The average B2B buyer journey now takes 272 days and involves 88 touchpoints across 4 channels. That is nearly nine months of research, comparison and internal discussion before a single deal closes.
So where should your paid media budget go?
The truth is, LinkedIn Ads and Google Ads are not competitors. They do fundamentally different jobs. This guide will help you understand those differences and choose the right B2B paid advertising strategy for your business.
If you are already running campaigns that are not delivering, our PPC management team can audit your setup and identify where budget is being wasted.
Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn Ads are best for reaching specific decision-makers by job title, seniority and company size, especially when search demand is low
- Google Ads are best for capturing buyers actively searching for your solution, delivering faster results at lower cost per click
- LinkedIn delivers 121% ROAS for B2B, outperforming Google Search (67%) and Meta (51%), according to Dreamdata’s 2026 benchmarks
- Most B2B businesses benefit from running both platforms, but budget split should match your search volume and sales cycle
- The average B2B buyer journey now takes 272 days and 88 touchpoints before a deal closes
- Don’t judge either platform in under 90 days. B2B pipeline attribution requires at least one full sales cycle
How B2B Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads Work
The core difference comes down to one thing: demand capture vs. demand creation.
Google Ads captures existing demand. When someone types “IT support for small businesses” into Google, they have a problem and want to solve it now. Your ad appears at that moment of intent. This makes Google Ads powerful for B2B businesses selling established products and services with clear search vocabulary.
LinkedIn Ads creates new demand. LinkedIn Campaign Manager targets people based on who they are, not what they are searching for. You reach decision-makers by job title, seniority, company size and industry. This makes LinkedIn B2B advertising ideal for reaching your ideal customer profile (ICP) before they ever open a search engine.
” Google answers the question your buyer is already asking. LinkedIn puts your brand in front of them months before they even know they have that question. The strategy has to reflect that difference.”
B2B Targeting: Intent vs. Identity
Google tells you what someone wants right now. You can layer on demographic and audience signals, but the core mechanism is keyword targeting.
LinkedIn tells you who someone is. Want to target finance directors at manufacturing companies with 200 to 500 employees? That is a few clicks in LinkedIn Ads Manager.
| Feature | Google Ads | LinkedIn Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Targeting method | Keywords and search intent | Professional attributes and firmographics |
| Core strength | Reaches people actively searching for solutions | Reaches specific decision-makers by role and company |
| Audience signals | Search terms, demographics, remarketing lists, in-market audiences | Job title, seniority, company size, industry, skills, company lists |
| Best for | Capturing bottom-of-funnel demand | Building awareness and nurturing top/mid-funnel |
| Buyer stage | Consideration and decision | Awareness and consideration |
Cost Per Lead in B2B: What You’ll Actually Pay
Cost per click tells you very little in B2B. What matters is cost per qualified lead and cost per pipeline pound.
| Metric | Google Ads (B2B) | LinkedIn Ads (B2B) |
|---|---|---|
| Average CPC | £2–£15 (up to £30–£65 in competitive sectors) | £4–£12 |
| Typical CPL | £30–£150 | £45–£200 |
| ROAS (2025 data) | 67% | 121% |
| Budget share of B2B spend | 46% (across Google network) | 41% |
| Best metric to track | Cost per SQL, cost per opportunity | Cost per company influenced, pipeline contribution |
Sources: Dreamdata LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks 2026, industry benchmarks.
The headline numbers make Google look cheaper. But look deeper.
LinkedIn’s higher CPL often delivers a lower cost per pipeline pound. Because targeting is more precise, LinkedIn leads are more likely to match your ICP and convert into real opportunities. A £150 LinkedIn lead that becomes a £50,000 contract is vastly more valuable than a £30 Google lead that never progresses past the first call.
In competitive B2B sectors like cybersecurity, legal services and enterprise software, Google CPCs regularly exceed £30 per click. At those rates, LinkedIn frequently delivers more qualified leads for less money.
Pro tip: If your industry’s average Google CPC is above £20, test LinkedIn first. You will likely reach better-qualified prospects at a lower effective cost.
B2B Ad Formats Compared
Google Ads Formats for B2B
- Search Ads – the backbone of any B2B Google Ads strategy; appear when buyers search relevant keywords
- Display Ads – image and banner ads across Google’s Display Network; best for remarketing
- YouTube Video Ads – effective for brand awareness and explaining complex solutions
- Performance Max – AI-driven campaigns across Google’s full network
- Demand Gen – targets users across YouTube, Discover and Gmail
LinkedIn Ad Formats for B2B
- Sponsored Content (single image, carousel, video) – appears in the LinkedIn feed; highest engagement format
- Lead Gen Forms – pre-populated with profile data; higher completion rates and cleaner data
- Message Ads – delivered to a prospect’s LinkedIn inbox
- Document Ads – share PDFs, whitepapers and reports as swipeable content
- Conversation Ads – interactive, choose-your-own-path messaging
LinkedIn’s Lead Gen Forms deserve special attention. They pre-fill with the user’s profile data (name, job title, company, email), which means higher completion rates and far fewer junk submissions than a standard landing page form.
When Google Ads Wins for B2B
Google Ads is the stronger choice when buyers are already searching for what you sell. Prioritise Google when:
- Your solution has established search demand. People regularly search for your product or service category (“CRM software,” “payroll outsourcing,” “commercial cleaning services”).
- You need leads quickly. Google’s path to conversion is shorter. A well-structured campaign can produce qualified leads within days.
- Your sales cycle is short and deal values are moderate. Contracts under £15,000 with decision timelines of weeks, not months.
- Your industry has manageable CPCs. Below £15–£20 per click, Google Ads is typically the more cost-efficient option.
- You want scale. Google’s reach is essentially unlimited. Unlike LinkedIn’s finite professional network, you can keep scaling spend as long as ROI stays positive.
We have seen this first-hand with our own clients. In our Google Ads case study for a UK company with international reach, we helped a B2B business significantly boost performance through campaign restructuring, keyword optimisation and ongoing management.
Need help getting more from your Google campaigns? Explore our Google Ads management services.
When LinkedIn Ads Wins for B2B
LinkedIn paid ads come into their own when your B2B marketing needs go beyond capturing existing demand. Choose LinkedIn when:
- Your ICP is highly specific. You need to reach a narrow audience defined by seniority, job function, company size or industry. No other platform offers this level of professional targeting.
- You are selling a newer or complex solution. If buyers do not know how to search for what you offer, Google cannot deliver volume. LinkedIn lets you educate and build awareness among the right people.
- Your deal values are high and sales cycles are long. Research shows that buyers spend the first seven months (220 days) in a silent self-education phase before entering the sales pipeline. LinkedIn helps you influence that journey early.
- You are running ABM campaigns. Upload target company lists and serve ads to specific employees at those businesses. LinkedIn B2B lead generation is purpose-built for this.
- Google CPCs in your sector are prohibitively expensive. When CPCs exceed £20–£30, LinkedIn often reaches the same decision-makers more affordably.
Should You Run Both Platforms Together?
In most cases, yes. The two platforms are genuinely complementary.
LinkedIn builds awareness and keeps your brand in front of decision-makers. Google captures demand when those same people start actively searching for a solution. Together, they create a compounding effect that neither delivers alone.
There is strong evidence that prospects exposed to LinkedIn ads before searching on Google convert at 25–35% higher rates than those who see a Google ad cold. This is the real power of a combined B2B LinkedIn strategy and Google Ads approach.
Data shows that the average B2B journey now involves 10 stakeholders and spans 4 channels. A single-platform strategy simply cannot cover that.
Learn more: Where should I run ads to promote my business?
B2B Budget Allocation Framework
Use this as a starting point. Adjust based on your results after 90 days.
| Scenario | Google Ads | LinkedIn Ads | Retargeting (both) |
|---|---|---|---|
| High search demand (established category) | 50–60% | 30–40% | 10% |
| Low search demand (new/niche category) | 20–30% | 50–60% | 10–20% |
| Enterprise ABM focus | 20% | 60–70% | 10–20% |
| Competitive sector (Google CPCs above £20) | 30% | 50–60% | 10–20% |
Minimum timeline for evaluation
- Google Ads learning phase: 30 days
- LinkedIn Ads learning phase: 45–60 days
- Pipeline attribution: At least one full sales cycle (often 90–180 days in B2B)
Do not cut a channel at 30 days because CPL looks high. That guarantees you make the wrong decision.
Landing Pages: The Factor That Outweighs Platform Choice
Both platforms can generate clicks. Whether those clicks become leads depends on what happens next.
A great landing page makes both LinkedIn and Google work. A poor one wastes money on both. Key principles:
- One offer, one call to action. Do not give visitors options. “Book a demo” or “Get a quote,” not both.
- Remove navigation links. Every exit point reduces conversions.
- Match your ad message. If your ad promises “B2B PPC strategy guide,” that phrase should be your landing page headline.
- Keep forms short. Name, email, company, phone and a brief message. That is enough.
- Optimise page speed. Every extra second costs roughly 7% in conversions.
Use different landing pages for each platform. LinkedIn traffic is typically earlier in the buying journey and responds better to educational content (guides, reports, webinars). Google traffic is closer to purchase and responds better to product-focused pages (demos, consultations, free trials).
FAQs: LinkedIn Ads vs. Google Ads for B2B
Is LinkedIn or Google Ads cheaper for B2B?
Google Ads typically produces a lower cost per lead (£30–£150 vs. £45–£200 on LinkedIn). But LinkedIn often produces a lower cost per pipeline pound because its targeting delivers leads that match the ICP more precisely.
Can I run B2B lead generation on Google Ads alone?
Yes, if your buyers actively search for your solution category and search volume is strong. But for new or niche categories with limited search demand, you will need LinkedIn or another demand creation channel.
Which platform has better B2B targeting?
LinkedIn has superior professional attribute targeting (job title, seniority, company size). Google has superior intent targeting (what people are actively searching for). The strongest B2B PPC strategy uses both.
How long before I see results?
Google Ads can generate leads within days. LinkedIn typically needs 6–8 weeks to optimise. But B2B pipeline attribution requires at least 90 days to evaluate accurately.
Build a Smarter B2B PPC Strategy
The platform you choose matters less than how well you use it. A poorly managed Google Ads account wastes money just as fast as a poorly targeted LinkedIn campaign.
What makes the difference is having a clear strategy that aligns your platform choice, targeting, ad creative and landing pages with how your buyers actually make decisions.
At Logic Digital, we help B2B businesses build paid advertising strategies that work across both platforms. Whether you are starting from scratch, looking to scale, or trying to figure out why your current ads are not delivering, we can help.
Get in touch to discuss and we will give you an honest recommendation on where your budget will work hardest.
