Google Ads for B2B lead generation: What high-performing accounts do differently

Most B2B marketers running Google Ads face the same frustrating reality. Budgets disappear into vague clicks, cost per lead continues to climb and the quality of enquiries rarely justifies the spend.

Yet, some accounts consistently deliver qualified pipeline at scale.

After managing hundreds of B2B Google Ads accounts at Hallam, we’ve identified the specific practices that separate high-performers from under-performers. The difference rarely comes down to budget size or industry. It comes down to structural discipline and targeting precision, combined with relentless performance optimisation.

Account structure makes or breaks performance

The foundation of every high-performing B2B Google Ads account is its structure. Poor organisation leads to wasted budget and diluted data. It limits your ability to optimise effectively, and makes it nearly impossible to identify what is actually working.

Many accounts we audit suffer from bloated campaign structures with hundreds of loosely related keywords stuffed into single ad groups.

High-performers build accounts around intent, not volume. They segment campaigns by business objective and service line, ensuring each campaign has a clear commercial purpose. Rather than cramming multiple services into one campaign, they create separate campaigns for distinct offerings. This enables controlled budget allocation and meaningful performance analysis whilst allowing for messaging that is tailored to each service area.

Within campaigns, the best accounts use what is known as Single Theme Ad Groups (STAGs). Each ad group focuses on a tightly related cluster of high-intent keywords, typically between five and 15 terms. This approach improves Quality Score by maintaining strong relevance between keywords, ad copy and landing pages.

Perhaps most importantly, it allows budget to flow toward what actually drives pipeline rather than getting diluted across loosely related terms.

We see this pattern repeatedly. An account with 200+ keywords spread across unrelated product areas typically shows a cost per lead of £150–200 with conversion rates around 2–3%. After restructuring into service-specific campaigns with themed ad groups, cost per lead often drops by 40–50% and conversion rates can double. The budget allocation doesn’t change, but performance transforms through better structure alone.

Keyword strategy separates amateurs from experts

The average B2B Google Ads account wastes spend on low-intent searches. High-performers eliminate this waste through a disciplined keyword strategy.

1. Prioritise intent over volume They prioritise commercial and transactional keywords over informational terms. Someone searching for “project management software comparison” represents vastly different intent than someone searching for “alternatives to [competitor name]”. The latter indicates active buying consideration. The former indicates research that may not convert for months, if ever.
2. Leverage the long-tail Long-tail keywords deliver disproportionate value in B2B campaigns. Rather than bidding on broad terms like “CRM software” (which attracts early-stage researchers and direct competitors), high performers target specific phrases like “CRM for manufacturing companies” or “B2B CRM with custom reporting”. These longer queries typically cost less per click whilst converting at higher rates because they capture users with defined requirements.
3. Obsess over negative keywords Negative keywords receive obsessive attention in top-performing accounts. Most underperforming accounts have fewer than 50 negative keywords. High performers maintain lists of 200 – 500+ terms, systematically excluding irrelevant traffic.

Common negative keywords in B2B include “free”, “cheap”, “jobs”, “careers”, “courses”, “training”, “DIY”, “tutorial” and competitor brand names (unless running purposeful competitor campaigns).

4. Review search terms religiously Search term reports get reviewed weekly or fortnightly. High performers mine these reports to identify wasteful queries triggering their ads. If someone searches for “free project management templates” and clicks an ad for £12, that is budget down the drain. That query gets added to negatives immediately.
5. Manage Broad Match with caution Broad match, which Google now makes the default, requires careful management. Whilst it can uncover valuable new search terms, it often triggers ads for low-intent queries. High-performers use broad match selectively, primarily for branded terms and well-tested keywords with strong conversion history. For most B2B terms, phrase match still provides better control over relevance.

Targeting precision reduces wasted spend

Google Ads offers multiple targeting layers beyond keywords. High-performing B2B accounts use these options to ensure ads reach the right decision-makers.

• Audience targeting: First-party data from your CRM represents your most valuable asset. Upload customer lists to create “customer match” audiences, then build lookalike audiences that share characteristics with your best clients. These custom audiences can be layered onto search campaigns to monitor performance or restrict who sees your ads.
• Geographic targeting: Many B2B accounts serve specific regions but fail to adjust bids accordingly. If your strongest markets are London and the South East, bid adjustments should reflect that priority. Similarly, if certain areas consistently deliver low-quality leads, exclude them or reduce bids substantially.
• Device strategy: The data shows that whilst 60% of B2B researchers now browse on mobile, conversion rates remain higher on desktop. Smart accounts recognise this pattern. They don’t exclude mobile traffic (which would miss opportunities), but they do adjust bids downward by 20-30% on mobile devices, reflecting the lower conversion likelihood.
• Remarketing (RLSA): These campaigns target people who have previously visited your website but didn’t convert. Because these users already have familiarity with your brand, they convert at significantly higher rates. High-performers create dedicated RLSA campaigns with more aggressive bids and direct CTAs like “Get your demo scheduled today” rather than softer language aimed at cold traffic.
• Multiplatform targeting: Integration with LinkedIn Ads amplifies targeting precision. Whilst this article focuses on Google Ads, the highest-performing B2B strategies layer platforms strategically. Google captures active search demand whilst LinkedIn builds awareness among specific job titles and company profiles. When these channels share data and insights, overall campaign performance improves substantially.

Conversion tracking determines success

You cannot optimise what you don’t measure accurately. This obvious truth gets overlooked constantly. The majority of B2B accounts we audit have incomplete or incorrect conversion tracking.

High-performing accounts track multiple conversion actions at different funnel stages. They don’t just measure form submissions. They track demo requests, content downloads, phone calls, chat conversations, and video views. Each conversion gets assigned appropriate values based on historical close rates and average contract values.

Offline conversion tracking closes the attribution loop. Most B2B sales don’t happen immediately online. A form fill today might become a customer six months later. By importing offline conversion data from your CRM back into Google Ads, you give the platform the signal it needs to optimise toward actual revenue, not just form fills.

Smart bidding strategies work far better with robust conversion data. Target CPA and Target ROAS perform poorly when conversion volume is low or data quality is questionable. For most B2B accounts, we recommend starting with Maximise Conversions with a target CPA constraint. This approach balances automation with control whilst the algorithm learns.

Budget allocation follows data, not hunches

One clear pattern distinguishes high performers from the rest. They allocate budget based on actual performance data, not assumptions about what “should” work.

Branded search campaigns consistently deliver exceptional ROI in B2B. Dreamdata’s 2024 research found that branded search ads generate 1299% ROAS compared to just 78% for non-branded terms. Someone searching for your company name already has intent and familiarity. The cost per click is low and conversion rates are high. Yet many accounts neglect branded campaigns entirely or underfund them.

Non-branded search requires more investment but forms the growth engine. These campaigns target users who don’t know your brand yet, making them more expensive to convert. According to Firebrand’s analysis of B2B tech advertisers, the average cost per conversion for non-branded search reached £140 in 2024. High performers accept these economics but manage them intelligently through constant optimisation.

Avoid Shared Budgets. When multiple campaigns draw from one pool, top-performing campaigns may get budget-starved whilst under-performers consume spend. High performers keep budgets separate at the campaign level, only using shared budgets when campaigns serve identical objectives.

Testing culture drives continuous improvement

The best B2B Google Ads accounts never stop testing. They systematically experiment with ad copy, landing pages, bidding strategies and targeting options.

Ad copy testing follows structured methodologies. Rather than changing multiple variables simultaneously, high performers test one element at a time. They might test different value propositions in the headline whilst keeping descriptions constant, then test description variations once a winning headline emerges.

For Responsive Search Ads (RSAs), high performers provide genuinely distinct options rather than minor variations of the same message. They include specific benefits, demonstrate social proof, create urgency where appropriate and use strong CTAs across their headline options.

Statistical significance gets respected, not rushed. B2B typically generates lower traffic volumes than B2C, making valid testing slower. High performers use significance calculators and wait for conclusive results before making changes. Acting on incomplete data creates false conclusions and suboptimal decisions.

Landing page tests often deliver the biggest wins. Shortening forms from eight fields to four, repositioning testimonials, or changing the CTA button colour might seem trivial, yet these changes frequently improve conversion rates by 20–30% or more.

Reporting focuses on business outcomes

High-performing accounts report on metrics that matter to business leaders, not just marketing KPIs.

Click-through rate and impressions matter less than pipeline contribution and customer acquisition cost. Whilst these tactical metrics inform optimisation decisions, executives care about revenue impact. Intelligent reporting bridges this gap by connecting Google Ads activity to business outcomes.

Our Data & Insights team layers Google Ads performance into broader marketing dashboards that show how paid search complements other channels. This integrated view proves particularly valuable when evaluating whether to increase investment or shift budget between platforms.

Lead quality metrics matter as much as volume. High performers track MQL-to-SQL conversion rate and average deal size from Google Ads leads. They monitor time to close and sales cycle length. A campaign generating 100 leads at £50 each looks impressive until you realise only five become opportunities. Meanwhile, a campaign with 20 leads at £150 each might generate 10 opportunities and close more business.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Even experienced marketers make predictable mistakes that limit Google Ads performance.

• Premature automation: Over-reliance on automation without proper foundations causes frequent problems. Smart bidding works brilliantly with sufficient conversion data and proper tracking. Deploy it prematurely and it thrashes around aimlessly. Most accounts need at least 30 conversions per month per campaign before automated bidding delivers reliable results.
• Ignoring search terms: Failing to review search term reports represents money left on the table. Many accounts ignore this goldmine of optimisation data, allowing wasteful spending to continue indefinitely.
• Generic landing pages: Sending all traffic to your homepage or a generic “solutions” page wastes the intent you’ve captured. Each campaign or ad group should direct users to pages specifically aligned with their search.
• Failing to exclude existing customers: Someone who already uses your software shouldn’t see ads for new customer acquisition. Create customer lists and add them as negative audiences on prospecting campaigns.

Making Google Ads work harder for your business

B2B Google Ads done properly generates predictable pipelines at acceptable cost per acquisition. The accounts that achieve this outcome share common characteristics. They prioritise structure over complexity and obsess over data quality. They test constantly whilst focusing relentlessly on business outcomes rather than vanity metrics.

The investment required extends beyond ad spend. High-performing accounts demand consistent attention and regular optimisation. They require willingness to make decisions based on data rather than opinion, plus the expertise to interpret that data correctly. If you lack the in-house capability or bandwidth to execute at this level, working with a specialist B2B paid media agency typically delivers better returns than leaving underperforming accounts to run on autopilot.

According to WordStream’s 2025 benchmarks, the average B2B cost per lead across Google Ads sits around £70. Top performers achieve substantially better results through the practices outlined here.

The question isn’t whether Google Ads can work for B2B lead generation. Clearly it can, as evidenced by businesses investing £19.22 billion in B2B digital advertising in 2024. The question is whether you are willing to apply the level of structural discipline and targeting precision required.

If your Google Ads account isn’t delivering the pipeline quality and volume your business needs, we can help. Our paid media specialists have transformed hundreds of B2B accounts by applying the principles outlined in this article. Get in touch to discuss how we can improve your results.