Paid Acquisition
Managing Paid Media Across 6 Platforms
Six ad platforms including connected TV, a niche market with limited search volume, and every dollar needing to tie back to demos. Here's how I made it work.
8x
Paid Lead Growth
6
Platforms
40%+
Demo Contribution
Improving
YoY Efficiency
Overview
Paid acquisition in fire protection software is tricky. Most competitors barely advertise, search volume is limited, and the buyer persona isn't scrolling LinkedIn looking for inspection software. I built a paid strategy tailored to a market that doesn't behave like typical B2B SaaS.
The Challenge
Small addressable market, limited search volume, high CPCs on competitive keywords. Multiple products to promote. Had to balance awareness with direct-response campaigns. And every dollar got scrutinized for pipeline impact.
My Role
Managed a dedicated Google Ads contractor for strategy, keywords, and optimization. Directed creative production (ad copy, display, video) with design contractors. Coordinated with a separate contractor for a sister product line. Reported performance to VP Marketing with channel-level budget recommendations.
Approach
Mapped each platform to a funnel stage: Google Ads for high-intent search, Meta and LinkedIn for awareness and retargeting, Capterra for people actively comparing tools, Reddit for fire protection community engagement, and MNTN for connected TV brand awareness tied to product launches.
Ran quarterly creative refreshes with A/B tested variants across search, display, video, and carousel formats. Managed creative production with design contractors.
Set up conversion tracking from ad click to Salesforce opportunity through UTM parameters and Pardot tracking. So we could see which campaigns actually produced pipeline.
Regular audits: keyword quality scores, negative keyword expansion, audience refinement, bid strategy testing (tCPA, max conversions), and landing page A/B tests on Unbounce.
Results
- Paid leads grew 8x year-over-year across Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Capterra, and connected TV
- Paid channels consistently contributed 40%+ of the monthly demo target
- Improved Google Ads quality scores and cut wasted spend through keyword audits
- Built retargeting audiences across platforms for multi-touch follow-up
- Connected spend to pipeline metrics so budget decisions were based on data
How This Was Measured
Conversion tracking from ad click to Salesforce opportunity via UTM parameters through Pardot. Platform-level ROAS calculated monthly with budget reallocation based on pipeline contribution. YoY efficiency tracked across all platforms.
Tools & Platforms
Google Ads / Meta Ads Manager / LinkedIn Campaign Manager / Capterra / Reddit Ads / MNTN (Connected TV) / Unbounce / Google Analytics 4 / Salesforce / Pardot
Key Deliverables
- Channel performance reports
- Creative refresh briefs
- Landing page variants
- Budget allocation models
- Quarterly audit reports
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