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Google Ads for B2B lead gen niche with small SV, high-intent keywords – what to do?
Posted by on January 28, 2026 at 6:18 pmHi.
Business that operates in a B2B niche, lead gen, search queries are BOFU / extremely high intent, however search volumes are usually quite low. Between 10-50 or even <10.
How do you usually run GAds campaign in this situation?
I'm doing Search campaigns with max conversions (account has some conversion history, and manual CPC would be almost impossible since the search volumes are really low and spread throughout many locations).
Another thing to mention is that we can't really afford broad/phrase match because the queries are very semantically sensitive, to put it this way. One word would change the intent of the user in a way that our ad is irrelevant for them.
So, campaigns are not getting many clicks/impressions, let alone conversions.
It's the type of industry where 1 qualified lead per month that turns into a sale could mean positive ROI and 3x-4x ROAS minimum.
What do you usually do in such circumstances?
Thank you, any answer would be highly appreciated!
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1 Reply
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Run exact match search only across all locations in one campaign and optimize for conversions so limited volume concentrates signals instead of fragmenting delivery
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Exact match KWs, audience targeting in YouTube using YT channels that your B2B audience watches, other ways of audience targeting – there’s many ways to make it work but it won’t be cheap!
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Definitely Exact match keywords only. You don’t need a 100 low quality visitors, you just need that 20 quality people to visit your page.
Also, most likely it will be a manual bidding campaign as well -
low volume + high intent + semantically sensitive keywords is tough for google ads. the algo needs data to optimize and u just dont have enough.
forget max conversions for now. with this little volume google has nothing to learn from. switch to manual cpc or max clicks with a bid cap so u at least show up consistently for the searches that do happen.
if 1 qualified lead per month = positive roi, ur job isnt optimization, its coverage. make sure ur showing up for every single relevant search. check impression share and search lost IS. if ur missing searches due to budget or rank, fix that first.
consider broadening slightly but with tight negatives. phrase match on ur core terms + aggressive negative keyword lists can capture variants u might miss with pure exact match without going totally off intent.
also look beyond search. if search volume is 10-50/month, thats a ceiling. linkedin ads, cold outreach, or even programmatic targeting decision-makers at target companies might scale better than trying to squeeze more out of search.
at this volume treat google ads as a safety net to catch the few people actively searching, not as a growth engine. growth probably comes from other channels.
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When search volume is very low and intent is high, I usually focus on these:
* Exact match on true BOFU keywords
* Very tight campaign/ad group structure
* Aggressive bids to stay top of page
* Maximize impression share on core termsIf conversions are low (<15–20/month), Max Conversions often struggles, it may take some time before you collect enough data.
Instead of forcing broad/phrase, I expand **horizontally** with:
* problem-based searches
* comparison terms
* industry-specific keywordsRLSA and remarketing are also important, since repeat searchers convert very well.
Finally, in niches like this, landing page quality matters a lot because every click counts.
Bottom line: this is a “precision” setup. You’re optimizing for coverage and reliability, not volume. One good lead per month can already be a win as you say.
I would also suggest trying out SEO/GEO, if one lead per month makes such a difference, you could really benefit from it.
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honestly this is just the hand you’re dealt with low-volume intent keywords. you’re not gonna magic up impressions that don’t exist. max conversions won’t help if nothing’s clicking anyway.
stick with exact match, accept the low volume, and just let it run long enough to actually get data (3-6 months minimum). if your margins are good enough that one qualified lead moves the needle, you probably don’t need a “strategy” so much as patience and a solid landing page. also check if you’re actually showing for those exact queries with decent ad rank—sometimes being too restrictive kills your impressions more than the market itself.
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