SEO Case Study: Boosted SEO Case Study: Boosted Retargeting Conversion Rate 2.1X in 90 Days for a B2B SaaS in San FranciscoConversion Rate 2.1X in 90 Days for a B2B SaaS
In May 2025, a San Francisco based B2B SaaS company partnered with Goforaeo because their retargeting ads were spending consistently but converting inconsistently. They were getting traffic, but the second touch was not doing its job.
In 90 days, we rebuilt their retargeting system with cleaner audiences, fresher creative, tighter landing page alignment, and tracking that matched real pipeline. Retargeting conversion rate increased 2.1X, while cost per conversion dropped and lead quality improved.
Client snapshot:
This client is a B2B SaaS company in San Francisco, California. They sell a subscription product used by mid market teams and enterprise teams, with buyers and influencers across operations, IT, and leadership.
Retargeting mattered for them because the first visit rarely converts in B2B. People compare tools, talk internally, and return multiple times before requesting a demo.
What counts as a conversion in this SEO Case Study:
We tracked a primary conversion and two supporting conversions:
- Primary: demo request form submission
- Supporting: product page key action (pricing click or comparison page scroll depth)
- Supporting: booked meeting confirmed in CRM (used for lead quality checks)
Dates, timeframe, and location:
This work ran for 90 days from May 6, 2025 to August 3, 2025.
Location: San Francisco, California (headquarters), targeting primarily the United States market.
Reporting cadence: weekly checks, monthly rollups, and a final 90 day summary using the same tracking rules throughout.
Starting point: what was happening before Goforaeo stepped in
Retargeting was active, but it was not structured like a real buyer journey. Most visitors were being shown the same ads repeatedly, no matter what pages they touched.
We reviewed the previous 30 day baseline period from April 6, 2025 to May 5, 2025 to make the before vs after comparison fair.
Baseline performance (April 6, 2025 to May 5, 2025):
All numbers are rounded to keep them readable.
- Retargeting spend: $24,800
- Impressions: 612,400
- Clicks: 3,870
- CTR: 0.63%
- Demo request conversions: 24
- Retargeting conversion rate (demo requests per click): 0.62%
- Cost per demo request: $1,033
- Average frequency (how often the same person saw ads): 10.4
- Assisted conversions (retargeting touched but did not get last click): 41
The main issue in simple words:
They were paying to remind people, but the reminder was not strong enough to turn interest into action. It was also hitting the wrong people too many times.
What we found in the audit:
We started with a full retargeting audit across channels, tracking, creative, and landing pages. Then we turned findings into a clean plan.
The key gaps we uncovered:
- Audiences were too broad: almost all visitors were in one bucket
- Creative was tired: same messaging, same layouts, same proof points
- Landing pages did not match the ad promise: people bounced fast
- Frequency was high and quality was dropping: repeat views without intent
- Tracking was messy: some conversions were not attributed correctly, some were double counted
Why this matters in B2B:
Retargeting is not just about following people around. In B2B, it should do three jobs:
- Bring back the right visitors
- Answer the next question they have
- Give them a reason to take the next step now
Strategy overview: how we rebuilt the retargeting system
We used a four part approach. Each part was simple on its own, but together it created a system that improved week after week.
We did not try to “scale” immediately. We fixed the base first, then increased spend only where results proved stable.
Strategy pillar 1: audience cleanup and intent based segmentation
We replaced one large audience with smaller, clearer groups. People saw ads based on what they actually did on the site.
Key segments we created:
- High intent visitors: pricing page, integration pages, comparison pages
- Mid intent visitors: feature pages, use case pages, webinar page visitors
- Low intent visitors: blog readers and glossary traffic
- Existing leads: people already in the CRM (excluded from most campaigns)
- Customers and trial users: removed from acquisition retargeting completely
What changed because of this:
- We stopped wasting spend on low intent traffic
- We pushed more budget to the people most likely to book a demo
- We controlled frequency better because audiences were smaller and cleaner
Strategy pillar 2: new creative built for second touch decisions
Retargeting creative should not look like cold ads. It should feel like the next page of the conversation.
We built a creative system with clear roles:
- Proof ads: customer logos, security signals, short testimonials
- Problem ads: clear pain point plus a simple result
- Comparison ads: “X vs Y” style framing without naming competitors
- Demo ads: direct CTA, but only for high intent segments
- Education ads: short guides and checklists for mid intent segments
Creative testing rules we used:
- Test one major change at a time: offer, angle, or format
- Keep 2 to 3 winners running while testing new versions
- Refresh every 3 to 4 weeks to prevent fatigue
- Use simple language and short sentences, especially on LinkedIn placements
Strategy pillar 3: landing pages that match the ad promise
A strong ad can still fail if the landing page feels like a different topic.
We made landing page updates that focused on clarity, speed, and trust:
- Message match: headline reflects the exact promise in the ad
- Shorter page paths: less scrolling to find the demo CTA
- Proof near the CTA: logos, security notes, quick customer outcomes
- Form simplification: fewer fields and cleaner labels
- Faster load time: reduced heavy scripts on key pages
Small changes that helped a lot:
- We added a “What happens after you book” section to reduce hesitation
- We added 3 short FAQs under the form based on sales team objections
- We added one simple comparison section to stop people from leaving to research
Strategy pillar 4: tracking and measurement that reflects pipeline
We rebuilt tracking so that every decision had clean data behind it.
Key improvements:
- Cleaned up Google Tag Manager triggers to remove duplicate events
- Standardized UTMs across all retargeting campaigns
- Set up conversion rules so only real demo submissions counted as primary
- Connected CRM outcomes to ad platforms for lead quality checks
- Built a Looker Studio dashboard that showed: spend, demos, CPL, and quality signals side by side
This part was critical because we needed to separate “busy traffic” from “real buyer actions.”
Tools used:
We used tools the client team could understand and maintain after the engagement.
Ad and platform tools:
- LinkedIn Campaign Manager
- Google Ads (Display, YouTube retargeting)
- Meta Ads Manager (used lightly for specific remarketing pockets)
Tracking and analytics tools:
- Google Tag Manager
- Google Analytics 4
- Google Search Console (for landing page behavior context)
- Looker Studio
- HubSpot or Salesforce CRM (lead stages and booked meetings)
Research and experience tools:
- Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity (scroll, clicks, drop offs)
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Google Sheets for creative logs, testing notes, and weekly actions
Month by month execution with results and what we shipped
Below is the full 90 day window, broken into three 30 day blocks. Each block includes the exact work completed and the measurable lift.
Month 1: May 6, 2025 to June 5, 2025
In the first month, we focused on cleanup and fast wins. We did not chase volume yet. We chased signal and quality.
What we completed:
- Rebuilt retargeting audiences into 5 intent buckets
- Added exclusions: existing leads, customers, employee traffic
- Set frequency caps on display and video where possible
- Launched 12 new creatives across 3 angles: proof, problem, demo
- Updated 2 core landing pages for message match and faster CTA access
- Fixed duplicate conversion events and cleaned primary conversion rules
Performance for Month 1:
- Retargeting spend: $25,200
- Impressions: 590,800
- Clicks: 3,940
- CTR: 0.67%
- Demo request conversions: 34
- Retargeting conversion rate: 0.86%
- Cost per demo request: $741
- Average frequency: 8.6
What improved first:
Frequency dropped and conversion rate rose, which told us we were reaching better people with less irritation.
Month 2: June 6, 2025 to July 5, 2025
This month was about sequencing and deeper intent. We started telling a story instead of repeating one message.
What we completed:
- Built a simple retargeting sequence by intent: education first, then proof, then demo
- Split high intent into two groups: pricing visitors vs integration visitors
- Launched 16 new creatives including 4 short video versions for YouTube and LinkedIn
- Added 2 mid funnel assets: a short checklist and a comparison style guide
- Improved landing page trust: added security notes, one testimonial block, and clearer next steps
- Started lead quality tracking: % of demos that became qualified meetings
Performance for Month 2:
- Retargeting spend: $26,700
- Impressions: 605,100
- Clicks: 3,980
- CTR: 0.66%
- Demo request conversions: 45
- Retargeting conversion rate: 1.13%
- Cost per demo request: $593
- Average frequency: 7.9
- Qualified meeting rate from retargeting demos: 38% (up from 29% baseline)
What this told us:
Conversion rate went up again without a big jump in traffic, which usually means the offer and the message are finally matching what people need at that stage.
Month 3: July 6, 2025 to August 3, 2025
This month was about scaling winners carefully and cutting anything that looked good but did not create real demos.
What we completed:
- Paused weak segments and shifted budget toward high intent visitors
- Refreshed creative again: 10 new variations built from the top 3 winners
- Added a “proof heavy” landing page version for pricing visitors
- Introduced a small test: book a demo vs get a tailored walkthrough request
- Tightened placement controls for display to reduce low quality clicks
- Updated UTMs and campaign naming so sales and marketing had one shared view
Performance for Month 3:
- Retargeting spend: $27,400
- Impressions: 621,900
- Clicks: 4,230
- CTR: 0.68%
- Demo request conversions: 55
- Retargeting conversion rate: 1.30%
- Cost per demo request: $498
- Average frequency: 7.2
- Qualified meeting rate from retargeting demos: 44%
What stood out:
Lead quality improved while conversion rate improved, which is what you want in B2B. It is easy to raise conversion rate by lowering standards, but we did the opposite.
Before vs after proof: the 2.1X lift
To show the improvement clearly, we compared the baseline 30 days to the final 30 days.
Baseline (April 6, 2025 to May 5, 2025):
- Demo conversion rate: 0.62%
- Demo conversions: 24
- Cost per demo conversion: $1,033
- Average frequency: 10.4
Final month of the 90 days (July 6, 2025 to August 3, 2025):
- Demo conversion rate: 1.30%
- Demo conversions: 55
- Cost per demo conversion: $498
- Average frequency: 7.2
What changed in one line:
Retargeting conversion rate increased from 0.62% to 1.30%, which is a 2.1X improvement.
The exact changes that drove the lift
A lot happened, but these were the biggest levers.
1) We stopped treating all visitors the same:
- High intent visitors got demo and proof ads
- Mid intent visitors got education and checklists
- Low intent visitors got light messaging and lower budgets
- Existing leads were excluded so we did not pay for people already in the funnel
2) We refreshed creative on a schedule, not when results crashed:
- New creative every 3 to 4 weeks
- Winners stayed, but they did not run forever
- Ads included real proof, not just product claims
3) We made landing pages feel easier to say yes to:
- Clear headline match with the ad
- Trust near the CTA
- Clear explanation of what happens after submitting the form
4) We measured quality, not just conversions:
- Tracking fixes reduced bad data
- CRM outcomes helped us see which campaigns brought real meetings
- Budget went to the segments that created qualified conversations
What the client team liked most about the process
This matters because good results are easier to keep when the system is simple.
- Weekly updates with clear actions, not vague reports
- A creative log that showed what changed and why
- A simple audience map they could understand
- A repeatable testing plan they could continue internally
Takeaways for other B2B SaaS teams:
If you want better retargeting performance in a short window, these ideas usually transfer well.
- Build retargeting audiences by intent, not just “all visitors”
- Refresh creative often, especially on LinkedIn placements
- Make the landing page match the promise exactly
- Control frequency before you increase budget
- Track lead quality in the CRM so you do not optimize for junk
- Keep the message simple: one problem, one result, one next step
Closing note:
From May 6, 2025 to August 3, 2025, this San Francisco B2B SaaS company and Goforaeo turned retargeting into a clean, predictable conversion engine. The 2.1X conversion rate lift was the headline, but the real win was a system the team could keep using without guessing.