Paid Ads Strategy — B2B SaaS
Purpose: Build a focused paid advertising plan that generates quality pipeline — right channels, audiences, and creative for each funnel stage.
Step 1: Gather Context
- Goal: Pipeline / demos / downloads / event registrations / awareness?
- Budget: Monthly budget
- ICP: Role, company size, industry
- Funnel stage: Cold TOFU / warm MOFU / high-intent BOFU?
- Assets: Case studies, demo video, strong landing page?
Step 2: Channel Selection
LinkedIn Ads — Primary for most B2B SaaS
├── Best for: TOFU + MOFU, exact job title targeting
├── Minimum: $3K-5K/month | CPL: $100-$400
└── Use: Always if targeting mid-market to enterprise by title
Google Search — High intent, essential for BOFU
├── Best for: In-market buyers searching your category
├── Minimum: $2K-3K/month | CPL: $50-$200
└── Use: When buyers are already searching
Meta — Retargeting + TOFU at scale
├── Best for: Website visitor retargeting, lookalikes
├── Minimum: $1K-2K/month | CPL: $30-$100 (retargeting)
└── Use: Retargeting always; cold if budget allows
G2 / Review Site Ads — Intent-based BOFU (high ROI)
└── Use: If you have G2 reviews and are in a competitive category
Step 3: Audience Targeting
Layers (2-3 combined):
Job Title | Seniority (Director, VP, C-suite) | Company Size | Industry | Skills
Retargeting:
Website visitors (30/60/90 days) | Pricing page (30 days, highest intent)
Blog readers (60 days) | Video viewers (25%/50%/75%)
Google Keywords
Tier 1 — Brand: [Your brand] — lowest CPL, always defend
Tier 2 — Competitor: "[Competitor] alternative", "vs [you]"
Tier 3 — Category: "best [category] software"
Tier 4 — Problem: "how to [problem your product solves]"
Step 4: Creative Angles
TOFU (Cold):
- Insight: "Most [role]s don't know [counter-intuitive insight]"
- Pain: "[Pain point] is costing you [specific impact]"
- Benchmark: "[X]% of similar companies [benchmark] — where do you stand?"
MOFU (Warm/Retargeting):
- Social proof: "See how [similar company] achieved [result]"
- Objection: "Think [common objection]? Here's what [customer] said..."
- Demo CTA: "See [product] in action — [specific capability]"
BOFU (High Intent):
- Direct: "[Outcome] in [timeframe] — book a 20-minute demo"
- Comparison: "[Competitor] vs [your product] — see the difference"
Step 5: Budget Allocation
$3K-5K/month: LinkedIn 70%, Google 30%
$5K-10K/month: LinkedIn 50%, Google 30%, Meta 15%, G2 5%
$10K-20K/month: LinkedIn 45%, Google 30%, Meta 15%, G2 5%, YouTube 5%
$20K+: Add programmatic, content syndication, podcast ads
Step 6: KPIs & Optimization
KPIs:
├── CTR: 0.5-1.5% LinkedIn | 2-5% Google
├── CPL: per channel benchmark
├── MQL rate (quality signal)
├── Pipeline influenced
└── CAC from paid channel
OPTIMIZATION:
Week 1-2: Don't change (learning phase)
Week 3: Kill lowest CTR creatives
Week 4+: Shift budget to best performers
Monthly: New creative, refresh audiences
Output Format
# Paid Ads Strategy — [Company Name]
## Objective & Budget
## Channel Mix & Rationale
## Audience Targeting (per channel)
## Creative Angles
## Ad Copy Variants (2-3 per angle)
## Budget Allocation
## Campaign Structure
## KPIs & Benchmarks
## 90-Day Plan (Month 1: baselines, 2: optimize, 3: expand)