

Dedicated BOFU campaigns are how you fix that.

This isn’t something “extra”, instead think of it as your final pitch.

BOFU = intent, so it’s time to get serious about keywords

This is where search intent shifts from “I’m just browsing” to “I’m ready to buy”.

Here’s a few examples to help you differentiate between the two:

A proper bottom-of-funnel PPC campaign helps you to zero in on:

• Branded terms (this is yours AND your competitors)
• Product & pricing
• Free trial and demo searches
• “Compare” and “vs” queries

Knowing the right keywords helps you to fuel your BOFU, and whilst they aren’t always cheap, they can be high reward.

🔥Our tip: Focus on verbs like “buy”, “try”, “get”, “schedule” & “compare” - they scream intent and help you match the mindset.

Not all ad formats belong in a BOFU campaign

Top-of-funnel is all about reach, whilst BOFU campaigns are built for conversions.

Here’s our suggested formats that should make your cut:

• Google Search Ads (for tight keyword matches and site links to pricing and demos)
• Meta & LinkedIn retargeting ads (because retargeting matters more than you think)
• Google Shopping (for when price & product matter most)
• YouTube retargeting (for when they need one more visual nudge)

Everything in a BOFU campaign should be purpose built for one action. That means:

• 1 clear, concise and well worded CTA (call to action)
• No distractions - cut the gimmicks and the flash and just get straight to the point
• A short and logical path to conversion

🔥Our tip: Don’t bother running BOFU ads without knowing exactly what the next step is. Every single ad click should land you closer to a conversion.

Know your BOFU audience

This isn’t cold traffic, and you need to remember that bottom-of-funnel audiences are already familiar with you.

A proper BOFU campaign targets:

• Cart abandoners
• Pricing page visitors
• Repeat viewers of product pages
• Those long nurtured CRM leads that still haven’t converted
• People who have signed up, but not subscribed or converted

You’re not convincing them you exist, they already know.

Your job is to convince them you’re the best choice.

🔥Our tip: Segment your data by recency and behaviour. If a lead hits your demo page twice in a week, they should be more of a priority than one page view three weeks ago. Hit them when they are still warm.

BOFU copy rules

This is not the place for brand stories or big, bold ideas.

It’s all about removing friction, risk, reinforcing value, and making it easier for your prospects to simply say yes.

The best BOFU ad copy always includes:

1. Clear benefits: “No setup fees, ever”
2. Trust signals: “Trusted by 10,000+ businesses”
3. Time sensitivity: “Only 3 days left to claim”
4. Objection handling: “30-day money-back guarantee”

And  remember, if your CTA includes anything similar to “Learn more”, you’re not running a BOFU campaign…you’re just rerunning a TOFU one.

Your BOFU landing page has one simple job

So the click happens, but your funnel remains on life support until your landing page either seals the deal, or loses them forever.

BOFU campaign landing pages should be:

• Simple, focused and fast
• Mobile-friendly
• Built around a simple CTA
• Stacked with social proof like logos, quotes and badges

🔥Our tip: Ensure that you match your ad and landing page language exactly. Your BOFU visitors want confirmation, not new surprises. If they’ve seen pricing, product details, or offers, don’t change them.

Metrics that matter

If you’re running a bottom-funnel campaign, you should be tracking:

• Conversion rate
• Cost per acquisition (CPA)
• Return on ad spend (ROAS)
• Funnel-assisted conversions (this includes view-through and post-click)
• Time from click to close

Setting up micro conversions and assisted conversion tracking will help ensure that you can assign credit to anything your BOFU touches. If it’s influenced by it, it should share a slice of the BOFU pie.

BOFU campaign killers

Let’s be blunt for a minute.

Bad execution will end up costing you money, so take note of the things to avoid:

• Weak CTAs or unclear next steps: If you need them to take a specific action, but it's elusive or hard to find, you’re going to tank fast.
  
• Sending traffic to generic landing pages: BOFU is all about targeting the right people at the time, so there’s no room for anything generic here. Keep your landing pages focused on their task in hand.
  
• Broad audiences with no intent filters: If you’ve not drilled down to a specific target audience, or your intent filters are set to “pretty much anyone”, you’re just wasting time and money.
  
• No retargeting frequency limits: OK so no-one says you can only retarget once, but maybe 10 times is too many. Make sure you set the right limits to give yourself the best chance.
  
• Messaging mismatches between your ad and homepage: This one’s a big no no, if they see one message on the ad and another on the landing page, they’ll bounce fast.

Your BOFU campaign should feel like a sales rep who knows exactly where the prospect is in the funnel, and what to say to them next.

Top tips to get started with BOFU campaigns

If you’re ready to launch your first BOFU PPC campaign, here’s some proven tips to help you hit the ground running.

1. Identify your hot audiences
   Look for people who’ve already interacted with your brand - we're talking pricing page visitors, demo requesters, cart abandoners. These are your prime BOFU targets.
   
2. Leverage remarketing smartly
   Use remarketing to repeatedly engage your warmest leads with tailored messages. Remember: remarketing fuels BOFU campaigns but also needs frequency caps and audience segmentation to avoid fatigue.
   
3. Pick intent-driven keywords
   Use keywords that indicate buying intent, such as “buy,” “pricing,” “demo,” “compare,” or your brand and competitor names.
   
4. Match your message to the audience
   Your ad copy and landing pages should speak directly to the prospect’s needs and pain points. Handle objections and add social proof to cover all the bases.
   
5. Use conversion-focused ad formats
   Google Search Ads with site links, lead form extensions, and retargeting ads on Meta and LinkedIn work well. Keep your CTAs clear and singular - don't over complicate it.
   
6. Segment by recency and behavior
   Prioritize your recent visitors and those who showed strong buying signals. Tailor your messaging based on how they engaged with your site or product.
   
7. Set frequency caps on your remarketing ads
   Don’t overwhelm your audience - limit how often they see your ads to avoid ad fatigue.
   
8. Optimize your landing pages for speed and focus
   Ensure your landing pages are fast, mobile-friendly, and built around a single, clear call to action that matches your ad.
   
9. Track assisted conversions
   BOFU campaigns often assist conversions rather than get last-click credit. Set up micro-conversions and track your view-through data carefully.
   
10. Test and iterate
    Continuously A/B test your ad copy, creatives, audiences, and landing pages. BOFU campaigns reward precision and optimization.

The bottom line: BOFU campaigns aren’t optional

You’ve already spent the money warming up the leads, so why stop short of the goal line?

A well-executed bottom-of-funnel campaign isn’t just a nice-to-have…it’s your closer.

It’s where intent meets action, where your traffic turns into transactions, and where your marketing spend provides itself or falls flat.

BOFU campaigns aren’t about testing new ideas though, they’re all about applying the pressure, and the final step in the buyer's journey.

Whether its objection handling, shortening the sales cycle, or making your offer impossible to ignore, your BOFU campaign has a real chance at being the Harvey Specter of campaigns.

So dial in your audiences, keywords, creatives, pages, and metrics, and watch your funnel become a performance machine that doesn’t just generate clicks, but generate customers.

Stop blending your campaigns into a single catch-all and start treating BOFU campaigns like the dedicated high stakes conversion assets that they really are.

This place right here is where intent is the highest, the stakes are real, and your ROI gets made…or missed.