Demonstrates methodology. The company is illustrative and the metrics are modeled / representative — not a real client engagement.
A Series-A SaaS company was spending heavily on Google Ads but booking few qualified demos. Broad keywords pulled in free-tier hunters and students, the German ad copy was a literal translation that ignored local buying language, and 'demo request' and 'newsletter signup' were counted as the same conversion — so Smart Bidding optimized toward the cheap, low-value action.
Re-anchor the account on commercial-intent German keywords, separate a true 'qualified demo' conversion from soft signups so bidding chases revenue, and tighten the funnel from click to booked demo with a dedicated landing page.
Rebuilt the keyword set around high-intent German commercial terms and added an aggressive negative list (free, kostenlos, jobs, tutorial).
Split conversions into primary (qualified demo booked) and secondary (signup) so Smart Bidding chased real pipeline.
Rewrote ad copy in native German buying language, not translation.
Shipped a focused demo landing page and ran CRO on the form to cut friction.
Relative comparison illustrating the reduction.