When SMMJobz — a Bangladesh-based B2B SaaS platform offering social media marketing automation, scheduling, and analytics — came to us in late 2024, they faced a problem familiar to countless SaaS startups worldwide: a steady trickle of organic sign-ups but no predictable, scalable paid acquisition pipeline. The platform was robust, the pricing competitive, and the local market hungry for affordable marketing tools. What was missing was a search engine marketing strategy that could convert high-intent buyers into paying subscribers at a cost that made sense for a SaaS business operating in a price-sensitive market like Bangladesh.
This case study walks through how we rebuilt SMMJobz’ Google Ads programme from scratch — moving from broad, brand-focused campaigns to a laser-targeted exact match keyword strategy built around transactional, high-intent search queries. Over a 90-day period, we delivered +340% growth in daily sign-ups, an average cost per lead (CPL) of just $0.12, and a sustainable blueprint for B2B SaaS lead generation that any Bangladeshi or emerging-market SaaS company can replicate.
The Client: SMMJobz
SMMJobz is a cloud-based social media management platform headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The product allows users to schedule posts across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok from a single dashboard; analyse engagement metrics; manage multiple client accounts; and generate automated reports. In many ways, SMMJobz occupies a similar niche to global players like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Later — but priced for the South Asian market, with local payment options including bKash, Nagad, and Rocket.
The platform operates on a freemium-to-premium subscription model. Free users get basic scheduling for up to three social profiles; paid tiers (Starter at BDT 499/month, Professional at BDT 999/month, and Agency at BDT 1,999/month) unlock unlimited scheduling, analytics, white-label reporting, and team collaboration features.
Before engaging our agency, SMMJobz had run Google Ads on and off for roughly six months. The results were underwhelming: a monthly spend of approximately $800–$1,200 generated an average of 12–15 sign-ups per day, with a CPL hovering around $2.50–$3.00. For a SaaS business where the cheapest plan is roughly $14/month (BDT 499), a $3.00 CPL meant a cost-per-lead that consumed over 20% of first-month revenue — dangerously high for a company trying to scale efficiently.
The Problem: Why the Initial Campaigns Failed
SMMJobz’ existing Google Ads setup suffered from three critical issues that are common among B2B SaaS companies in their first attempt at paid search:
1. Over-Reliance on Broad Match Keywords
The previous campaign structure depended almost entirely on broad match keywords. Terms like “social media marketing,” “social media tool,” and “online marketing platform” were eating up 70% of the daily budget — but these queries attracted researchers, students, and casual browsers. Someone searching “what is social media marketing” is not ready to sign up for a paid scheduling tool. The click-through rate (CTR) was reasonable (3.1%), but the conversion rate from click to sign-up was a paltry 0.8%.
2. No Negative Keyword Strategy
Because broad match was dominant, the campaigns triggered for thousands of irrelevant queries. SMMJobz was paying for clicks from people searching for free alternatives (“free social media scheduler,” “hootsuite free trial”), students researching (“social media marketing pdf,” “social media strategy assignment”), and entirely unrelated terms (“social media marketing agency near me,” “social media manager job”). A complete absence of negative keyword lists meant budget was haemorrhaging on traffic that had zero conversion intent.
3. Generic Ad Copy and Landing Pages
The ad copy was brand-generic: “Best Social Media Tool — Try SMMJobz Today!” with no mention of specific features, pricing, or pain points. The landing page was the homepage, which — while visually appealing — did nothing to reinforce the ad promise or capture the searcher’s specific intent. There was no clear call-to-action above the fold for new users, no mention of a free trial, and no social proof elements like testimonials or case study references.
The result: a broken acquisition funnel. High-intent buyers were either not clicking (because the ads didn’t speak to their needs) or landing on a generic page that failed to convert them. The platform’s actual conversion rate — the percentage of visitors who completed the sign-up process — was below 1%, when industry benchmarks for B2B SaaS suggest 2–5% is achievable with properly aligned campaigns.
The Strategy: A Complete Google Ads Overhaul
We proposed a three-phase restructuring of SMMJobz’ Google Ads programme. The core philosophy was simple: stop buying traffic, start buying conversions. Every keyword, every ad, every landing page had to be optimised for a single action — completing the SMMJobz sign-up flow.
Phase 1: Deep Keyword Research — Finding Transactional Intent
We began by exporting SMMJobz’ full Google Search Console data (12 months of query data) and cross-referencing it with Google Ads Keyword Planner. Our goal was to identify queries that signal purchase or trial intent rather than informational intent. We categorised every keyword along the search intent spectrum:
- Informational: “what is social media scheduling,” “how to schedule instagram posts” — rejected
- Commercial investigation: “hootsuite vs buffer,” “best social media scheduler for agencies” — selectively included
- Transactional: “social media scheduler free trial,” “buy social media scheduler,” “smm panel Bangladesh,” “social media management tool subscription” — prioritised
- Brand + competitor: “smmjobz pricing,” “smmjobz vs later,” “alternatives to buffer” — included with caution
After filtering, we arrived at an initial seed list of 147 high-intent keywords. These were expanded via Google’s keyword research tool into approximately 410 total keywords across four themed ad groups:
- Direct SaaS terms — “social media scheduler,” “social media management tool,” “social media posting tool”
- Trial and pricing intent — “social media scheduler free trial,” “social media management tool pricing,” “best social media scheduler for small business”
- Local/Bangladeshi context — “social media scheduler Bangladesh,” “smm panel Bangladesh,” “social media marketing tool BDT,” “Facebook post scheduler bKash”
- Agency/Professional use — “social media scheduler for agencies,” “client reporting tool social media,” “white label social media tool”
A critical part of this phase was building an exhaustive negative keyword list. We identified and added 1,200+ negative keywords covering: job seekers (“social media manager job,” “smm job,” “social media marketing career”), free-seekers (“free social media scheduler,” “free trial forever,” “no cost”), students (“social media marketing assignment,” “smm lecture notes”), and irrelevant modifiers (“near me,” “download,” “tutorial,” “course,” “certificate”).
Phase 2: Exact Match Keyword Structure — Precision Over Volume
With the keyword universe defined, we made a deliberate strategic choice: move nearly entirely to exact match as the default match type, supplemented by phrase match only for proven high-converting terms. This decision was counter to the industry trend toward broad match with smart bidding, but for a B2B SaaS platform in a price-sensitive market, we judged that controlling exactly which queries triggered ads was essential to maintaining a sub-$1.00 CPL.
Our exact match structure looked like this:
- Ad Group 1 — Direct SaaS (47 keywords)
Exact match: [social media scheduler], [social media management tool], [social media posting tool], [social media automation tool], [schedule social media posts tool]
Phrase match: “social media scheduler for business,” “social media management software” - Ad Group 2 — Trial & Pricing (35 keywords)
Exact match: [social media scheduler free trial], [social media management tool pricing], [buy social media scheduler], [social media tool subscription]
Phrase match: “best social media scheduler for small business” - Ad Group 3 — Bangladesh Local (28 keywords)
Exact match: [social media scheduler Bangladesh], [smm panel Bangladesh], [social media marketing tool BDT], [Facebook post scheduler bKash], [social media management platform dhaka] - Ad Group 4 — Agency & White Label (24 keywords)
Exact match: [social media scheduler for agencies], [white label social media tool], [client reporting tool social media], [agency social media management platform]
Each ad group contained 3–4 tightly themed Responsive Search Ads (RSAs) with 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Every RSA was written to address the specific intent of that ad group’s keywords. For example, the Trial & Pricing ad group featured headlines like “Start Your Free Trial — No Credit Card Required” and “SMMJobz Pricing — Plans from BDT 499/month,” while the Bangladesh Local group led with “Made in Bangladesh — SMMJobz for Local Businesses” and “Pay with bKash, Nagad or Rocket — Start Scheduling Today.”
Phase 3: Bid Strategy — Maximising Conversions Within Budget
SMMJobz had a hard budget ceiling of $900/month (approximately BDT 105,000). To make this work, we needed a bid strategy that allocated spend disproportionately toward the highest-intent queries while keeping overall CPL low.
We started with Manual CPC for the first 30 days to gather clean conversion data without algorithmic interference. During this period, we:
- Set aggressive bid adjustments: +50% for mobile devices (knowing that Bangladeshi users predominantly browse on mobile and that the SMMJobz sign-up flow was mobile-optimised)
- +25% for Dhaka metropolitan area (highest concentration of SMMJobz’ target audience — digital agencies, freelancers, and small business owners)
- −90% for display network (we wanted Search only, no GDN traffic)
- Scheduled ads to run 8 AM – 11 PM Bangladesh Standard Time (peak business hours)
After 30 days — with 110+ conversions in the account — we switched to Target CPA bidding with a target of $0.50. Google’s algorithm, now fed with quality conversion data, began optimising toward that target immediately. Within two weeks, the actual CPA dropped below $0.20, and we progressively lowered the target CPA to $0.15.
We also implemented enhanced conversions by passing first-party user data (hashed email) through the Google tag, which improved measurement accuracy by approximately 18% and helped the bidding algorithm make better decisions.
Execution: What We Built
Ad Copy That Matches Search Intent
Every ad was crafted to answer the searcher’s implicit question. For someone typing “social media scheduler pricing,” the most relevant message is about cost, value, and plans. For “smm panel Bangladesh,” the searcher wants to know: is this tool built for my market? Does it support local payments? Here are examples from each ad group:
Ad Group 1 — Direct SaaS:
Headline: Schedule Posts Across 5 Platforms
Headline: Automate Your Social Media Today
Description: SMMJobz helps you schedule, analyse, and manage all your social profiles from one dashboard. Start your free trial now.
Ad Group 2 — Trial & Pricing:
Headline: Free Trial — No Credit Card Needed
Headline: Plans from BDT 499/month
Description: Try SMMJobz free for 14 days. Unlimited scheduling, analytics, and team collaboration. Choose the plan that fits your budget.
Ad Group 3 — Bangladesh Local:
Headline: Made in Bangladesh — SMMJobz
Headline: Pay with bKash, Nagad, Rocket
Description: A social media scheduler built for Bangladeshi businesses. Local payments, local support, global features. Start your free trial today.
Ad Group 4 — Agency:
Headline: White-Label Social Media Tool
Headline: Manage 100+ Client Accounts
Description: Scale your agency with SMMJobz’ white-label reporting, multi-account management, and team collaboration features. Free trial available.
Landing Page Overhaul
Instead of sending all traffic to the homepage, we created four dedicated landing pages — one per ad group — each tailored to the keyword intent:
- /schedule — For direct SaaS queries: focused on features, integrations, and the scheduling dashboard preview
- /pricing — For trial and pricing queries: clear plan comparison, feature breakdown, and prominent free trial CTA
- /bd — For Bangladesh-local queries: localised content in Bangla and English, bKash/Nagad/Rocket payment logos, Dhaka-based support message
- /agencies — For agency queries: white-label demo, client management features, team pricing
Each landing page included: a hero section with a clear value proposition matching the ad, a 14-day free trial sign-up form (email + password, no credit card), social proof elements (NPS score, customer count, testimonials from local businesses), and a sticky CTA bar on mobile.
The Results: +340% Daily Sign-Ups at $0.12 CPL
Over a 90-day campaign period (November 2024 – January 2025), the results exceeded our projections by a wide margin. Here are the headline numbers:
| Metric | Pre-Campaign (Oct 2024) | Post-Campaign (Jan 2025) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Sign-Ups (from Google Ads) | 13.5 | 59.4 | +340% |
| Avg. Cost Per Lead (CPL) | $2.75 | $0.12 | −95.6% |
| Monthly Ad Spend | $980 | $892 | −9% |
| Click-Through Rate (CTR) | 3.1% | 6.8% | +119% |
| Conversion Rate (Click → Sign-Up) | 0.8% | 4.3% | +438% |
| Quality Score (Avg) | 5/10 | 8/10 | +60% |
| Total Conversions (90 days) | ~1,215 | ~5,346 | +340% |
Let those numbers sink in. We increased daily sign-ups from 13.5 to 59.4 — nearly 60 new users every day from Google Ads alone — while simultaneously cutting the cost per lead from $2.75 to $0.12. Total monthly ad spend actually decreased by 9%, from $980 to $892, because the efficiency gains meant we were converting more traffic with fewer wasted clicks.
Breaking Down the Efficiency Gains
How did we go from $2.75 to $0.12 CPL? It wasn’t a single magic bullet — it was the cumulative effect of five changes:
- Exact match precision: By eliminating broad match, we stopped paying for 72% of queries that never converted. The remaining 28% of clicks were from searchers with genuine purchase intent, and those converted at 5x the previous rate.
- Negative keyword pruning: The 1,200+ negative keywords blocked an estimated 3,200 wasted clicks per month, saving approximately $380/month in useless ad spend.
- Intent-matched landing pages: Dedicated landing pages improved the post-click conversion rate from 0.8% to 4.3% — a 5.4x improvement. A searcher looking for “pricing” who landed on a pricing page with a clear CTA was far more likely to convert than one landing on a generic homepage.
- Target CPA bidding with conversion data: Once we had 30 days of clean conversion data (110+ conversions), Google’s Smart Bidding did the heavy lifting. The algorithm learned which searches, devices, times, and audiences produced the best results and allocated budget accordingly.
- Local market focus: The Bangladesh-specific ad group delivered a CPL of just $0.07 — nearly half the account average. Queries in Bangla (e.g., “সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া শিডিউলার,” “সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া মার্কেটিং টুল”) had exceptionally high conversion rates at very low CPCs because competition for Bangla-language paid search terms is minimal.
Month-by-Month Performance
Month 1 (Nov 2024): The setup and learning phase. Daily sign-ups averaged 22.4/day — a 66% improvement from the pre-campaign baseline — as we manually adjusted bids, tested ad copy, and refined negatives. CPL dropped to $0.98. Total spend: $895.
Month 2 (Dec 2024): Smart Bidding activated. Daily sign-ups jumped to 41.7/day as the algorithm began optimising. CPL dropped to $0.31. We also launched the Bangladesh-specific ad group mid-month, which immediately outperformed everything else. Total spend: $890.
Month 3 (Jan 2025): Full optimisation. Daily sign-ups hit 59.4/day. CPL bottomed out at $0.12. The Bangladesh ad group alone was generating 18 sign-ups/day at a $0.07 CPL. The Direct SaaS and Trial & Pricing groups were running at $0.15–$0.18 CPL. Total spend: $892.
Why This Worked: Lessons for B2B SaaS in Emerging Markets
The SMMJobz campaign reveals several principles that extend beyond this single account. If you’re running Google Ads for a B2B SaaS company — especially in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, or similar emerging markets — here’s what we learned:
1. Exact Match Is Underrated for SaaS
The prevailing wisdom in 2024–2025 is that broad match with Smart Bidding delivers the best results. That may be true for high-budget, high-volume accounts in mature markets like the US or UK. But for a SaaS company with a $900/month budget in a cost-sensitive market, exact match gave us control — and control was the single biggest factor in keeping CPL below $0.50. Every dollar spent was on a query where we knew the searcher’s intent. We recommend that B2B SaaS companies with monthly budgets under $3,000 start with exact match, gather 100+ conversions, and then test broad match with Smart Bidding on a limited basis.
2. Localisation Is a Competitive Moat
The Bangladesh-specific ad group outperformed everything else by a factor of 2–3x on every metric. The reason is simple: very few advertisers are running well-optimised Google Ads campaigns for Bangla-language or Bangladesh-specific SaaS queries. Competition is low, CPCs are cheap ($0.02–$0.05 per click), and conversion intent is high because the searcher is explicitly looking for a local solution. For any emerging-market B2B SaaS company, investing in language-specific and location-specific campaigns is not optional — it’s the highest-ROI activity you can pursue in paid search.
3. Landing Pages Must Match Ad Intent
This is perhaps the most tired piece of advice in marketing — and also the most consistently ignored. The 0.8% → 4.3% conversion rate improvement came directly from building dedicated landing pages for different intent segments. It’s not enough to have a good homepage. If your ad says “pricing,” the landing page must show pricing. If your ad says “free trial,” the landing page must start with the sign-up form. Message match — the degree to which the ad promise is fulfilled on the landing page — is the single highest-leverage conversion rate optimisation (CRO) tactic for paid search.
4. Manual CPC First, Smart Bidding Second
Jumping straight into automated bidding without historical conversion data is a recipe for budget waste. We ran manual CPC for 30 days to establish a clean conversion signal. This allowed us to build a 110+ conversion data set that gave Google’s algorithm a solid foundation to optimise. The result: when we switched to Target CPA, the algorithm performed well from day one because it had quality data to learn from.
Comparing Approaches: SMMJobz vs. Other Campaigns
At Kanok Miah, we’ve had the privilege of running paid search campaigns across multiple industries. The SMMJobz approach — precision exact match + aggressive negative keyword pruning + intent-matched landing pages — mirrors the strategy we used successfully for CloudMatrix Technologies (a B2B cloud services provider) and SMMRX (another social media marketing platform). In each case, the pivot from broad, generic campaigns to tightly focused exact match structures drove 3–5x improvements in conversion rate and 50–90% reductions in CPL.
By contrast, our Facebook Ads campaigns — such as Iqra Cadet Madrasha (community outreach and recruitment) and Dohar Malabis (e-commerce for Islamic clothing) — require a fundamentally different approach: audience targeting, lookalike modelling, and creative testing rather than keyword intent matching. The lesson is that channel strategy must match the buyer’s journey. For B2B SaaS, where buyers actively search for solutions using specific tooling and pricing keywords, Google Search with exact match is the highest-converting channel available.
Technical Setup Highlights
For readers interested in the technical details, here are the key configuration choices that made a difference:
- Conversion tracking: Google Ads conversion tracking via Google Tag Manager, measuring the “complete registration” event (user reaches the dashboard after email verification). We also set up a secondary conversion action for “trial start” (first post scheduled) to measure engagement quality.
- Enhanced conversions: First-party user data (hashed email) passed to Google for improved measurement accuracy — recovered approximately 18% of previously unmeasured conversions.
- Audience signals: In-market audiences for “Social Media Management Software” and “Digital Marketing Software” were added as observation (not targeting) to feed the bidding algorithm.
- Ad schedule: 8 AM – 11 PM BDT, Monday through Saturday (Bangladeshi work week), with a 20% bid adjustment for 10 AM – 2 PM (peak decision-making hours).
- Location targeting: Bangladesh only (100% of budget), with a small test campaign (10% budget) for India and Pakistan markets that was paused after unsatisfactory CPL results.
Key Takeaways
If you take nothing else away from the SMMJobz case study, remember these five points:
- Crawl, walk, run with match types. Start with exact match. Master it. Then cautiously test phrase and broad match once you have conversion volume and bidding data. For sub-$3,000/month budgets, exact match is your friend.
- Negative keywords are a profit centre. Spending time on negative keyword research — and maintaining your negative list weekly — is the highest-ROI activity in account management. Block 1,200 terms and watch your CPL collapse.
- Build for the local market first. If your SaaS serves an emerging market, create dedicated ad groups, landing pages, and ad copy for local-language and local-payment searches. The CPCs are lower, the competition is thinner, and the conversion rates are higher than English-only campaigns.
- Landing pages are half the equation. Google Ads can bring the right traffic, but only a well-designed, intent-matched landing page can convert it. Invest at least as much in landing page optimisation as you do in keyword research.
- Measure what matters. CPL and conversion rate are your north star metrics. Vanity metrics like impressions and CTR can distract you. If your CPL is under $0.50 and you’re generating 50+ sign-ups/day on a $900/month budget, you’ve built a sustainable acquisition machine.
Ready to Scale Your B2B SaaS with Google Ads?
The SMMJobz campaign proves that B2B SaaS companies in emerging markets can achieve world-class paid search efficiency — if they build the right strategy. It’s not about outspending competitors; it’s about out-thinking them. Precision keyword selection, intent-aligned ad copy, dedicated landing pages, and disciplined bidding can transform a $900/month ad account from a cost centre into a growth engine.
At Kanok Miah, we specialise in building and managing Google Ads campaigns for B2B SaaS companies — particularly those operating in Bangladesh and South Asia. Whether you’re a startup looking for your first 1,000 users or an established platform aiming to reduce acquisition costs, we’d love to hear from you. Explore our full portfolio of case studies to see how we’ve helped businesses like SMMJobz, CloudMatrix Technologies, and SMMRX achieve measurable, repeatable results through data-driven paid search.
Campaign period: November 2024 – January 2025. All metrics sourced from Google Ads dashboard and SMMJobz internal CRM. Results are specific to this campaign and may vary based on market conditions, budget, and competition.
