B2B Marketing

Complete guide to optimising B2B Google Ads: Strategies, metrics, and best practices

Google Ads hardly needs an introduction. A 2024 report by PPCsurvey.com found that, of companies that run pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, 98% use Google Ads. Of the respondents, 29% were B2B Google Ads practitioners, including professionals in agencies and in-house departments. 

For anyone new or unsure about Google Ads, it is, in a nutshell, an advertising platform developed by Google that gives businesses access to its vast network of online space—its search engine, display network, and YouTube—on which they can advertise. 

What makes Google Ads so appealing is its targeting capabilities that enable advertisers to present their messages to the right audience at the right time. Google Ads is particularly strong for B2B businesses due to the ability to target intent-based keywords, customise messaging based on the user’s search intent, and leverage in-depth audience insights. 

The core functionality of Google Ads is based on the pay-per-click (PPC) model—advertisers pay only when a user clicks on their ad. This model directly connects the ad’s cost and the engagement it receives. This is one of the big selling points for the PPC model. Get it right, and it is highly efficient and scalable.

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How Google Ads works

As part of the PPC model, businesses bid on specific keywords that are relevant to their products or services. When a user performs a search that includes these keywords, Google uses an algorithm to determine which ads are shown. This decision is based on these key factors:

  • Bid Amount: How much the advertiser is willing to pay per click.
  • Quality Score: A metric that evaluates the relevance and quality of the ad and the landing page to the keywords targeted. It considers factors like click-through rate (CTR), ad relevance, and landing page quality.
  • Ad Rank: The combination of the bid and the Quality Score determines the ad’s position on the search results page.

B2B Google Ads functionality flowchart

Advertisers can set daily budgets and bid limits to control spending without having to be “on” all the time to oversee the spending. 

When a user clicks on the ad, the cost is taken from the budget. 

B2B Google Ads strategies

Goal setting and campaign strategy

As with all marketing activities, goal setting is the first step, and its importance cannot be overstated. Are you focusing on lead generation, brand awareness, or nurturing leads towards conversion? If you know your goals, you can design your campaigns to reach them and measure your success to ensure your dollars are optimally spent. 

Set your goals for:

  • Top of the funnel (TOFU): Focus on building brand awareness with broader, educational content that captures interest.
  • Middle of the funnel (MOFU): Engage potential leads with content that addresses specific challenges, introducing your product/service as a solution.
  • Bottom of the funnel (BOFU): Encourage conversions with direct CTAs, focusing on demonstrating value and driving action.

Keyword strategy basics

A strong keyword strategy is at the core of every successful B2B Google Ads campaign. Choosing the right keywords ensures that your ads are displayed to the right decision-makers at the right time. First, you have to understand the intent behind search queries and align those with your business goals.

  • Identify relevant keywords: Start by researching keywords that reflect the products, services, or solutions your business offers. Use Google’s Keyword Planner to discover search volume, competition levels, and keyword suggestions that match your objectives.
  • Balance short-tail and long-tail keywords:
    • Short-tail keywords (1-2 words) are highly competitive but can help increase your visibility to a broader audience. However, they may result in less targeted traffic. For example, ‘business software’ might get many clicks but not necessarily from high-intent users.
    • Long-tail keywords (3+ words) tend to have lower search volume but are more specific and often lead to higher conversion rates because they target users with clearer intent. For example, ‘business software for project management’ may attract decision-makers who are actively looking for that specific solution.
  • Group keywords by themes: Organise keywords into logical groups that align with your business offerings and the buyer’s journey. This ensures your ads are relevant to the searcher’s intent and that your messaging is consistent throughout the campaign.

Keyword match types:

  • Broad match: Displays ads for searches that include variations of your keyword, giving your ads the widest reach. We don’t recommend broad matches. 
  • Phrase match: Ensures your ad is shown only when the exact phrase, or close variations, are part of the search query.
  • Exact match: Triggers your ad only for searches that match your keyword exactly, providing greater control and targeting precision. 

B2B Google Ads keyword strategy

Keyword strategy beyond the basics

  • Competitor keyword analysis: Identify what keywords competitors are targeting to find gaps or opportunities to rank for terms where competitors may be underperforming.
  • Long-tail keywords & specificity: Focus on highly specific long-tail keywords that align with intent at different stages of the buyer’s journey, helping reduce costs and improve conversion rates.
  • Negative keywords: Use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic. For example, a B2B company targeting software sales might exclude keywords related to ‘free software’ to avoid unqualified clicks.
  • Keywords based on the buyer’s journey: Align keyword strategies with buyer stages—broad informational keywords for the top of the funnel and precise, action-oriented keywords for bottom-funnel conversions.

Bidding strategies for B2B optimisation

  • Manual bidding for control: Manual bidding gives you more control over your budget, letting you decide how much to spend on each click, which is great for more complex funnels.
  • Target CPA or maximise conversions: After data collection, automated strategies like Target CPA can help optimise for conversions within a specific budget, though manual adjustments may still be necessary for fine-tuning.
  • Seasonality adjustments: B2B buying cycles often have seasonal peaks, such as the end of the fiscal year. Adjust bids accordingly during high-demand periods.

Advanced targeting techniques

  • Customer match lists and lookalikes: Upload lists of email addresses or customer data to create highly specific audiences and expand reach using Google’s lookalike audiences to target users similar to your current customers.
  • Custom intent and in-market audiences for B2B: Take advantage of Google’s tools to find people already looking for products or services like yours. Custom intent allows for more precise targeting based on specific keywords and behaviours.
  • Time-sensitive ad scheduling: B2B decision-makers are more likely to engage during business hours. Adjust ad schedules to maximise impressions and clicks during these peak times, ensuring efficient use of ad spend.

Retargeting strategies for B2B

  • Segment based on engagement level: Retarget leads based on where they are in the sales funnel, adjusting messaging accordingly to re-engage them.
  • Cross-platform retargeting: Use Google Ads to retarget users who have engaged on LinkedIn or other platforms, creating a cohesive multi-channel experience.

B2B Google Ads retargeting pathways

B2B Google Ads best practices

Creating compelling ad copy and creative

  • Use direct and contextual CTAs: Direct CTAs work best for B2B, such as “Get a quote,” while contextual CTAs like “Learn more” may perform well in earlier stages of the funnel.
  • Ad extensions for B2B impact:
    • Structured snippets help showcase offerings without cluttering the main ad copy.
    • Call extensions work well during business hours, allowing leads to easily reach sales teams.
    • Lead form extensions capture details directly in the ad, reducing friction.
    • Image extensions/logos can boost credibility and visual interest.

Landing page optimisation

  • Alignment with ad messaging: Ensure that your landing pages deliver what the ad promises. A seamless transition from ad copy to landing page content improves the user experience and conversion rates.
  • B2B specific elements: Highlight business value, use case studies, testimonials, and ROI calculations that resonate with B2B buyers.
  • Personalisation and segmentation: Create personalised landing pages tailored to different audience segments, whether by industry, company size, or specific pain points.

Lead Agency Optimise Landing Pages 1040x455 1 1 b2b marketing

Experimentation and A/B testing

  • Test messaging for different personas: While the new ad formats allow flexibility, A/B test different value propositions for various buyer personas to see what resonates best with each segment.
  • Experiment with landing page formats: Test out different layouts and calls to action to see what works best for driving conversions, ensuring that user experience is tailored to the audience’s needs.

Note: Test messaging is less important now because of recent advancements in Google’s ad format. You can put in up to 15 headings and four descriptions and Google’s AI will optimise based on the performance. 

Utilising insights for continuous optimisation

  • Search query reports: Check your search query reports to see which searches are showing your ads, and tweak your keywords based on what you find.
  • Custom reporting in Google Analytics: Set up reports to track B2B-specific KPIs like qualified lead generation and time to conversion.
  • LinkedIn + Google Ads integration: Connect Google Ads with LinkedIn data to target specific company roles or industries, optimising audience precision.
  • Time and day reports: Use these reports to adjust ad scheduling and bid strategies for times when your target audience is most active.
  • Auction insights: Analyse competitors’ performance in ad auctions to adjust your bidding strategy and maintain competitive positioning.

Watch the market

No Google Ads campaign is set, and forget. What you use one year will have to adapt the next (or ideally month to month). Market changes impact results, too. 

According to LocaliQ’s Search Advertising Benchmarks 2024, conversion rates are decreasing for some industries. Finance and insurance, attorneys and legal services saw significant drops by end of year 2023. Lower conversion rates may be attributed to the increasing prevalence of ads in search engine results pages (SERPs)—more people are advertising, so more clicks are going to ads before users see organic results. That trend fits with the rising cost-per-lead (CPL) across most industries. 

Market reports are your friend when making sense of unexpected results. 

Attribution modelling

  • Use data-driven attribution (DDA): While DDA can give insight into the entire customer journey, attribution modelling can be tricky, especially for those unfamiliar with multi-touch attribution. If you’re not deep into Google Ads, stick with simpler insights, like last-click attribution, which is easier to work with.
  • Tracking assisted conversions: Understanding which touchpoints contributed to the final conversion can offer more clarity on how your Google Ads strategy is driving overall results.

Budget management and efficiency

  • Allocate budget based on funnel stage: Spread your budget based on where your leads are in the funnel. You’ll want to spend more when they’re closer to converting.
  • Performance by day of week and time of day: Regularly assess performance data to identify the most efficient times to run ads, ensuring the highest return on investment.

Metrics beyond CTR and conversion rate

  • Cost per lead vs. cost per qualified lead: Focus on cost per qualified lead rather than general lead generation to ensure that the leads being generated are valuable and likely to convert.
  • Conversion lag reporting: Some B2B sales cycles are longer, so track conversions over a longer period to understand the true value of your campaigns.
  • Impression share vs. quality score: A high impression share paired with a strong quality score indicates that your ads are competitive and relevant to the audience.

Get it done right

There’s a lot to juggle in a Google Ads campaign. While it’s accessible to everyone, real results come from well-executed strategies backed by experience—knowing what works and how to make sense of the data. For Hentys Lawyers, we doubled new cases and cut their Google Ads budget by 50%. When Medical Aesthetic Supplies wanted more transparency, we not only delivered that but also reduced their ad spend by over 80%.

Get in touch with us for great results without the costly lessons.