The B2B Paid Ads Playbook: Meta vs LinkedIn vs Google for SaaS Companies

I’m going to tell you something that might upset the advertising platform evangelists: There is no single best platform for B2B paid ads.

I’ve managed over $2M in B2B advertising spend across the last four years. I’ve seen LinkedIn ads generate $400K pipeline from $15K spend. I’ve also seen the same budget burn through with zero qualified leads. I’ve watched Meta campaigns outperform LinkedIn at a quarter of the cost. And I’ve seen Google Search campaigns deliver 3x the ROI of everything else combined.

The pattern? Context is everything. Your product, price point, audience awareness level, and sales cycle length determine which platform wins. The companies that figure this out early save themselves hundreds of thousands in wasted spend.

Today I’m sharing the complete playbook we use at Momentum Nexus when building paid advertising strategies for B2B SaaS clients. This isn’t theory from a webinar. It’s the actual framework we use to allocate six-figure budgets and measure performance across channels.

Let’s break down each platform, when it shines, when it fails, and exactly how to orchestrate them together.

The Fundamental Difference: Demand Capture vs. Demand Creation

Before we talk platforms, we need to talk strategy. B2B paid advertising serves two fundamentally different purposes:

Demand Capture: Reaching people who already know they have a problem and are actively searching for solutions. These buyers are in-market. They’re comparing options. They want to find you.

Demand Creation: Reaching people who don’t yet know they have a problem, or don’t know your category of solution exists. These buyers need education. They need to be moved from unaware to aware to interested.

Here’s the critical insight: Different platforms excel at different stages.

Platform	Primary Strength	Secondary Use
Google Search	Demand Capture	Brand Defense
LinkedIn	Demand Creation	ABM Retargeting
Meta	Demand Creation	Broad Retargeting
Google Display/YouTube	Demand Creation	Retargeting

Companies that try to use LinkedIn for demand capture or Google Search for demand creation typically get burned. The costs don’t make sense, and the results disappoint.

Now let’s go deep on each platform.

Google Ads: The Demand Capture Machine

Google Search remains the highest-intent channel in B2B marketing. Someone typing “enterprise CRM software comparison” into Google is infinitely more qualified than someone scrolling LinkedIn who happens to work at a company that might need a CRM.

When Google Search Works Best

High-intent, defined categories: If people search for your product category, you need to be there. “Project management software,” “HRIS platform,” “accounts payable automation” - these are buying searches.

High ACV products ($5K+): The economics of Google Ads in B2B require higher deal sizes. CPCs for B2B keywords range from $5-50, sometimes higher. You need enough margin to absorb those costs.

Shorter consideration cycles: Google captures intent at the moment of search. If your buyers make decisions relatively quickly (weeks, not months), you can often close them before the intent fades.

Competitive, established markets: If you’re in a category with recognized players, prospects search before they buy. Not being there means losing deals you never knew existed.

When Google Search Struggles

New categories: If you’re creating a market, nobody’s searching for it yet. You can’t capture demand that doesn’t exist.

Low ACV products (under $2K): The math often doesn’t work. If your average deal is $1,200 and CPCs are $15, you might need 20 clicks to get one demo. That’s $300 in ad spend before you even talk to someone.

Very long sales cycles: Intent captured today might not convert for 18 months. Maintaining attribution and proving ROI becomes extremely difficult.

The Google B2B Campaign Structure

After testing dozens of structures, here’s what consistently works:

Campaign 1: High-Intent Keywords (60% of budget)

Product category searches (“scheduling software for enterprises”)
Comparison searches (“Salesforce alternatives”)
Problem-aware searches (“how to automate invoice processing”)
Use exact match and phrase match heavily
Aggressive bidding (target impression share 80%+)

Campaign 2: Brand Defense (15% of budget)

Your brand name + variations
Competitor conquest on your brand terms (defense)
Very high target impression share (95%+)

Campaign 3: Competitor Targeting (15% of budget)

Competitor brand names + “alternative,” “vs,” “comparison”
More careful bidding (test ROI before scaling)
Custom landing pages addressing competitor weaknesses

Campaign 4: Long-Tail Discovery (10% of budget)

Broad match keywords with smart bidding
Heavy negative keyword management
Use for keyword discovery, then move winners to Campaign 1

Google B2B Benchmarks (2025-2026)

Based on our client data and industry research:

Metric	B2B SaaS Average	Top Performers
CPC	$8-25	$5-12
CTR	3-5%	6-10%
Conversion Rate	2-4%	5-8%
Cost per Lead	$80-200	$40-100
Cost per Opportunity	$400-1,200	$200-500

The secret to outperforming benchmarks: Landing page quality and offer relevance. A generic “Request Demo” page converting at 2% will never compete with a specific landing page matching the search intent with a compelling, low-friction offer.

Performance Max for B2B: Our Take

Google’s been pushing Performance Max hard, and we get questions about it constantly. Here’s our honest assessment for B2B:

It can work for: Retargeting, brand campaigns, broad awareness It struggles with: High-intent keyword precision, B2B lead quality

The algorithm optimizes for conversions, not lead quality. In B2B, not all leads are equal. A Performance Max campaign that generates 50% more leads but 80% worse quality isn’t a win. Use with caution and maintain parallel Search campaigns for comparison.

LinkedIn Ads: The B2B Precision Tool

LinkedIn is the platform B2B marketers love to hate. The CPCs are brutal ($8-15 average), the interface is clunky, and the targeting options, while powerful, require careful setup. But when it works, nothing else comes close for reaching specific B2B audiences.

When LinkedIn Works Best

Account-Based Marketing campaigns: LinkedIn’s company and job title targeting lets you reach exactly who you want. Running ABM for 50 enterprise accounts? LinkedIn is your platform.

New category creation: When nobody’s searching for what you sell, you need to find your buyers. LinkedIn’s professional targeting lets you reach the right titles at the right companies.

Expensive products with long sales cycles: If your ACV is $50K+ and you’re willing to invest in nurturing relationships over months, LinkedIn’s higher costs become justifiable.

Content-led strategies: LinkedIn users expect to engage with content. Thought leadership campaigns, research reports, and educational content perform well in the feed.

When LinkedIn Struggles

Performance/direct response at scale: If you need 500 leads per month at $50 CPL, LinkedIn probably won’t get you there. The costs are too high for volume plays.

Lower ACV products: Similar to the Google problem, but worse. LinkedIn’s higher CPCs mean you need even higher deal sizes to make the math work.

Simple, transactional products: If your buyer doesn’t need to be educated, they just need to find you and sign up, LinkedIn’s costs don’t make sense.

The LinkedIn Campaign Architecture That Works

Forget LinkedIn’s campaign objective suggestions. Here’s the structure we use:

Layer 1: Cold Audience Targeting (40% of budget)

Objective: Engagement or Video Views (cheaper than traffic)
Content: Thought leadership, industry insights, problem education
Targeting: Job titles + company size + industry
Goal: Build an engaged audience, not immediate leads

Layer 2: Warm Retargeting (35% of budget)

Objective: Lead Gen or Website Conversions
Content: Case studies, ROI calculators, comparison guides
Targeting: People who engaged with Layer 1 content, website visitors
Goal: Move engaged prospects toward conversion

Layer 3: High-Intent Conversion (25% of budget)

Objective: Lead Gen Forms
Content: Demo requests, free trials, consultation offers
Targeting: Company lists (ABM), multiple engagement signals
Goal: Convert the warmest prospects

This layered approach typically reduces CPL by 40-60% compared to running direct response to cold audiences.

LinkedIn Ad Formats: What Actually Works

Sponsored Content (Single Image): The workhorse. Clean, professional, works for most objectives. Use for thought leadership and softer CTAs.

Sponsored Content (Video): Excellent for awareness and engagement. Video completion rates can be strong. Keep videos under 30 seconds for best performance.

Carousel Ads: Underrated for storytelling. Great for multi-point value propositions or walking through a framework.

Lead Gen Forms: Controversial, but we like them for lower-friction offers (guides, reports, webinars). The forms auto-populate with LinkedIn data, increasing conversion. But lead quality can be lower than website forms.

Message Ads (InMail): Extremely hit or miss. Can work for highly targeted, personalized outreach. Usually fails for generic messages. Cost per send is high.

Document Ads: Newer format, excellent for thought leadership content. Native PDF viewing keeps people on platform and builds engagement.

Conversation Ads: Terrible in our experience. Low engagement, poor UX. Skip them.

LinkedIn B2B Benchmarks (2025-2026)

Metric	Average	Top Performers
CPC	$8-15	$5-9
CTR	0.4-0.6%	0.8-1.2%
CPM	$30-50	$20-35
Lead Gen Form Rate	10-15%	20-30%
Cost per Lead	$150-300	$75-150

The secret to LinkedIn success: Don’t sell too early. LinkedIn users have commercial intent but resist hard pitches. Content that educates and builds credibility outperforms content that pushes for demos.

Meta Ads: The Underrated B2B Channel

Here’s the hot take that usually surprises people: Meta (Facebook and Instagram) often outperforms LinkedIn for B2B at 1/3 the cost.

I know what you’re thinking. Facebook is for consumers. Instagram is for influencers. Neither is for enterprise software.

That thinking is outdated.

The B2B decision-makers you’re trying to reach on LinkedIn? They’re also on Facebook and Instagram. They’re scrolling in the evening. They’re checking feeds on weekends. And because fewer B2B advertisers compete on Meta, the costs are dramatically lower.

When Meta Works Best

Broad awareness campaigns: If you’re trying to build brand recognition across a large audience, Meta’s reach and cost efficiency is unmatched.

Content promotion: Thought leadership, research reports, and educational content can perform excellently on Meta, especially with video.

Retargeting: Meta’s pixel and audience capabilities are still the industry standard. Your website visitors can be retargeted on Meta extremely efficiently.

Lower ACV products: If your product costs $500-5,000, Meta’s lower CPCs can make unit economics work that would fail on LinkedIn.

When Meta Struggles

Precise B2B targeting: Meta removed many B2B targeting options (job titles, etc.) over the years. You can’t target “CFOs at companies with 500+ employees” the way you can on LinkedIn.

High-ACV, niche products: If you’re selling $200K enterprise software to 50 companies in the world, Meta’s broad targeting won’t help.

Highly regulated industries: Finance, healthcare, and similar industries face targeting restrictions that limit Meta’s utility.

B2B Targeting on Meta: The Workarounds

Since Meta removed explicit B2B targeting, here’s how we reach professional audiences:

Custom Audiences (most reliable)

Website visitors (requires pixel)
Customer lists (email upload)
Engagement audiences (video views, page engagement)
Lookalike audiences from customer lists

Interest Targeting (supplementary)

Business publications (Forbes, HBR, TechCrunch)
Industry tools and software (Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack)
Professional events and conferences
Industry associations and groups

Behavioral Signals

Small business owners
Facebook page admins
Technology early adopters

Layered Approach Combine interests + behaviors + demographics to narrow audiences. Example: People interested in “Salesforce” + “small business owners” + age 28-55 = reasonable B2B audience.

Meta Campaign Structure for B2B

Campaign 1: Awareness/Engagement (30% of budget)

Objective: Video Views or Engagement
Creative: Educational content, thought leadership
Targeting: Broad interest-based audiences
Goal: Build audiences for retargeting

Campaign 2: Traffic/Content Consumption (30% of budget)

Objective: Traffic or Landing Page Views
Creative: Blog posts, guides, webinars
Targeting: Engagement audiences + lookalikes
Goal: Drive website traffic, build pixel data

Campaign 3: Conversion/Retargeting (40% of budget)

Objective: Conversions
Creative: Direct response, demo offers, trials
Targeting: Website visitors, engaged users, customer lookalikes
Goal: Generate leads and demos

Meta B2B Benchmarks (2025-2026)

Metric	B2B Average	Top Performers
CPC	$1.50-4	$0.80-2
CTR	0.8-1.5%	2-4%
CPM	$8-20	$5-12
Cost per Lead	$40-100	$20-50
Conversion Rate	3-6%	8-15%

Yes, those CPLs are 3-5x lower than LinkedIn. The trade-off is lead quality. Meta leads typically require more qualification. But the volume and cost efficiency can still make it worthwhile.

The Integrated Playbook: Orchestrating All Three Platforms

Now we get to the interesting part. Running Meta, LinkedIn, and Google independently is leaving money on the table. The real power comes from orchestrating them together.

The Full-Funnel Framework

Here’s how we structure multi-platform campaigns for B2B SaaS clients:

Top of Funnel: Awareness & Education

Meta: 50% of TOF budget. Video content, thought leadership
LinkedIn: 30% of TOF budget. Sponsored content, document ads
YouTube: 20% of TOF budget. Educational video content

Middle of Funnel: Engagement & Consideration

Meta: 30% of MOF budget. Blog retargeting, guide downloads
LinkedIn: 50% of MOF budget. Case studies, webinars, ABM
Google Display: 20% of MOF budget. Remarketing

Bottom of Funnel: Conversion

Google Search: 60% of BOF budget. High-intent keywords
LinkedIn: 25% of BOF budget. Demo retargeting, ABM conversion
Meta: 15% of BOF budget. Website visitor retargeting

Budget Allocation by Company Stage

The right platform mix depends on where you are:

Early Stage (Pre-PMF, under $1M ARR)

Google Search: 70%
Meta: 20%
LinkedIn: 10%

Focus on demand capture. You need customers and revenue, not brand awareness. Google captures existing intent efficiently.

Growth Stage ($1-10M ARR)

Google Search: 45%
LinkedIn: 35%
Meta: 20%

Start investing in demand creation. LinkedIn ABM for enterprise, Meta for broader awareness, Google for continued capture.

Scale Stage ($10M+ ARR)

LinkedIn: 40%
Google Search: 35%
Meta: 25%

Brand building becomes important. LinkedIn thought leadership and ABM at scale, with Google maintaining capture and Meta driving efficiency.

Cross-Platform Retargeting: The Secret Weapon

Here’s a tactic that dramatically improves performance: Cross-platform audience building.

Someone watches your video on Meta? Retarget them on LinkedIn with a case study. Someone clicks a LinkedIn ad but doesn’t convert? Retarget on Google Display. Website visitor from Google Search? Follow up on Meta with social proof.

This requires:

Pixels/tags on all platforms
Custom audience creation
Exclusion audiences (don’t show the same ad everywhere)
Frequency caps (don’t annoy people)

The result is surrounding your prospect across platforms without being creepy. They see consistent messaging, building familiarity and trust.

Attribution: The Elephant in the Room

Multi-platform campaigns create attribution nightmares. Someone might see a Meta ad, click a LinkedIn ad, search your brand on Google, and then convert. Which platform gets credit?

Our approach:

First-touch attribution: Useful for understanding what creates awareness Last-touch attribution: Useful for understanding what closes Multi-touch attribution: Useful for understanding the full journey

We typically weight:

40% to first touch (they found us)
40% to last touch (they converted)
20% distributed across middle touches

More importantly, we run incrementality tests. Turn off Meta for two weeks and watch what happens to overall pipeline. This tells you the true contribution better than any attribution model.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Let me share the most expensive mistakes we see B2B companies make with paid ads:

Mistake 1: Targeting Too Broad on LinkedIn

Targeting “Marketing Managers in United States” seems reasonable until you realize that’s 2 million people. Your $10K/month budget will barely scratch the surface, and you’ll reach mostly irrelevant people.

The fix: Layer targeting. Marketing Manager + Company size 200-1000 + Industry: Technology + Seniority: Senior = much more focused.

Mistake 2: Sending Paid Traffic to the Homepage

Your homepage serves everyone. That’s its job. But paid traffic needs specific landing pages that match the ad’s promise and move toward a clear action.

The fix: Create landing pages for each major campaign theme. Ad about pricing? Landing page addresses pricing. Ad about a specific use case? Landing page goes deep on that use case.

Mistake 3: Optimizing for the Wrong Metrics

Low CPCs feel good but mean nothing if those clicks don’t become revenue. We’ve seen campaigns with $3 CPCs produce zero customers and campaigns with $25 CPCs produce 20x ROI.

The fix: Optimize for pipeline and revenue, not clicks or even leads. Connect your CRM to your advertising platforms and measure what matters.

Mistake 4: Giving Up Too Early

B2B buying cycles are long. A campaign that generates zero leads in month one might produce massive returns in month three as retargeting and nurturing take effect.

The fix: Commit to 90-day test periods minimum. Set expectations appropriately with stakeholders.

Mistake 5: Running the Same Creative for Months

Ad fatigue is real, especially on social platforms. Audiences stop noticing ads they’ve seen repeatedly.

The fix: Refresh creative every 4-6 weeks. Test variations constantly. Keep what works, replace what doesn’t.

Measuring Success: The Metrics That Matter

Finally, let’s talk about what to actually measure. Here’s our B2B paid ads reporting framework:

Leading Indicators (Weekly)

Impressions and reach
Click-through rate
Cost per click
Conversion rate (ad to lead)
Cost per lead

Core Metrics (Monthly)

Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs)
Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs)
Cost per MQL/SQL
Lead to opportunity rate
Pipeline generated

Business Outcomes (Quarterly)

Revenue influenced
Customer acquisition cost
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Payback period

The Reporting Cadence

Weekly: Quick check on spend, CPCs, lead volume. Make tactical adjustments. Monthly: Deeper analysis of lead quality, pipeline contribution. Make strategic adjustments. Quarterly: Full business review. ROI calculation, budget reallocation, strategy refinement.

Building Your B2B Paid Ads Strategy

If you’ve made it this far, you understand that B2B paid advertising isn’t about picking a platform and running ads. It’s about understanding buyer intent, matching platforms to goals, and orchestrating campaigns that work together.

Here’s how to get started:

Week 1: Audit your current situation

What platforms are you on?
What’s working and what isn’t?
Where are the gaps in your funnel?

Week 2: Define your strategy

What’s your primary goal (capture vs. create)?
What’s your budget and timeline?
What does success look like?

Week 3: Build your foundation

Create/update landing pages
Install all tracking pixels
Set up conversion tracking

Week 4: Launch initial campaigns

Start with your highest-confidence platform
Run A/B tests from day one
Set realistic expectations

Months 2-3: Expand and optimize

Add secondary platforms
Build retargeting audiences
Test new creative and messaging

Ongoing: Iterate and scale

Double down on what works
Cut what doesn’t
Continuously test new approaches

Final Thoughts

The companies that win at B2B paid advertising aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones with the clearest strategy, the most disciplined execution, and the patience to let campaigns mature.

Google captures existing demand with precision. LinkedIn creates demand with professional targeting. Meta extends reach with efficiency. Together, they form a complete system for acquiring B2B customers through paid channels.

The playbook I’ve shared here works. We use it every day with clients ranging from seed-stage startups to publicly traded companies. The principles remain the same, the specific tactics adapt to each situation.

Start where you are. Use what you have. Focus on what matters. And remember: in B2B advertising, patience and precision beat budget every time.

Need help building your paid advertising strategy? At Momentum Nexus, we help B2B SaaS companies design and execute full-funnel paid advertising programs. Get in touch to discuss your growth goals.