Why Your B2B PPC Metrics May Be Lying to You
Configure conversion values and use campaign‑specific goals to focus Smart Bidding on higher‑funnel actions.
Configure conversion values and campaign‑specific goals in Google Ads.
Summary
B2B PPC advertisers can now feed offline conversion data into Google Ads and Microsoft Ads, but measuring every possible metric can lead to misleading signals. Adding multiple conversion actions—form fills, leads, MQLs, SQLs, opportunities—without setting them as primary can cause quadruple counting and inflate ROAS. Setting relative conversion values (e.g., MQLs worth 1,000x a video view) guides bidding algorithms toward higher‑funnel actions and improves lead quality. Campaign‑specific goals allow Smart Bidding to focus only on desired actions, such as MQLs and SQLs, while ignoring lower‑funnel conversions. Measuring incremental conversions requires establishing a baseline CPA and then calculating marginal CPA when spend increases. A marketing mix modeling tool can provide a more sophisticated incrementality test. Proper conversion value setup and campaign‑specific goals help advertisers avoid false signals and accurately assess incremental value.
Key changes
- Assign relative values to each conversion action to guide bidding
- Avoid quadruple counting by setting only primary conversion actions
- Use campaign‑specific goals to optimize only for MQLs and SQLs
- Measure incremental conversions by establishing baseline and marginal CPA
- Recognize that average CPA can mask marginal CPA
- Use MMM tools for sophisticated incrementality testing
- Validate conversion values against real data to prevent algorithm bias
- Monitor ROAS and CPA for each conversion action separately