Paid ads for B2B businesses isn’t just about keywords. There’s more to it.
Focusing purely on keywords will have your competitors winning all the new business
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I started working in paid ads in 2016, I know a lifetime ago 😅.
Back then it was all about choosing the right keywords to target.
I remember having a long winded process for finding the best keywords.
Part of my process was using SEO tools. Fancy right?
I would spend a lengthy amount of time analysing the profile of each keyword.
I looked at the keyword strength, SEO ranking position, keyword difficulty and more.
This process was very insightful, but is it still necessary in today’s market?
The only answer is no, because of 2 reasons:
AI has landed and its here to do any repetitive or laborious tasks 🙌.
Ad platforms have evolved beyond keywords.
Even though keywords are still important, they aren’t the main piece of the pie, even if leadership think otherwise 👀.
Focusing purely on keywords in 2026 is the wrong path to take.
Here’s what I’m learning:
It’s not just about keywords anymore; it’s about how well the platform understands your audience.
I’m seeing this with ad platform updates:
Google Ads
If you are still running Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) on Google, it will be upgraded to AI Max for Search campaigns.
AI Max for Search is one of Google’s latest features that help you increase your reach and target audiences beyond your keyword offering.
This is how I’m seeing Google shift away from keywords to focus more towards audience intent.
This means that the assets and landing page copy have never been more important. Let’s not sleep on this.
It would be good to focus less on generic copy ie: “drive better outcomes” or “AI-powered platform”, and more on copy that speaks to the audience.
Microsoft Ads
You may have noticed that Microsoft Ads now offer more LinkedIn-style audiences, including job seniority targeting.
I saw this update in June, and it stood out to me because of the new audience targeting possibilities for search and audience campaigns.
It is a key update for B2B businesses because I understand how complicated it can be to target buying committees.
This feature will allow you to create strategies around the buying committee, with targeted copy or review reports on these audiences.
LinkedIn Ads
B2B businesses are allocating more of their marketing budgets towards LinkedIn. This isn’t random, trust me.
In Dreamdata’s latest LinkedIn ads benchmark report I saw:
LinkedIn now captures 41% of B2B ad budgets, increasing from 39% in the previous year.
This increase may seem small, but it isn’t. For instance, if an enterprise business with a large budget increases their budget by 1-2%, it’s a big deal.
I’m glad that B2B teams are realising that they need more than search ads to reach their audiences.
LinkedIn allows them to reach the buying committees who aren’t searching but feel the pain of their problem.
Open AI
ChatGPT has opened up its beta for the UK market 💃. I got served an ad in ChatGPT and it surprised me how much search has evolved.
Before it was all about ranking on search engines; now it’s about how well you understand and serve your audience to show up on ChatGPT.
If we see ChatGPT become a real ad platform, it’s where we will see prospects start their search journey.
The B2B bidding landscape is changing and if I were you, I would start adapting to these changes.
This week ask yourself:
How well do I understand my audience?
Are my current paid media efforts able to target them?
Have I adapted my marketing to align with these updates?
If this post made you rethink your B2B paid ads strategy, good 😊.
I will see you in next week’s post 👋.
Jess
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