Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out and sharing what you're facing with your Google Ads. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on what you've described. Getting leads at $90 CPL for a B2B SaaS isn't necessarily a disaster number, especially depending on the potential customer lifetime value, but only converting 5% into anything usable for sales is definitely a red flag. It sounds like you're absolutely right, the problem is almost certainly tied up in who you're targeting or how clearly your ads communicate your offering.
This is a pretty common challenge for B2B SaaS on Google Search. You've got people actively searching, which is great intent, but you need to make sure those searches align perfectly with who you want as a customer. It's like casting a net – if your net is too wide, you catch all sorts of things you don't need, and you end up spending a lot of time sorting through junk, which is what your sales team is doing now.
We'll need to look at traffic quality and your website...
When you're getting lots of leads but they're mostly unqualified, the first place I'd usually look (after checking campaign settings like location, device, etc.) is the keywords you're bidding on. With Google Search, the keywords are everything for determining intent. If you're bidding on broad terms like "marketing automation" or "marketing software," you're going to attract people who are just starting to research, maybe students, people looking for cheap or free tools, or businesses who need something totally different. They aren't necessarily looking for a specific solution right now, especially not *your* specific solution.
You need to get really granular with your keywords. Think about the problems your marketing automation software solves. What specific features do businesses search for? What long-tail phrases might a decision-maker use when they are actively looking to switch or implement a new system? Keywords like "best marketing automation software for [industry]", "automate [specific task]", "alternatives to [competitor name]", or searching for very specific features you offer are much more likely to bring in someone with high intent who understands what they need.
Also crucial here are negative keywords. You need a comprehensive list of negative keywords to tell Google what searches you absolutely do *not* want your ads to show up for. This could include terms like "free," "cheap," "student," names of unrelated software, or anything else that indicates low intent or that the searcher is not your ideal customer. Regularly reviewing the search terms report in Google Ads is key to finding new negative keywords to add and identifying irrelevant searches that are currently triggering your ads and costing you money for bad leads.
It sounds like you're currently paying $90 for leads, but if 95% are unqualified, you're effectively paying $1800 per *qualified* lead ($90 * 20, because only 1 in 20 are qualified). That number is likely much harder to swallow and probably way too high. Improving the keyword targeting and using negative keywords properly is the fastest way to stop paying for that 95% junk traffic.
I'd say you need to give it more time...
Beyond keywords, your ad copy itself plays a huge role as a filter. Even if someone searches using a decent keyword, the ad they see should immediately make it clear who you are and what you offer. Your ad headlines and descriptions should speak directly to the problems your ideal customers face and highlight the unique benefits of your marketing automation software. If your ad copy is too generic, it might attract clicks from people who aren't a good fit just because they were curious. Being specific in the ad copy can help unqualified prospects filter themselves out before they even click, saving you money on wasted clicks that would never turn into a good lead anyway.
For example, instead of a generic ad saying "Get Marketing Automation Software," you could test copy like "Automate Lead Nurturing for SaaS" or "Email & Social Automation for Small Business." This immediately signals to the searcher whether or not your software is relevant to them. You need to make it very clear, very quickly.
After the click, the user lands on your website or a specific landing page. This is another critcal point where unqualified leads might be generated or where potentially good leads drop off. Is your landing page messaging perfectly aligned with the ad they clicked and the keyword they searched? Does it clearly articulate the value proposition of your marketing automation software for your target audience? We've worked with SaaS clients where just refining the landing page copy and layout made a significant difference in the quality of leads coming through. The messaging needs to be persuasive and directly address the pain points and goals of the type of businesses you want to attract.
Also, consider the offer on your landing page. You mentioned you're getting leads at $90 CPL. What is that lead action? Is it filling out a simple contact form? Requesting a demo? Signing up for a free trial? For B2B SaaS, especially with something that might involve integration or a change in workflow like marketing automation, asking for a demo might be too big a commitment for someone who is still researching. Offering a completely free trial, as mentioned in one of our previous campaigns for a B2B SaaS client, often works best to get qualified users in the door. People who sign up for a free trial are typically higher intent – they want to actually *use* the software and see if it fits their needs. A demo request can sometimes attract tire-kickers or people just looking for information. It's a big decision for a business to implement new software, and they often want to kick the tires themselves before talking to sales. It sounds like you're currently getting leads but they aren't qualified, this could well be because the barrier to becoming a 'lead' is too low, or the offer isn't attracting the right kind of person.
If you're currently pushing to a demo or a general contact form, consider creating a path for a free trial signup (if your software allows for a self-serve trial). Then you'd optimise your Google Ads campaign for "Free Trial Signups" as the conversion action. The CPL might initially look higher because signing up for a trial is a bigger step than filling a form, but the *quality* of those signups will likely be much, much better, leading to a significantly lower cost per *qualified* lead or per paying customer down the line. We've seen this shift dramatically improve downstream metrics for SaaS businesses.
You mentioned bandwidth issues and not having time to run lots of tests. And yes, refining keywords, testing ad copy variations, tweaking landing pages, and experimenting with different offers like free trials versus demos does take consistent effort and expertise. Finding the right combination that brings in truly qualified leads is an iterative process that requires data analysis and ongoing optimisation. You're right that this level of testing is hard to do when you're a small team focused on building and selling the product itself.
Based on your situation – okay CPL but very poor lead quality from Google Search for B2B SaaS marketing automation software – here’s a summary of the key areas I’d focus on and some actionable steps:
| Area | Key Issue | Recommended Action | Why It Helps Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword Targeting | Keywords are too broad, attracting low-intent or irrelevant searches. | Deep dive into search term reports. Refine keywords to be highly specific, long-tail, and problem-solution focused for your ideal customer profile. Aggressively build out negative keyword lists. | Ensures your ads only show for people actively seeking your specific solution, filtering out unqualified traffic at the source. |
| Ad Copy | Ads are too generic, failing to pre-qualify clicks. | Write very specific ad headlines and descriptions that clearly state your software's purpose, benefits, and target audience. Use copy that speaks directly to the pain points solved by marketing automation. | Helps unqualified users self-select out before clicking, saving budget on wasted clicks and increasing click quality. |
| Landing Page | Messaging is unclear, not persuasive, or not aligned with ad/keyword intent. | Ensure landing page copy is highly persuasive and specific to the target audience attracted by your ads. Clearly highlight benefits, build trust, and make the value proposition obvious. Ensure mobile responsiveness and fast load times. | Converts higher-intent visitors more effectively and reduces drop-off from potentially good leads. |
| Offer / Call to Action | The primary conversion goal (e.g., demo request) is attracting low-intent leads. | Consider testing a free trial offer if possible, and optimising campaigns for trial signups instead of demo requests or contact form submissions. Ensure the offer aligns with the searcher's likely stage in the buying journey. | Attracts users with higher intent who are serious about evaluating software, significantly improving lead quality even if CPL for that action is higher. |
| Conversion Tracking | Might not be tracking the right actions effectively. | Double-check that conversion tracking is set up correctly for the most valuable actions (e.g., trial signup, not just form submission). Ensure you have enough conversion data to properly assess campaign performance beyond just CPL. | Provides accurate data to identify which keywords, ads, and audiences are driving truly valuable outcomes, allowing for better optimisation decisions. |
Addressing these points requires a good understanding of Google Ads structure, keyword research methodologies specific to B2B SaaS, conversion rate optimisation for landing pages, and continuous testing and data analysis. It's often not a quick fix, and scaling effectively (which is something you'll want to think about down the line, after you've fixed quality) also involves finding new winning audiences and creative angles, as we've seen with many software clients trying to push past initial plateaus.
For a B2B accounting system SaaS we looked at once, they weren't offering a free trial and had very low lead quality, partly because changing accounting systems is a massive undertaking and no business will do it without trying it first. The privacy angle they were pushing also wasn't the main concern for businesses looking for reliable software with the right features. A strong offer like a free trial is vital for attracting the right kind of user who is ready to evaluate the software properly.
This sort of deep optimisation and structured testing can be time-consuming and complex. Having someone with deep experience in B2B SaaS campaigns who understands these nuances and has a proven process for improving lead quality can make a big difference and save you a lot of wasted ad spend and sales team time. It takes dedicated focus to continually analyse performance, identify issues like poor quality leads, and implement the necessary changes to targeting, creative, landing pages, and offer.
If you'd like to discuss this further and get a more tailored perspective on how we might approach improving your lead quality based on our experience with B2B SaaS companies, we'd be happy to book in a free consultation. We can take a look at your specific account structure and website and give you some more concrete steps.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
