Hi there,
Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on what you've described. It sounds like you're hitting a fairly common point with paid advertising, especially when trying to push past relying on brand traffic for 'growth'.
Why excluding brand is key for measuring true growth...
Okay, first off, excluding your brand terms at the account level? Absolutely teh right move if your goal is to understand and scale non-brand acquisition. What you're seeing with PMax is standard behaviour – it's designed to find conversions wherever it can, and if people are searching for your brand, those are the easiest ones for the system to grab. Even if you exclude them at the campaign level, PMax often has ways around that or still attributes conversions from brand searches that happen elsewhere in the account (even if not directly served by the PMax campaign itself, it gets murky). By excluding brand terms completely, you force Google to go after new audiences who aren't explicitly searching for you. This is the only way you'll get a true picture of whether your non-brand Search campaigns and PMax are actually effective at bringing in *new* potential customers or if they were just taking credit for traffic you'd get anyway.
Think of it this way: if you want to know if you can catch fish in teh open sea, you need to stop fishing in your own pond where all the fish already know you. It's crucial for assessing scalability beyond your existing recognition.
Looking at Google vs Meta for scaling...
It's totally understandable you're looking to shift focus if Facebook/Instagram performance has tanked since March. That happens. Platforms change, audiences move, competition increases, or sometimes you just exhaust the most readily available audience pool on that platform for your specific offer. Testing creative and angles is key, but if nothing's working, it's smart to explore other channels.
The decision between Google and Meta (or others) for growth really hinges on your target audience and their behaviour. Are they actively searching for the product or service you offer when they have a need? Or is what you offer something they might not know they need, or they aren't actively looking for a solution right now?
If they are actively searching – keywords like "accounting software for small business", "marketing agency for SaaS", "emergency plumber near me", etc. – then Google Search ads are incredibly powerful. You're reaching people at the exact moment they have intent and are looking for help. This is often lower-funnel traffic and can convert well, though competition for these keywords can be high, driving up costs.
If your audience isn't searching, or if you're trying to create demand or reach people higher up the funnel (awareness, consideration), that's where social media and display ads traditionally shine. You're interrupting their scroll with an ad that hopefully resonates. Facebook and Instagram used to be the go-to for many, and still can be, but if it's not working, it might be that specific audience on that platform isn't receptive right now, or the costs have become prohibitive.
PMax sort of bridges the gap, attempting to find converting customers across all of Google's channels (Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover). But as you've seen, without careful management (like that brand exclusion), it can heavily lean into the easier, brand-related conversions.
We've run quite a few campaigns for B2B SaaS clients, which often involves longer sales cycles similar to what you might experience depending on what you sell. For many of these, Google Search is a critical component because businesses often search for solutions when a specific problem arises. Meta can work too, especially for reaching specific roles or company sizes, but the intent is usually lower and requires a different approach to the funnel and messaging.
Scaling isn't just about ad spend...
Even once you've figured out the right platforms, scaling digital advertising past a certain point often involves more than just increasing budget or finding new audiences on one platform. You mentioned wanting to 'scale and see what Google can bring'. Scaling usually requires looking at several key areas:
Improving your funnel:
This is probably the most impactful area for scaling. Any improvement here makes all your advertising efforts more efficient.
-> Boosting your website's conversion rates. If more people who land on your site take the desired action (sign up, request a demo, contact you), your cost per acquisition naturally decreases, meaning you can acquire more customers for the same budget, or scale spend more effectively. This often involves optimising landing pages, calls to action, and the overall user experience.
-> Increasing customer lifetime value (LTV). If the average customer is worth more to you over time, you can afford to pay more upfront to acquire them and still remain profitable. This allows you to scale into higher-cost but potentially larger audiences or more competitive keywords.
Improving your ads:
Continuous optimisation is non-negotiable for scaling.
-> Proper split testing: Always be testing different ad copy, headlines, descriptions, and creatives. What worked last month might not work this month. Fresh creative can prevent audience fatigue. We've had several SaaS clients see really good results testing different angles in their video creatives, sometimes things you wouldn't expect initially.
-> Targeting: While you've excluded brand, there are likely many more non-brand audiences or keywords you could test on Google. Are you using broad match, phrase match, exact match strategically? Are you layering audiences (like in-market or affinity audiences) on Search? Are you testing different audience signals or asset groups in PMax?
-> Retargeting: Don't forget the people who visited your site but didn't convert. Setting up strong retargeting campaigns on Google Display Network, YouTube, or even back on Meta if that channel still has some life for remarketing can help convert hesitant users at a lower cost than acquiring new ones. This reduces overall CPA and supports scaling.
Expanding to other ad platforms (carefully):
If you feel you're truly maxing out your profitable audience on Google Search/PMax and Meta isn't working, exploring other channels might be necessary. For B2B, this often means LinkedIn Ads, which offers precise professional targeting but is significantly more expensive on a click/impression basis. Other options could include specific industry publications or platforms where your audience congregates.
It sounds like your immediate priority was correctly identifying if Google could bring in *new* growth by excluding brand. The next step is to really dial in the non-brand campaigns – ensuring targeting is precise, creatives are compelling for a cold audience, and your landing pages are highly optimised to convert that non-brand traffic.
Actionable Summary:
Based on your situation, here’s a possible roadmap:
| Priority | Action | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maintain account-level brand exclusion. | Isolate and accurately measure non-brand performance. |
| 2 | Focus optimisation efforts on non-brand Google Search & PMax campaigns. | Improve CTR, Quality Score, and Conversion Rate for cold traffic. |
| 3 | Conduct thorough audience/keyword research for non-brand terms. | Identify new, high-intent audiences to target on Google Search. |
| 4 | Develop and rigorously split-test new ad creative/copy specifically for non-brand audiences. | Improve ad relevance and click-through rates for cold traffic. |
| 5 | Audit and optimise landing pages receiving non-brand traffic. | Increase conversion rates for visitors who don't know your brand yet. |
| 6 | Implement or refine retargeting campaigns across relevant platforms (Google, potentially Meta for remarketing if viable). | Capture visitors who didn't convert on the first visit. |
| 7 | If Google non-brand performance plateaus and Meta remains ineffective, evaluate other platforms like LinkedIn (for B2B) or explore strategic partnerships/directories. | Tap into new pools of potential customers. |
Scaling paid acquisition, especially for something that might have a considered purchase or longer sales cycle (which is often the case outside of basic B2C eCommerce), is a continuous process of testing, analysing, and optimising. It's not just about turning up the budget dial; it's about making sure every pound or dollar you spend is working as hard as possible across the entire user journey, from click to customer.
Determining the right balance between Google and other platforms will depend on your specific business model, ideal customer profile, and the economics of acquisition (how much can you afford to pay per customer?).
Sometimes, when you hit a scaling plateau or a channel stops performing, getting an outside perspective from someone who deals with these challenges day in, day out can be really helpful. We specialise in helping businesses like yours scale effectively across different platforms and optimising for profitable growth, not just traffic.
If you'd like to dive deeper into your specific account and situation, we're happy to book in a free consultation to chat through it. No pressure at all, just an opportunity for us to give you some more tailored feedback.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
