Everything To Consider When Creating Your B2B or SaaS Google Ads Strategy (With PDF Download At The End)
This article is for new-to-B2B advertisers, business owners and veteran B2B/SaaS Google advertisers looking for a new perspective. Come one come all!
My goal with this helper article is to lay out exactly how I think about and create B2B and SaaS campaigns. And to emphasize how simple it is and should be when you start a search ads campaign.
Why am I lumping B2B and SaaS together?
For online-based B2Bs and SaaSs, the Google Ads strategies are very similar. The buyer journeys and keyword search intents are very similar.
What this article is not
This article is not going to help with the step by step of setting up the campaign (no guide on the actual settings in Google Ads). The interface changes frequently so if I stick to concepts, this blog will be relevant a little longer.
Things To Keep In Mind For Your B2B or SaaS Google Ads Strategy
Before you get going on this B2B Google Ads strategy quest, I want you to keep a few things in mind that will help you digest the rest of the information on this guide.
I anticipate that there will be a few times during this article that you will think to yourself “he’s boiling this down for dummies.”
That’s not true at all. I have 13 clients and my overall ROI for all active accounts is 5.1 as of right now. That’s including a few accounts that are still in their first 3 months of running.
I tell you this not to win you over as a client, but to ensure you that this works.
Simple Starts Lead To Greater Google Ads Success
Here’s the first thing to keep in mind: It is so easy to pull levers in Google Ads.
You can pull those levers in some time. Try your best not to overcomplicate this process from the start.
The account will guide you in the direction of complexity. It’s natural. So keep it simple to start.
I know this is ambiguous, but just keep it in mind when I am boiling each of these sections down. It’s on purpose, I have to remind myself of that as well.
Expect Higher Click Costs For B2B Google Ads
If you are familiar with Google Ads from the eCommerce side of things, you might be expecting cheap clicks. No more! The prices of certain clicks in Google Ads for B2B and SaaS can shock you so hold onto your hats.
Remember, you are not using Google Search Ads for awareness (especially if you are early on in your company).
These are not any old clicks. You’re targeting low funnel users with transactional intent.
Focus on the keywords and search terms that are bringing users to your site and the experience you give them when they get there.
Search ads for B2B and SaaS have much higher conversion rates than the other display-oriented networks like LinkedIn and Facebook.
Your First Easy Google Ads Decision: Start With Search
My final bit of general advice: don’t just throw your money away. Start with Google Search for your B2B/ SaaS strategy.
I’ve talked to so many founders or sales leads who hear about the insane volume and the extremely cheap clicks available with Google’s Display network (as low as $0.01 per click) and they think they’ve found the golden goose.
I promise you, no matter how many clicks you can afford with GDN, your B2B or SaaS won’t see a quality lead for a long long time.
Google Display network will serve you well when you are ready to start retargeting and maybe. maybe. Someday down the road if you are desperate for more volume.
B2B And SaaS Google Ads Setup
Here are some ‘setting’ type elements that every B2B/SaaS has to decide before they run search ads so let’s get them out of the way now.
Decide Your Google Ads Daily Budget
This is always a tough question for startups.
Often the answer I hear is “I am willing to put an infinite amount in as long as I see results.”
I get where that answer is coming from, so to that I say:
Google Ads work extremely well for B2B & SaaS companies. I see awesome results from my clients and others every day.
But some B2B Google Advertisers can’t figure it out. There are so many variables in the Google Ads B2B SaaS market that the path to profit can be hard.
Although I’m confident you can achieve your B2B or SaaS goals with Search Ads, I prefer to prepare for the worst.
I once heard it put this way:
Spend as much as you can afford to lose if you get absolutely nothing from it
This is extremely morbid but that’s the attitude I bring to my prospect meetings and you should think this way too.
This is a game of testing after all, and you’re paying for the data.
So think about that morbid statement, take that number, and spread it out over a few months (2-5).
Be realistic though. If what you sell is worth $10,000, then you need to expect to start with a .75-1.25 ROI and optimize from there. Same thing if your market has a ton of competition (more on that later).
It would not be fair to think you can spend $1,000 and get a $10,000 sale. You might be able to expect some form fills or a booking though!
Your Google Ad Goals (Low Funnel)
Your B2B goals in Google Ads are the most important part of the whole thing so you need to decide what is important to you and your business.
Sales, customers, users or whatever you purchase conversion looks like are your most important and will always be the end goal of early B2B SaaS Search Ads Strategies.
Think of the valuable conversions that are just above that main conversion in your buyer journey.
If you have free trials, that could work.
If your value of sale is really high, sales qualified leads, meetings, & demos work too.
Your High Funnel Goals
In my B2B and SaaS Google Ads Campaigns, I like to track things like 75% page scrolls, clicks on important buttons, you know, fairly meaningless stats in terms of ROI.
These aren’t necessary but if you keep track of these, you can get some earlier insight into which keywords have some traction to them in the early days of launching your search campaign.
I won’t use these in accounts where the conversion values are $10-$50 for B2B sales. You can spend a lot less in those accounts to see purchase conversions (clicks are cheaper, volume is typically higher).
An example of where I lean on high funnel conversions early in a campaign’s life: If the client is spending somewhere between $1,000-$5,000/month and their value of sale is $10,000+ and cost per clicks are $10-$20 per click.
This enables me to optimize with less data and waste less money before we know what is working.
Tracking In SaaS & B2B Google Ads
I’ve surprisingly heard a lot of people say that tracking isn’t necessary for B2B Google Ads and I don’t agree with them.
My SaaS & B2B clients are typically either spending investor money, tight on cash, or spending their own dollars so I need the ability to show them what their money is getting them.
Not to mention B2B and SaaS companies are often trying other growth channels at the same time so just judging off a baseline won’t be super reliable and can’t help you make optimization decisions down the road.
So for me, tracking is a must.
Most calendar apps and CRMs have the ability to do some sort of tracking with Google Ads. Or you can track a thank you page and other events on your page with GTM.
Country Targeting
Does your B2B or SaaS require a sales person? What languages/time zone can that sales staff facilitate? AKA don’t serve Google Ads to Australia if your sales team works US hours.
If you’re a SaaS that is running Google Ads and doesn’t require a live demo to get going, run everywhere if you have the budget.
In general, if your budget is below $5,000/month I would keep it to just the US or Just Europe… you get it.
Google Ads Bidding For B2B & SaaS
At some point, Google will ask you to pick a bidding strategy and I have a pretty strict rule of thumb for B2Bs & SaaSs:
Start with Manual CPC.
You don’t need to be hyper-skilled or super attentive to manage individual bids.
Remember: my philosophy is to keep it simple and I would never lead you astray.
Google’s automated strategies are largely built for B2C where there’s astronomically more volume (and therefore data) to make AI decisions with.
With how much your B2B/SaaS clicks can cost, it’s much safer to control the bids.
Otherwise you might watch as the algorithm feeds $1,000 into one keyword that never delivers any results while the other keywords get no clicks.
There are some exceptions to this rule in B2B & SaaS Google Ads though:
If your SaaS is in a highly competitive space where there’s tons of competition and lots of volume, you may be able to get away with a Max Conversions strategy to start off.
Some examples of those industries:
Calendar scheduling software
CRMs
Social media scheduling tools
Software Developers
Setting Bids In An Expensive B2B Google Ads World
So I know I’ve pigeon-holed you into bidding with the Manual CPC strategy and that can be an intimidating place to start with Google Ads but lets take it easy and breezy.
For B2Bs and SaaSs, manage their search term bids at the ad group level (we will get into how I organize ad groups later).
All you need to know for now is that you can choose to set the bids on the ad group level in Google Ads. No need to change each keyword’s bid to start.
What bids to use in Google Ads?
No matter what tools you use, your click costs will always be a guess in Google Ads to start. So don’t over-think this while Creating your Google Ads strategy in B2B & SaaS.
The best tools aren’t given 100% access to Google’s data. So they are making a guess as well.
Not to mention that Google Ad’s is an auction, so your price will be different depending on what position you get, who else is in that individual auction, what your quality score is and much more.
Go lower than your instinct. Better to check back tomorrow and see that you got little to no impressions than to come back and see that you spent $30 to show up on the top result for a keyword you are unsure of.
If you had historical data for your B2B/SaaS in Google Ads, you could base it off that but that would be the only semi-reliable way to go about it.
Since you are in the Google Ads platform anyway, you might as well use Google’s keyword planner. Enter some of your keywords in there. Take the low-end estimate bids and drop it another 20%.
Strategy Elements: Successful B2B Google Ads Campaign
Let’s dive into what I think about when creating a strategy for Successful B2B Google Ads.
Competition Has A Big Role In Your Google Ads Strategy.
Your competition is a great gauge for what you should and shouldn’t be doing with your Google Ads strategy. Having a healthy respect for competitors is going to get you a long way.
Competition Landing Pages
In search ads for B2B and SaaS, your customers are checking out many other solutions along their journey.
The place your users go to make a conversion decision is your landing page. It’s crucial to your Ads Strategy.
Your landing page needs to reflect your services clearly and feature your keywords. Don’t overcomplicate it with too much information.
Part of your B2B Google Ads strategy will involve looking at where your competition is sending users from their ads, what conversions they’re asking for and what information they choose to display on the first look and the first scroll.
You want your landing page to be up to snuff in terms of clarity and information.
Good things to include on your B2B PPC landing page:
- Your search ad keywords
- Clear statement of what you do
- Clear CTA (try not to have multiple CTAs)
- Features/benefits
- Social proof
Competition Ad Copy
A major part of your SaaS Google Ads strategy will be to use Ad Copy to differentiate from your competitors.
The balance is that you are also trying to give them a familiar experience and you definitely don’t want to mislead them or you’ll end up wasting your money.
Look at your competitors ads and jot down some of the common themes. While your at it, write some ideas that will help your brand stand apart.
Later, Google will ask you to input these and it’s key to have a combination of headlines that ‘pop’ and some that help the algorithms know what kind of customer you are targeting.
Competition Keywords
Free tools like SpyFu will let you see some of the high-volume keywords that your competitors are targeting in Google Ads.
Take note of these so when you start brainstorming, you might have a jumping point.
Implementation: strategy for new B2B Google Ads Campaigns
Approaching keywords thematically will help you lay out your entire account structure and ad copy pretty naturally. A good B2B PPC Strategy will always have a logical structure beneath it.
Keyword ideas
Keywords are the foundation of a successful B2B Google Ads campaign. But that doesn’t mean that this is a crazy complicated process.
Most SaaS companies offer one service with multiple features/benefits/uses. That means, to start, you might only target a few keywords.
Some B2Bs will have multiple products or services but your keyword structure should simply follow those offerings (much like the hierarchy of your website).
I call this Keyword Reduction because I essentially take every spin of a keyword and sort them into groups, then boil them down to their main commonalities.
For example, I want to run ads for a calendar scheduling client. They really only offer that one product, but there’s a few ways to search for it.
Here are some words that I would brainstorm for that SaaS Google Ads strategy.
- Meeting Scheduling Tool
- Calendar Scheduling Software
- Appointment Booking Tool
- Business Meeting Scheduler
- Appointment Booking Tool For Salons
- Meeting Link Scheduler
- Client Meeting Scheduler
Important distinction for this client: they do not schedule workers or any shift related software tasks, they just generate meeting links that sync with both parties’ calendars.
Now I organize the keywords into themes. Which for this software, is very simple.
- Meeting scheduling tool, business meeting scheduler, meeting link scheduler, client meeting scheduler
- Appointment booking tool, appointment booking tool for salons
- Calendar scheduling tool
In the end, I am probably not going to run the third group for now because I am afraid the intent behind that keyword might also evoke a tool for scheduling shifts.
There is plenty of volume for these other keywords so I’m not worried about it.
I grouped the keywords in the first group together because the words ‘meeting’ and ‘client’ gave a more precise picture of what they offer.
The appointment terms in the second group were separated because ‘appointment’ could be a term used for a B2B business looking to book meetings with clients or a business looking to get customers to schedule service-style appointments. Because of this, they have a little less value to me, even though the company could technically accommodate those as well.
Ad Group Structure
So now that I have grouped those keywords into a theme, I want to find the commonalities in each theme.
Staying with the prior example:
- Meeting scheduling tool, business meeting scheduler, meeting link scheduler, client meeting scheduler
- Appointment booking tool, appointment booking tool for salons
Will become:
- “Meeting Booking Tool”
- “Appointment Booking Tool”
I made the last minute decision to use ‘booking’ instead of ‘scheduling’ because I wanted to avoid the potential different meanings that scheduling could have.
Now, the SaaS Google Ads strategy is laid out. There will be one ad group for ‘Meeting Booking Tool’ and another for ‘Appointment Booking tool.’
I’m going to set ad group level bids for these terms and keep them all in the same campaign (bidding slightly lower for the ‘appointment’ terms).
Ad Copy Considerations
Ad copy plays a large role in your B2B or SaaS Google Ads strategy. The ad copy you use can attract users to clicks and can detract irrelevant users from clicking.
Also, abiding by Google’s suggestions in the ad creation settings will allow you to show in more auctions.
Since you have already divided your keywords into ad groups, you now have a thematic understanding of what your ad copy should address.
If you have free trials, you could add that into an RSA headline, I wouldn’t suggest putting plain headlines like ‘Book Now’ since they lack some oomph and forfeit precious characters for more substantive content. Even though Google Ads might suggest them to you.
One More B2B Google Ads Strategy Example
I wanted to do one more slightly different example to further highlight my thinking with this B2B Google Ads strategy thing.
This example is for a software development company with a low-medium budget of $7,000/month.
The clicks here are going to be very expensive in the US, probably $10-$20 per click but I don’t mind that since their average solution is worth $200,000. Well worth it.
Immediately the client told me that App and Software are used pretty interchangeably in their business.
So let’s brainstorm some B2B keywords for this search ads strategy.
- Software developers
- Hire software devs
- Custom app development
- App developers US
- Web portal development
- Healthcare software developers
- Mobile app developers
Since we don’t have any historical data for this campaign, I would group them together like this (noting that we have a little more budget to play with on this one).
I’m not going to cover the different match types in this article but it might be helpful to recognize that I have been using mostly phrase and exact.
In some cases, you can use broad if volume is an issue. I would stick to 3-4 word long keywords to give Google some guidance.
The Google Ads structure above allows us to leave some budget in phrase match to attract quality volume with most of the budget allocated to specific and constrained keywords.
Ad Groups 1B-3B were priority services as noted by the client and therefore the focus of the campaign.
For this particular Google Ads B2B strategy, the ad groups in campaign B should have separate ads that go to specific landing pages.
Conclusion (With PDF)
I know it was long, but when you really boil it down, these are the big questions when setting up a B2B or SaaS Google Ads strategy and most of them are just settings.
Thinking about how to use match types to simplify your campaigns at the setup into a few keywords and still attract relevant traffic is a key to aggregating data early on. You don’t want to spread your data too thin with a lot of keywords.
I hope you found this valuable. Here is that PDF I promised you. It has this whole blog on it and at the end a form/checklist to help you fill in the blanks.