Do you want to connect with SaaS prospects easily and convert as many as possible?
Google Ads offers a 200% ROI as businesses make an average of $2 for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.
(Source: Finances Online)
If you run a SaaS business, you’ve probably heard that you need to get on Google Ads, whether you’re selling directly to consumers or to other businesses.
As a SaaS startup, your business relies on attracting new customers to increase your revenue and market share. Google Ads are one of the most popular methods of doing this, as they’re easy to set up and track in real-time, allowing you to quickly make adjustments based on what’s working and what isn’t.
But how can you tell if it’s worth the money to spend thousands of dollars on Google ads?
We’ll be discussing the effectiveness of Google Ads for SaaS in boosting conversions for your brand under the following headings:
- An introduction to Google Ads for SaaS startups
- The challenges of running Google Ads for SaaS startups
- Advanced strategies to skyrocket your conversions
- How to set up a Google Ads campaign for SaaS
Let’s get rolling!
An Introduction to Google Ads for SaaS Startups
Does Google Ads work for startups? Can a startup afford to spend money on ads when it doesn’t have cash reserves, isn’t generating revenue, and is still trying to prove there’s a market for its product or service?
The answer is yes.
4 out of 5 (80%) businesses running PPC ad campaigns focus more on Google ads.
Google Ads offers an easy way to reach new users with a simple and cost-effective digital marketing for SaaS startups campaign. It is crucial for SaaS startups that are just getting off their feet, as they want to boost conversions in 2022. Since they don’t have much budget, they want to find effective ways to get in front of new customers without spending a lot of cash.
Google Ads can provide SaaS startups with precisely that. These SaaS ads help companies reach a large audience at low costs, making them appealing to SaaS startups trying to expand into new markets or break into big cities.
In addition, there are several factors about Google Ads that make them particularly well suited for B2B companies:
- The setup process is straightforward.
- They allow you to target potential customers based on their location and search history.
- You can choose your bid price per click, to determine how much money you spend per conversion.
- It only takes a few minutes to set up your first ad campaign.
- There are no minimum contract terms or cancellation fees.
Before we dive deeper, here’s a quick overview of how Google ads work.
The advertising platform allows you to place ads across search and display formats and optimize them based on performance. In addition, you can pay for these clicks using cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM).
CPM pricing, based on an ad’s exposure, is usually cheaper but less precise. CPC pricing, meanwhile, is more expensive but lets you target specific keywords. However, to get started with CPC campaigns, you need to set a budget and define your target audience.
Once that’s done, it’s time to create some SaaS ads!
The Challenges of Running Google Ads for SaaS Startups
In a Campaign Monitor survey, startups across various industries including technology listed customer acquisition as their biggest challenge, while increasing prospects and web traffic came second and third.
(Source: Campaign Monitor)
There are many challenges associated with running digital marketing for SaaS startups campaigns. Google Ads are an excellent option for your SaaS startup when you’re looking to make your first sales, but your campaign will suffer if you ignore the challenges.
Generally, there are two types of problems SaaS startups encounter with Google Ads: It either doesn’t work, or it costs too much.
For example, some people run campaigns that have such low-quality scores that they pay more than double what they need to be paying. Or perhaps you find yourself stuck in a bidding war, and suddenly, your cost per click has doubled or tripled because other advertisers bid higher than you anticipated.
Another issue is that many people simply don’t know how to use Google Ads for SaaS correctly. As a result, many companies find that they waste their budget on clicks from non-converting traffic sources and, even worse, clicks from competitor domains.
In addition, setting up ads isn’t intuitive at all. If you want to set up ads correctly, it will take some time; it’s not something that can be done quickly. But if you have time to spare, it is definitely worth doing. Google Ads might seem intimidating at first, but when used properly, they can provide great value to your business.
How can a business owner or CMO combat these challenges?
To combat these challenges, you need to find a SaaS marketing strategy that fits your needs and provides value to your customers. You can start with these two:
#1- Avoiding Traffic that Doesn’t Convert:
You have to create highly targeted ad groups and avoid irrelevant keywords (traffic sources). By targeting relevant keywords, you will also find yourself converting higher quality leads which is what you are looking for as a SaaS startup – people who are willing to pay for your product or service.
#2- Finding a SaaS Strategy that Fits Your Needs:
There are many SaaS marketing strategies out there but not all are suitable for your particular brand.
The best way to find the best SaaS strategy for your needs is by testing different SaaS marketing strategies until you find one that works. We recommend starting with tools like SpyFu, SEMRush, or WordStream and then optimizing your campaign based on their data.
Advanced Strategies to Skyrocket Your Conversions
The market for SaaS is massive—and incredibly lucrative. Statista estimates that enterprises will spend over $672 billion in 2022 buying and implementing software.
(Source: Statista)
When you consider that those companies are just one part of a vast ecosystem of enterprise technology, it becomes clear how ample an opportunity there is to grow your business through SaaS advertising. After all, there’s plenty of money to be made in SaaS—and you should take advantage of every opportunity available to grow your business.
But what if we told you that you could increase your conversions by 20% or more by using a few advanced SaaS strategies with Google Ads?
Yes, it is possible.
Here are 11 advanced Google Ads for SaaS strategies:
1. Test and Track Results
To get more conversions from your campaigns, you’ll need to optimize them for your target audience. One of the best ways to do that is by testing out different types of ad copy, keywords, and bid amounts until you find something that works.
Once you have a SaaS marketing strategy that’s working well, it’s crucial to track your results to keep refining them over time.
2. Ad Extensions
The right ad extensions can help make sure that people interested in what you have to offer click through and visit your website or landing page. It’s essential to use them correctly, though, not just spam them everywhere.