Paid Search Strategy for B2B and SaaS Companies

B2B and SaaS companies need tailored strategies - the same PPC strategies as ecommerce or local businesses just won’t cut it. You’ve got longer buyer cycles, smaller audiences, and customers need much more information before they’re ready to buy. Here's how to structure PPC campaigns that generate qualified leads and actual pipeline growth.

Focus on Lead Quality Over Volume

Exact match and long-tail keywords are great - they target specific buyer intent. Broad terms like "marketing software" aren’t very helpful - try to target "marketing automation for B2B SaaS companies" or "email marketing platform integration with Salesforce." These longer keywords cost more per click but attract much more qualified prospects.

Create campaigns for different stages of the buying funnel. Awareness campaigns target educational keywords and drive traffic to blog posts or guides. Comparison campaigns target "HubSpot vs Marketo" and lead to comparison pages. Bottom-funnel campaigns target "buy marketing automation software" and drive directly to pricing pages.

Lead prospects to gated content like eBooks, webinars, or demo forms - don’t try to close sales immediately. B2B buyers need to feel ready to buy - they’ll want to research, compare options, and often get approval from multiple stakeholders.

Track the Full Customer Journey

Track offline conversions through your CRM - like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive. Track the progression from Marketing Qualified Lead to Sales Qualified Lead to Opportunity to Closed Won. This shows which campaigns generate leads that actually turn into customers.

Use behavioral retargeting based on specific actions people take on your website - create audiences for people who visited your pricing page, watched a demo video, or downloaded a specific resource. This tells you where they are with their buying intent.