Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out. I've had a look at the situation you've described and it sounds very familiar. It's a wall many B2B tech founders hit when they try to scale their ads. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance based on what we've seen work for other software and tech clients.
Honestly, the problem you're facing with a high cost-per-acquisition (CPA) on Google Ads is incredibly common in your space. The good news is that it's usually solvable, but it requires a shift in thinking away from how you'd normally advertise a simpler product or service.
I'd say you're probably facing a classic B2B funnel problem...
The core issue with B2B tech advertising, especially for something that's a considered purchase, is the long and complex sales cycle. You're not selling a t-shirt; you're often asking a business to change a fundamental part of their operations, which involves multiple decision-makers, budget approvals, and a whole lot of trust. Sending cold traffic from a Google Ad straight to a "Book a Demo" or "Start a Trial" page is, frankly, like asking someone to marry you on the first date. It's too much, too soon.
When you do this, you end up paying a premium for every click, and the vast majority of that traffic will just bounce. The tiny fraction that does fill out your form are often not the right fit. You get what I call 'tyre-kickers' – people who are just curious, students doing research, or businesses that are way too small to ever become a profitable customer. Your sales team then wastes time qualifying them out, and your real CPA, when you factor in only the *good* leads, is astronomical. You end up paying for a huge volume of low-quality leads, which completely destroys your ROAS. This is probably the main reason your perfomance has hit a wall.
I've run quite a few campaigns for B2B SaaS companies, and the ones that succeed dont focus on an immediate conversion from a cold ad. They understand that you need to build a relationship and educate the prospect first. It's a slower burn, but the quality of leads you get at the end is worlds apart.
We'll need to look at building a proper lead nurture process...
So, instead of a direct, hard sell, you need to think in stages. The first goal shouldn't be to get a demo, but to simply identify who in the vast ocean of searchers is potentially interested in what you do. The way you do this is by offering them something of genuine value in exchange for a small amount of their attention, not their credit card or an hour of their time for a demo.
This is where high-value content comes in. Think about what your ideal customer's problems are. What keeps them up at night? Create content that solves a piece of that puzzle for them. This could be:
-> A detailed whitepaper or an ebook: Something that dives deep into an industry problem your software solves.
-> A pre-recorded webinar: A 20-minute session showing how to overcome a common challenge.
-> A comprehensive case study: A proper, in-depth look at how you achieved significant results for a client similar to them.
You then run your Google Ads campaigns driving traffic to landing pages for these assets. The call-to-action is simple and low-friction: "Download the Whitepaper" or "Watch the Webinar". People are far more likely to do this. You track these downloads or views as 'micro-conversions'. Now, you've started to build a list. But more importantly, you've built an audience within Google Ads of people who have raised their hand and shown interest. These people are now warm leads. You can then use retargeting ads to show them the next step in the journey – maybe another case study, and then, finally, the "Book a Demo" offer. The lead quality from this second step will be so much higher because they already know who you are and understand the value you provide.
You probably should be feeding Google real sales data...
This is the most important technical change you need to make, and it's something almost everyone gets wrong. Google's ad algorithm is incredibly powerful, but it's not a mind reader. If you tell it to "optimise for conversions" and your only conversion is a "demo request form fill," the algorithm will simply find you more people who are good at filling out forms. It has no idea if that person is your ideal £50k/year enterprise client or a student in a dorm room.
To fix this, you MUST implement what's called Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT). This means connecting your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system (like HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.) directly to your Google Ads account. You then need to pass data back to Google about what happens to your leads *after* they fill out that form.
You'll start sending signals back to Google when a lead becomes a 'Sales Qualified Lead' (SQL), or even better, when a deal is 'Closed-Won' and becomes a paying customer. You're essentially teaching the algorithm what a *real* customer looks like. When you do this, Google stops optimising for junk leads and starts using its immense data to find more people who share the characteristics of your actual, paying customers. This is how you genuinely lower your CPA for valuable leads and achieve a positive ROAS. If you're using Performance Max campaigns, this isn't optional; without this data feed, PMax for B2B is just a way to burn cash very, very quickly. Its performance will be terrible without it.
You'll need a solid targeting strategy...
Finally, it's worth a quick look at who you're targeting. On Google Search, you need to be going after keywords that show clear commercial intent and problem-awareness. Think about what your ideal customer would type into Google when they are actively looking for a solution like yours. Things like "[Your software category] for enterprise" or "[Your competitor] alternatives".
However, many of your best potential customers might not be actively searching right now. For B2B tech, you often need to create demand, not just capture it. This is where a platform like LinkedIn Ads can be a brilliant addition to Google Ads. While Google is great for intent, LinkedIn is unmatched for its demographic targeting. You can specifically target decision-makers by their job title, company size, industry, and seniority. I remember one B2B software campaign we worked on where we achieved a $22 cost per lead targeting specific decision makers on LinkedIn.
A combined strategy often works best: use LinkedIn to get your content in front of the exact right people, build a retargeting audience, and use Google Search to capture those who are now problem-aware and actively looking for a solution. This multi-channel approach ensures you're covering all bases.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
| Area of Focus | The Common Problem | Recommended Action |
|---|---|---|
| Funnel Strategy | Driving cold, unqualified traffic directly to a high-commitment offer (e.g., a demo), resulting in a high CPA for low-quality leads. | Implement a two-step funnel. Step 1: Drive traffic to valuable content (whitepaper/webinar). Step 2: Retarget engaged users with the demo offer. |
| Conversion Tracking | Google's algorithm is optimising for form fills, not actual customers, because it lacks real business outcome data. This is a massive waste of ad spend. | Set up Offline Conversion Tracking. Connect your CRM to Google Ads and upload data on Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) and Closed-Won deals. |
| Platform & Targeting | Relying solely on Google Search means you're missing out on potential customers who aren't actively searching for a solution right now. | Supplement Google Search with LinkedIn Ads to proactively target specific decision-makers by job title, industry, and company size. |
| The Offer | A free trial or demo can still be a big commitment. Your core value proposition might not be clear enough from the ad and landing page alone. | Ensure your landing page has professional, persuasive copy. We've seen great results using copywriters who specialise in SaaS for this. Test your offer relentlessly. |
So, why get expert help?
I know this is alot of information. While these concepts are straightforward on paper, executing them correctly is complex and very time-consuming. Setting up robust offline conversion tracking, building and testing multi-step funnels, writing persuasive ad copy, and managing campaigns across different platforms is a full-time job. For a founder, your time is better spent on product development and running the business.
Mistakes in this process can be very expensive, and you can easily burn through thousands in ad spend without seeing results. This is where an agency with proven B2B tech experience can be invaluable. We've navigated these exact challenges for many other software companies – in one case, we helped a medical job matching SaaS reduce their CPA from £100 right down to just £7 by implementing a similar, structured approach on their Google and Meta Ads campaigns. That's the kind of transformation that is possible when the strategy is right.
If you'd like, we could book in a free, no-obligation consultation call. We can take a proper look at your current ad account and strategy together, and I can give you some more specific, actionable feedback. It's a great way for you to get some immediate value and see firsthand the kind of expertise we can bring to the table.
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
