Industry Guide · 16 chapters · first chapter coming soon
Google Ads for SaaS: Sign-Ups Are Free. Paying Customers Aren't.
A software company bids against category leaders that buy ads on template searches, review sites that advertise "top 10" lists, and rivals whose comparison pages rank on its own name. Most free trials ask for no credit card, so a sign-up costs the buyer nothing, and Google Ads will happily buy you more of them. These sixteen chapters build a Google Ads account in the order we build them, using real searches, ads, websites and buyer reviews from software companies that sell project management, CRM, payroll and scheduling tools in the US. Your numbers will differ. The method works for any B2B software company.
A Sign-Up and a Paying Customer Are Different Conversions. Your Account Should Know Which Is Which.
New account? Chapter 1 comes first. Each chapter uses the setup from the ones before it.
Measure
Count trials and demos, send back the deals your CRM qualifies, then do the payback math
Bid on the Qualified Lead
Definitions vs Products
The Payback Math
Build
One ad group per search, bids set by hand, and ads written from what buyers say in reviews
One Page per Search
The Searches Without a Brand
The Mess Before the Software
Bid by Hand Until 30
Ads Written From Reviews
Launch
Countries, currency and the Google defaults to settle before the first click
Countries, Currency and Language
Scale
Wider campaigns, your brand campaign and AI Max, once Search brings in qualified leads
Performance Max After Qualified Leads
Company Size, Not Job Title
Brand Campaigns Without Login Searches
AI Max Last
SaaS
Bonus chapters: competitor campaigns, free trial vs demo, and the rules for trial terms and review badges
Bonus: Competitor and Alternative Campaigns
Bonus: Free Trial vs Demo
Bonus: Trial Terms and Review Badges
The Rollout, Month by Month
The order matters as much as the campaigns. Each step waits until the one before it has taught Google something.
Isolation and brand
Exact match on the category searches you know bring qualified leads, plus your product name in a campaign of its own, with login searches excluded.
Exploration
Broad match with a target CPA once the account logs about 30 qualified leads a month. Busier accounts get there sooner; niche products can take longer.
Performance Max
The usual pace, not the rule. It waits for about 30 qualified leads a month, sent back from your CRM. Software sold through demos may skip it.
Competitor campaigns, Demand Gen and AI Max
Comparison pages for "alternative" searches, video aimed by company size, and AI Max last.
How to Use This Guide
Starting a new account?
Read in order. Tracking trials, demos and the deals your CRM qualifies comes before the first keyword.
Chapter 01 →Thinking about bidding on a competitor's name?
It belongs in its own campaign, pointed at a real comparison page. Read the competitor chapter first.
Chapter 14 →Real software examples
Examples come from software companies advertising in the US, described as we found them. Your numbers will differ; the method is the same.
Chapter 05 →Google Ads for SaaS
Software Buyers Compare Two Products, Not Ten. Make Sure Yours Is One of Them.
We've run paid ads for 25+ years and seen just about every way a budget goes sideways. Get on the phone with someone who does this every day. Bring your questions, your numbers and your skepticism. You'll hang up knowing what we'd do, whether you hire us or not.
Or see how our Google Ads management works.