PPC Strategy for SaaS: 10 Expert Tips to Upgrade in 2025

If you’ve ever tried running PPC for a SaaS product, you know the drill.

Campaigns go live, leads start to trickle in, your CAC looks fine… until you zoom out. Sales says the leads aren’t qualified. Your CRM is full of demo requests that go nowhere. And the only people clicking on your Performance Max ads seem to be bots — or interns.

Welcome to paid search in SaaS.

In 2025, throwing money at Google Ads or LinkedIn without a structured approach is a fast way to burn through budget — and patience. For SaaS companies, especially in B2B, PPC isn’t about traffic. It’s about building a repeatable acquisition system that turns ad spend into pipeline you can actually close. In other words, PPC isn’t a standalone channel — it’s a core part of your SaaS marketing strategy.

Here’s how we approach it — practical takeaways from years of running PPC for SaaS.

We’ve outlined 10 recommendations below — all based on what’s actually worked across dozens of real campaigns.

1. Structure Your Campaigns Like a SaaS Sales Funnel

Forget single-campaign setups or lumping all your keywords into one ad group.

SaaS buyers go through multiple steps before they’re ready to talk. Your PPC campaigns need to match that.

We break it down like this:

• Top-of-funnel: Pain-focused keywords
  Example: “how to automate employee onboarding”
  → Lead magnets, free tools, interactive content
  
  
• Mid-funnel: Use case, niche, and integration keywords
  Example: “CRM for B2B startups” or “Hubspot integration for CPQ”
  → Comparison pages, ROI calculators, live demo invites
  
  
• Bottom-of-funnel: Branded + high-intent terms
  Example: “Acme onboarding software pricing” or “Acme vs BambooHR”
  → Short, benefit-driven landing pages with direct CTAs
  
  

Instead of hoping one page fits all, build specific journeys by intent level. And yes, that means creating multiple versions of landing pages for the same product — tailored to the buyer’s stage.

2. Stop Measuring “Leads” — Track Real Outcomes

Most paid campaigns optimize for form fills. But in SaaS, that’s often where the real work begins.

You need to know:

• Which campaigns bring in qualified pipeline
• What sales conversion rates look like by campaign/source
• Where drop-offs happen (e.g. booked demo but no-show, or MQLs that never become SQLs)

That means integrating your ad platforms with your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.) — and making sure conversion events are clearly defined.

At Aimers, we always set up micro-conversions like “Pricing Page Visit,” “Integration Page Viewed,” or “Feature Comparison Clicked.” They help algorithms learn faster — and give you a way to catch issues before they show up in pipeline.

3. Automate Bidding, but Feed It Good Data

Google’s smart bidding can be helpful. But only if you’re pointing it in the right direction.

If your goals aren’t clear — or if you’re tracking the wrong things — it’ll optimize for clicks, not customers.

Here’s how to make it work:

• Don’t just track form fills. Add mid-funnel actions too — like visits to your pricing page or feature pages.
• Use Max Conversions with a target CPA. Skip “maximize clicks” — it wastes budget fast.
• Set conversions at the campaign level, not for your whole account. Each campaign should focus on a specific outcome.
• Hold off on Performance Max until your other campaigns are working well and sending solid signals.
• Still use manual bidding in places where smart bidding struggles — like competitor terms or broad keywords with unclear intent.

The algorithm is only as smart as the data you feed it. We’ve covered this in more depth in our guide to using automation in Google Ads — including what to watch out for when feeding the algorithm. 

4. Landing Pages Still Make or Break Your Results

You can run the best ads in the world — but if your landing page doesn’t pull its weight, you’re throwing money away.

We’ve seen conversion rates double just by fixing a few basics:

• Making the headline match what people actually searched for
• Putting a strong customer quote right at the top
• Showing who uses your product (“Trusted by 180+ fintech teams” beats generic trust badges)
• Adding a quick product video or short walkthrough — something that shows, not tells

Forget fancy animations or clever layouts. What matters most is that the page loads fast, works on mobile, and stays laser-focused on the one thing you want the user to do. 

One more thing: don’t treat conversions like a single moment. Buyers make decisions across multiple touchpoints — and strong landing pages support that flow. It’s worth thinking about how your content fits into the broader customer journey, not just the final click. We dive into that — along with several overlooked CRO pitfalls — in this post about common conversion mistakes.

Also: test things. One CTA vs. multiple. Long-form vs. compact. Some SaaS buyers like to scroll. Others want answers fast. There’s no one right way — just the version that works for your audience.

5. Rethink How You Set PPC Budgets

SaaS sales cycles are long. So if you're planning PPC budgets based on “let’s test $5K this month,” you’re likely flying blind.

Instead, start with the numbers that matter:

• What’s your target CAC?
• What’s a healthy payback period for your model?
• How much pipeline do you actually need to hit revenue goals?

Once you know that, you can work backward:

• Put more budget into mid- and bottom-funnel campaigns that bring in qualified traffic
• Save a small slice for experiments — like new keywords or landing page tests
• Only scale when you’ve proven that a campaign can turn spend into pipeline (not just leads)

If you're serious about B2B SaaS advertising, your budget should align with payback targets — not gut feel. It’s not about spending more. It’s about spending with purpose.

6. Don't Ignore Multi-Touch Attribution

Last-click doesn’t tell the full story — especially in SaaS.

Buyers rarely click once and convert. They search. They compare. They come back three weeks later through a different channel.

And yet, too many teams still optimize their PPC strategy based on one conversion event at the very end of the funnel.

Instead, shift to multi-touch attribution. It helps you understand which campaigns create momentum early — even if they don’t close the deal.

For example, a LinkedIn click from a TOFU ebook campaign may not look “profitable” on paper, but it could be the first spark in a six-touch sales journey.

Want to dive deeper into optimizing paid campaigns for this? We break it down in this article on LinkedIn Ads optimization tactics — including how to interpret performance beyond the final click.

7. Use Retargeting to Keep the Funnel Moving

Not every visitor is ready to buy — and that’s fine. But if you don’t stay in front of them, someone else will.

Retargeting is still one of the most underrated tools in B2B SaaS paid strategy. Especially when it’s built to reflect where that person dropped off.

For example:

• Visited the pricing page? → Show a use-case video.
• Downloaded a report? → Invite them to a live demo.
• Compared you with a competitor? → Push a testimonial or ROI stat.

The key is message relevance. Lazy retargeting — showing the same generic demo ad to everyone — won’t cut it. Smart remarketing gets personal.

We talk more about this in our writeup on LinkedIn Ads best practices — including tips for segmenting by behavior, not just pages.

8. Factor in LinkedIn Ad Costs (Before They Surprise You)

LinkedIn Ads can be a great fit for high-ACV SaaS — but they’re not cheap.

The average CPC on LinkedIn is around $5.39, and we’ve seen it go much higher in competitive industries. If you’re not prepared, your CAC can spiral before you’ve even reached pipeline.

This doesn’t mean “don’t use LinkedIn.” It means budget with eyes wide open — and use it for what it does best: precise targeting, ABM, and remarketing warm leads.

We break down all the benchmarks (CPC, CPM, CPL) in our deep dive on LinkedIn ad costs, along with where they make sense for SaaS.

9. Keep Testing. Always.

We’ve said this before — but it bears repeating: what worked last quarter might be underperforming today.

The best-performing PPC programs we run all have one thing in common: they don’t stop testing. Ever.

• New landing page layout
• Headline variations
• Ad angles per persona
• Form design or length
• What happens after the click

Even small tweaks — like adding customer logos above the fold — can move the needle. And no, you don’t need a full CRO team to start.

For some quick wins, we put together a list of 7 small-but-mighty Google Ads optimization tweaks that deliver impact without a full redesign.

10. Should You Outsource PPC? Here’s When It Makes Sense

Many SaaS teams try to handle PPC management for SaaS in-house — and that’s totally fine in the early stages.

But at some point, paid search stops being a task and becomes its own growth engine. That’s when things get tricky.

It might be time to bring in a dedicated team if:

• You’re getting leads, but sales doesn’t trust them
• You can’t clearly see what campaigns are driving pipeline
• You haven’t changed your ads or landing pages in months
• Your team’s stretched thin and PPC just isn’t getting the focus it needs

A good agency doesn’t just “manage campaigns.” They connect the dots between paid traffic, pipeline, and revenue — and help you move faster without losing control.

Takeaways

• Structure your PPC like your funnel. TOFU, MOFU, BOFU — separate intent requires separate campaigns, landing pages, and offers.
• Don’t obsess over leads. Track pipeline, not form fills. Integrate your CRM early — or you’ll optimize for the wrong signals.
• Automate with intent. Smart bidding only works if you give it meaningful data. Garbage in = budget out.
• Landing pages matter more than ads. If your page doesn’t match search intent or answer objections, your PPC performance will always plateau.
• Budget from revenue, not from hope. Work backward from CAC and payback goals — not gut feel or “let’s test $5K.”
• Multi-touch > last-click. SaaS journeys are long. Know what actually influenced the deal, not just who showed up last.
• Retarget with purpose. Customize messaging to match behavior. A generic “Still interested?” ad won’t move the needle.
• LinkedIn isn’t cheap. But it works — if you plan for high CPCs and use it surgically for ABM, not spray-and-pray.
• Test constantly. Headlines. Offers. CTAs. Landing formats. PPC dies when it stops transforming.
• Know when to hand it off. If your team can’t give PPC the attention it needs, outsource it to someone who can run it like a growth engine — not a checkbox.

FAQ

What should a SaaS PPC strategy actually look like in 2025?
It should follow your sales funnel — not a generic campaign setup. That means separate campaigns for top, middle, and bottom-funnel intent, with tailored messaging and landing pages at each stage.

How do we make sure our PPC leads turn into real pipeline?
Track more than just demo requests. Connect ad platforms with your CRM, and measure pipeline contribution, SQL rates, and CAC — not just form fills.

Should we still use Performance Max campaigns?
Yes — but not by default. Only roll out Performance Max when you’ve already trained the algorithm with intent-driven data from well-structured search campaigns.

How do we know it’s time to outsource PPC?
If you’re struggling to connect spend with pipeline, leads don’t convert, or your team’s stretched thin — it’s time. A strong partner helps you build a full-funnel system, not just run ads.

Work With Aimers

We’ve been helping SaaS companies grow through paid search for over a decade — with $30M+ managed ad spend, senior teams, and a process designed to fit how B2B actually works.

You won’t get dashboards full of “impressions.” You’ll get CAC models, pipeline influence, and real alignment with sales. Let’s talk and see if we’re a good match.