LinkedIn Ads or Google Ads?

Google Ads helps to “capture” existing demand, while LinkedIn Ads makes it possible to “create” new demand among the target audience. This difference is key for B2B marketers, as the effectiveness of the advertising strategy and the return on investment depend on understanding the role of each channel.

In the case of Google Ads, we work with people who are already aware of their problem and are actively looking for a solution. They enter queries that signal a high purchase intent, and the brand’s task is to appear at this moment and offer the most relevant solution. This is a quick path to conversions, but it only works when the product category is mature and has an established search terminology.

LinkedIn Ads, on the other hand, allows you to reach potential clients before they start searching. Here we work with the audience based on professional characteristics — job title, industry, seniority level, or company size. This opens opportunities for demand generation: to explain the problem, introduce a new solution, build trust, and lay the groundwork for further actions.

That’s why it’s important to understand how Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads work at different stages of the sales funnel: from building awareness and trust to capturing high-intent leads. When these channels are properly integrated into the strategy, they reinforce each other and help B2B companies achieve the maximum return from paid media.

Demand capture

In this case, there is already knowledge about the product or service on the market, as well as established interest. These are usually more mature solutions with a clear vocabulary of search queries.

Clients already know whether they need the product and deliberately search for it. That is why Google Search campaigns work well for businesses that offer:

• products or services with clearly defined search terminology;
• offers with high conversion readiness (demo, consultation, free trial);
• solutions that potential clients are already aware of and actively searching for.

If the audience knows how to formulate their query and is already in the process of making a choice, Google Search ads are the perfect channel for lead acquisition.

Demand generation

When a product is new to the market, there often isn’t a clear vocabulary of queries yet. The audience may not even realize they have a problem that your solution helps solve.

In this case, it’s important not to wait until the client comes by themselves, but to reach out to them with a clear message. LinkedIn Ads performs this task best thanks to precise targeting based on professional and corporate attributes:

• job title, function, and seniority level;
• industry and company size;
• decision-making profile in B2B.

LinkedIn Ads allows you to “create” demand by educating the audience, increasing their awareness, and generating interest in your product or service.

Why search terminology matters at the market entry stage

Many B2B companies don’t take into account that if no one knows what exactly to search for, Google campaigns won’t bring results.

In market entry scenarios, the following is often observed:

• buyers don’t yet know how to describe their problem;
• the product category is new or poorly defined;
• high-frequency keywords with commercial intent may be limited or entirely absent.

In such cases, it’s worth focusing on LinkedIn Ads or other channels for demand generation, to build awareness and create demand.

However, Google should not be completely disregarded. Useful tools may include:

• brand campaigns to protect your own name;
• competitor keyword campaigns — even if these aren’t direct competitors, if there is search volume, this is a way to reach the target users and present your brand to them;
• retargeting for a warm audience that has already visited the site;
• Google Display or Demand Gen to find new potential clients.

Full experience instead of the classic funnel

Instead of focusing exclusively on the top, middle, or bottom of the funnel, more and more B2B teams are moving to a “full-experience” approach. This involves coordinated campaigns at every stage of the buyer’s journey with a clear purpose.

Each campaign must play its role in growing the pipeline and strengthening brand trust. The structure usually looks like this:

Awareness and trust
Channels: LinkedIn Ads, Google Display, Google Demand Gen.
Goal: introduce the brand, highlight key problems and solutions, build expertise through educational content.

Trust and consideration
Channels: LinkedIn Ads, Google Ads retargeting.
Goal: re-engage the warm audience, promote guides, case studies, resources for deeper interaction, and build interest.

Conversion and demand capture
Channels: Google Search, LinkedIn Ads.
Goal: attract high-intent users through key queries, competitor campaigns, and clear calls-to-action; on LinkedIn — work with a qualified audience through “stronger” offers.

This approach ensures that no campaign is disconnected from the overall strategy, and every dollar of the budget works towards a holistic result.

Which channel to choose?

In most cases, the right decision for B2B is not “Google Ads or LinkedIn Ads” but the combination of both channels.

Learn more about how to create AI ad copy for Google Ads.

They don’t compete but complement each other: Google helps capture existing demand, while LinkedIn helps create new demand. That’s why the most effective strategies include both tools, but in different proportions depending on the business objectives.

Use Google Ads if:

• your product or service has clear search terminology. For example, “CRM system for small business” or “car insurance online.” If people already know how to formulate the query in Google, search ads will be a direct channel to clients;
• you want to work with traffic with high conversion intent. Those who type in commercial keywords are usually at the bottom of the funnel and ready to consider purchasing;
• your target audience is actively searching for a solution. This applies to mature product and service categories where the market is formed, and competition revolves around price, brand, and response speed.

Learn what to do when Google Ads performance declines.

Use LinkedIn Ads if:

• your business operates in the B2B segment. The platform has unique opportunities for targeting based on professional criteria: job title, department, seniority level, industry, or company size;
• you are launching a new product or creating a new category. In this case, users may not even know that a solution to their problem exists. LinkedIn helps build awareness and move the audience to the next stage;
• the audience isn’t yet searching for your product in search engines. Then the brand’s task is to deliver information, educate, and create an understanding of the problem and your role in solving it;
• you have a clear ICP (ideal customer profile). LinkedIn allows you to focus precisely on those segments that are most likely to bring value to the business.

Use both channels if:

• you need a comprehensive strategy with many touchpoints. This is especially relevant for B2B, where the deal cycle can last from several weeks to several months;
• you want to simultaneously create and capture demand. LinkedIn can help create awareness of the problem and interest in the product, while Google can capture this demand at the moment when the potential client moves to active search;
• you have a plan for gradually moving the audience from awareness to purchase. This allows you to build a connected system: from educational materials and trust to commercial offers and deals.

Making the right decision

No platform can fully “cover” all the needs of your B2B strategy. That’s why you should think not in terms of “Google or LinkedIn” but in terms of the full customer journey.

To set priorities, first put your client at the center:

• How do they behave in relation to your brand? Do they search for information on Google, or do they mostly respond to expert content on LinkedIn?
• Where do they spend time online? If key decision-makers are active on LinkedIn — this is an obvious entry point. If the market is saturated with search queries — Google is essential.
• What information do they need? Do they require education and explanation of the problem, or are they already ready to compare providers and choose a solution?

The answers to these questions will help build a strategy where each channel works on its section of the customer journey. And only then will the advertising budget truly work as effectively as possible — not being scattered, but moving the audience step by step from interest to purchase.

Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads play different but complementary roles in the sales funnel: Google effectively captures already formed demand, while LinkedIn helps create it among the target audience. By using these tools together, companies can build a strong paid media strategy and achieve maximum results.

If you need help setting up or optimizing Google Ads or LinkedIn Ads, our team is ready to take care of it and ensure the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Read this article in Ukrainian.