Everything You Need to Know About SaaS Google Ads

If you’re building a SaaS company and haven’t invested in Google ads yet, you have no idea what you’re missing.
Over 80% of businesses use Google ads as a part of their marketing strategy and typically see a return of $2 for every $1 spent on Google ads. If you want to target in-market prospects and grow pipeline, this is the way to do it.
But how can SaaS companies leverage Google ads for revenue growth? Find your answer here, where we discuss the ABCs of SaaS google ads ⬇️

Firstly, when should SaaS companies run Google ads?

Ishaan Manchanda, the founder of GrowthSpree, has over 7 years of experience in PPC marketing, and he recommends that you begin running ads once you achieve product-market fit (PMF):
“Consider launching Google search ads only when you’ve achieved PMF and acquired at least 10-15 customers. If you’re still in the very early stages, paying for ads won’t make sense when you’re still making changes to your product.”

Running ads on Google has many benefits, the main one being that Google ads are intent-driven. Unlike other platforms, Google only shows your ads to folks looking for your solution. So, you only have to pay when a user clicks on your ad.

Your ad data also clarifies how you can modify your strategy for greater conversions. Now, let’s explore the types of ad formats you can leverage when launching Google ads.

Types of Google ads

Google Search Ads

These ads appear in search results above the organic results when people search for relevant keywords like "email marketing automation software." They are intent-based ads targeting existing demand.

Google Display Ads

These ads are shown on a vast collection of third-party websites that agreed to display Google ads. They can be in text, image, video, or rich media formats.

YouTube Ads

Video ads are an underrated method of generating leads for your business. SaaS companies can create video and display or text ads shown during or before YouTube videos or elsewhere on YouTube's platform. Video ads can be skippable or non-skippable.

App Campaigns

If the SaaS company has a mobile app, Google automatically creates ads by pulling the most relevant text, images, and ratings from the app store to drive mobile app installs and in-app conversions.

How to run Google ads for SaaS companies: a step-by-step guide

Here is a step-by-step guide for SaaS companies to launch effective Google Ads campaigns:

1. Define Your Campaign Objectives

When asked, “What is your campaign objective?” The most obvious answer is “to generate revenue.” However, you need to establish SMART goals to establish more clarity amongst the team, so that you can refine your ad strategy moving forward.
Example: Increase qualified leads from Google Ads by 30% in Q3 2024 by implementing targeted campaigns, optimized landing pages, and SMART Goals in Google Analytics.

2. Develop Audience Personas

Create detailed profiles of your ideal customers - their demographics, interests, pain points, etc.

Identify the keywords and search queries they will likely use when looking for a solution like yours. Determine the most relevant ad formats, landing pages, and offers for each persona.

3. Set Up Your Google Ads Account

Create a new Google Ads account or link an existing one to your SaaS business. Set your campaign objective to "Leads" to drive signups and demos. Choose the Search campaign type to reach people actively searching for your solution

4. Conduct Keyword Research

Use the Google Ads Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords and assess their potential.

Identify long-tail keywords that indicate high purchase intent. Group keywords into themed ad groups for more targeted ads

We’ve researched what keyword themes work best and have analyzed the following keyword types:

Branded keywords
Competitor keywords
Pricing keywords
Product/Feature keywords

💡Find out how to use these keywords in your Google ads strategy.

5. Optimize Landing Pages

Create dedicated landing pages for each ad group with a clear value proposition and call-to-action. For instance, if you’re creating a competitor landing page, you need to ensure

Ensure pages load quickly and are mobile-friendly. A/B test different page elements to improve conversion rates.

Tas Bober, a paid ads landing page expert and founder at Delphinium Solutions, recommends placing your form fields and displaying your product in the first fold of the landing page
“Create landing pages that:

1/ Deliver on the promise of the ads

2/ Showcase your product

3/ Call out who you're for

4/ Use clear language (think 5th grade)

5/ Bucket features into themes

6/ Save the company awards for the About page

7/ Use *relevant* social proof

8/ Tell the user what to expect after reaching out”

At Factors, we highlight the core value propositions in the first fold to drive consideration and engage prospects

6. Set Your Bids and Budget

Set a daily budget that allows you to get sufficient data to assess performance. Adjust bids and budgets over time based on the cost per click and conversion rates. You should also keep these metrics in mind when setting a Google ads budget:

Calculate your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and ensure your budget allows you to acquire customers at or below this cost.
Determine your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and set a budget that reflects this value to ensure profitability.

Distribute your budget across different campaigns and ad types to test and find the most effective strategies. To optimize your budget allocation, you can also employ automated bidding strategies like Target CPA.

7. Monitor and Optimize

Regularly check your Google Ads dashboard to analyze key metrics like CTR, conversion rate, CPC, and ROAS. Use the Search Terms report to identify negative keywords to add to your campaigns. Make ongoing optimizations to bids, budgets, ads, and landing pages to improve performance.

Measure your Google ads performance with Factors

Google ads are critical to your overall GTM strategy. If you want to make the most of Google ads, Factors is the tool you need!

You can use our “Account Identification” feature to deanonymize visitors who visit your site and also identify which campaign brought them to the website:

With our advanced attribution and analytics features, you can visualize how they engage with your ads and how your ad campaigns contribute to generating pipeline:

You can also leverage our Segment Insights features to understand how paid search is performing in comparison to other performance marketing initiatives (e.g. LinkedIn ads), thereby allowing you to strategize and change your approach to generate maximum ROI.

You can also connect Factors with G2 to understand how many accounts visit G2 product pages, competitor pages, and category pages after viewing your ads.

Well, we aren’t going to reveal it all here! Contact our sales team to learn more about how you can leverage Factors to make the most of your Google ad spend.