B2B paid channels are not interchangeable. Google captures existing bottom-funnel demand, LinkedIn reaches named decision-makers expensively, programmatic provides account-based air cover, and Reddit reaches sceptical technical buyers. Start with Google, add LinkedIn when ACV justifies it.
The map
| Channel | Genuinely good at | Genuinely weak at | Typical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | Capturing active bottom-funnel intent, defending branded search | Creating demand where none exists | First channel for most B2B |
| LinkedIn Ads | Reaching named titles, companies and seniority | Cost efficiency — highest CPC in B2B | Decision-maker reach, content amplification |
| B2B programmatic | Account-based reach across the open web | Precision without a good account list | Air cover for ABM |
| Reddit Ads | Sceptical technical buyers in research mode | Formal enterprise buying committees | Early research intent, technical products |
| Retargeting | Recovering high-intent visitors who did not convert | Anything before the first visit | Efficiency layer across all channels |
Why Google usually goes first
Google captures demand that already exists. Someone searching for a solution to a problem has done the hardest part of the work themselves — recognising they have a problem worth solving. Converting that is cheaper and faster than creating awareness from nothing.
It also has the fastest feedback loop of any B2B channel, which matters more than it sounds. Learning which queries produce opportunities and which produce noise takes weeks on search and months on social, and that learning transfers to every other channel you run afterwards.
When LinkedIn earns its cost
LinkedIn is the most precise B2B targeting available and the most expensive per click. Both facts are permanent features rather than optimisation problems. The question is whether your contract value supports the maths.
As a rough guide, LinkedIn as a direct-response channel rarely works below about $10,000 ACV. Above that it becomes viable, and above roughly $50,000 it is frequently the strongest available channel. Below the threshold it can still earn a place amplifying content or supporting ABM, where the value is engagement rather than form fills.
What programmatic is actually for
B2B programmatic through platforms like StackAdapt, AdRoll, 6sense and Demandbase buys display and video inventory across the open web with account-based and firmographic targeting. It is frequently misunderstood as a lead source, which is why it disappoints.
Its job is air cover. It makes named accounts familiar with you before sales makes contact, which raises response rates on outbound and reduces the cold-start problem in ABM. Judged on direct conversions it looks poor. Judged on account engagement lift alongside an ABM programme, it earns its budget.
The optimisation problem that ruins B2B paid
Platforms optimise toward the cheapest conversion. Left alone with a form-fill goal, an algorithm will find the audience most willing to fill in forms — which in B2B skews heavily toward students, consultants, job seekers and competitors.
Cost per lead falls, the dashboard improves, and cost per opportunity rises. The fix is offline conversion import: feed qualification and opportunity data back so the platform optimises toward what you actually want. This requires CRM integration, which is why paid media and RevOps cannot really be separated.
How to sequence
- Fix tracking first. Conversion tracking and CRM integration before any spend, or you will be optimising blind for three months.
- Google Ads on bottom-funnel and branded terms. Fastest learning, cheapest demand capture.
- Add retargeting. Cheap efficiency layer once there is traffic to retarget.
- Add LinkedIn if ACV supports it. Start with content amplification rather than direct response.
- Add programmatic alongside ABM, not as a standalone lead source.
- Test Reddit if your buyers are technical and sceptical of vendor marketing.
Running four channels underfunded is worse than running one properly. A channel needs enough monthly conversions — thirty to fifty is a reasonable floor — before optimisation data becomes reliable.