High-intent search
Commercial and technical queries only, with a firm negative list.
The core problem in B2B paid media is that the platform optimises towards whatever you tell it success is. Tell it a form fill is success and it will find you form fills: from students, from competitors, from people who will never buy. The account looks efficient and the pipeline stays empty.
The fix is offline conversion import: pushing qualified opportunities and closed deals back into Google and LinkedIn so bidding optimises towards the traffic that actually became revenue. Combined with tight intent targeting and exclusion lists, it changes the economics of the channel.
Feed the platform your closed deals
The core failure in B2B paid media is optimising towards form fills. The algorithm obliges, finding the people most likely to fill in a form (students, job seekers, competitors, consultants), and the account looks efficient while the pipeline stays empty.
Offline conversion import fixes this. Push qualified opportunities and closed deals back into Google and LinkedIn, and bidding starts chasing the traffic that became revenue. It is the single highest-leverage change available in most B2B accounts.
Exclusions matter as much as targeting
Existing customers, current employees, job seekers, competitors and students all click B2B ads, and every one of those clicks is paid for. Customer match lists, IP exclusions, negative keywords around careers and study terms, and company exclusions on LinkedIn recover a surprising share of budget.
This is unglamorous list maintenance and it is where a meaningful part of the efficiency gain in a B2B account actually comes from.
Long cycles need patient measurement
Optimising a B2B account on a thirty-day conversion window when your sales cycle is six months means you are optimising on a fraction of the signal, and mostly on the fastest, least considered deals.
We set conversion windows to match reality, use leading indicators for weekly decisions, and reserve structural changes for when there is enough closed-loop data to justify them.
Search and LinkedIn do different jobs
Google captures demand that already exists: someone is searching for what you sell, today. LinkedIn creates awareness among accounts that have not started looking.
If budget is tight, capture existing demand first: it is cheaper and it proves the funnel works. Then add LinkedIn to widen the top once you know what a qualified opportunity is worth.