A starting point, not a final answer. Google captures demand, LinkedIn creates it, landing pages convert it, and tracking proves what it's worth. Each part ends with the questions we'd like your take on.
Capture
Google Ads
Five campaigns, each with its own budget, so the money follows intent.
Five lanes of intent
Each kind of search gets its own campaign and budget, so spend follows intent. Open the lanes to see the searches behind each one and set your priorities.
The five lanes: how would you prioritize them?
Monthly US searches from Google's data. Tap a priority for each lane as we talk it through.
Your brand
People searching for QueBIT by name. Cheap to win, and worth protecting.
330searches a month
NetSuite
Companies choosing a NetSuite partner, or improving the NetSuite they already run.
2,700searches a month
Pigment
Finance teams researching Pigment or comparing it with other planning tools.
930searches a month
Any platform
FP&A and ERP help searches that name no platform. The ads say NetSuite and Pigment up front, so the wrong fit doesn't click.
930searches a month
Other partners by name
A measured test on searches for other NetSuite and planning partners.
940searches a month
Your take- Does this match how you think about your buyers? Is anyone missing, such as clients on other planning tools?
- Are any partners off limits? Some may send you referrals.
Brand defense at the lowest workable bid
Your brand searches are cheap to win. We bid at Google's own first-page estimate instead of letting automation overpay for your own name.
Marketing Maturity Mountain
Every stage has a numeric exit trigger. When we win about 80% of the searches available and no new keywords are left, search is done growing. That's the point where we'd tell you to stop adding search budget.
Create
LinkedIn Ads
Reach CFOs and FP&A leaders before they search, and spend the expensive impressions only where interest is proven.
The Reach Ratio™
Pipeline comes from reaching each person 10 to 15 times every 90 days. Your audience size and that frequency set the budget, not a guess.
The Bouncer
Nothing gets exec budget until the account proves it belongs. We reach FP&A managers, directors and controllers first, let LinkedIn score which companies engage, and only then show CFO-level ads inside those companies.
The Impression-Share Exclusion Rule
We cut wasted audiences by the share of spend they take, not by how tidy the targeting looks. Under 2%, we leave it. Over 10%, it goes.
Your take- Which titles matter most: CFO, VP Finance, FP&A leaders, controllers?
- Which LinkedIn page should the ads run from, and how active is it today?
- Do you have a list of target companies we should start from?
- Can your team produce LinkedIn ads in house, or should our creative team? See the tiers under Build your plan.
Convert
CRO: landing pages
Pages built for ad traffic: matched to the ad, proof up top, the form where people can see it.
A page that matches the search
Every buyer lands on a page that matches the ad they clicked. The form asks what they're working on, so your team knows the need before the first call.
Three ways to build it
The right choice depends on who you most need to reach. Pick one and it carries into Build your plan.
Your take- Who do you most need to reach first, NetSuite or Pigment buyers?
- Are they the same companies, or separate conversations?
- What does each buyer need to see before they reach out?
Prove
Business Intelligence
Judge every keyword and audience by the deals it produces, not the forms it collects.
Feed the algorithm a healthy diet
Offline conversion tracking sends opportunities and closed deals from HubSpot back to Google and LinkedIn. Both platforms then learn which searches and people turn into engagements, not just leads.
The question it answers
Which keyword produces your cheapest customer? Most companies don't know. You will, and that's the number that earns more budget.
Your take- What makes a lead qualified for your team?
- Which HubSpot deal stage counts as an opportunity?
Capture now, or build pipeline? Setting the mix
Your $15,000 a month, split between Google and LinkedIn. More on Google captures more of the demand that exists today. More on LinkedIn builds pipeline for a buying decision that takes months.
8 to 17leads a month from Google
$300 to $625cost per lead from Google
Full buildLinkedIn runs The Bouncer: engaged companies first, then CFOs
A projection, not a forecast. It uses Google's own bid data for your searches and typical B2B conversion rates. Above about $7,000, Google runs out of the most valuable searches, so each added dollar buys fewer leads and the line curves rather than climbs straight. A few of these leads will be people already searching for QueBIT by name.
Our recommendation: $5,000 on Google and $10,000 on LinkedIn. It starts capturing real demand today, starts building pipeline for the longer decision, and gives you baselines you've never had: cost per lead, lead-to-opportunity rate and cost per opportunity.
Things to weigh as we set the budget
- Search has a ceiling. About 7,500 searches a month, and Q4 is the quiet season. It captures demand. It doesn't create it.
- LinkedIn takes longer to turn into leads. It reaches finance leaders before they search, which suits a decision this size, but expect direct leads to build over 60 to 90 days.
- If you need a firm lead number this quarter, lean toward search now and shift toward LinkedIn as the Q1 search peak arrives.
- The Bouncer needs about $10,000 a month. Below that, LinkedIn runs a simpler program that reaches fewer CFOs.
- The mix doesn't have to be final on day one. Search can launch first, with LinkedIn added when you're ready, and the split can move month to month as the data comes in.
