What Paid Media on Industrial B2B taught me
Whether you sell furnaces, cooling towers, power generators, or any other high-value technical solution with a long sales cycle, the fundamentals of paid media are different from almost every other industry.
It's a complex but interesting industry
One of my favourite clients while working at a large agency was an industrial B2B account. Meetings at both industry and country level were always valuable, particularly because different markets often had very different priorities.
Paid media was one of the biggest drivers when it came to send leads, qualify users and understand the different intents these had when searching.
I have been working on a few similar accounts and the most difficult part is getting the client on-board and for them to understand the value that this has in their whole strategy. This is why this guide is here to try and ease that process.
The biggest challenge isn't running the ads, it's understanding the role it plays in driving long-term business growth.
The Evidence
If you are unsure on how the industry behaves, here are a few facts
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| B2B buyers complete most of their research online before engaging suppliers | https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/7640829 |
| Complex B2B purchases involve multiple decision-makers | https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/6385743 |
| Search is often the first step in the buying journey | https://business.google.com/uk/resources/articles/explore-the-b2b-marketing-funnel-with-google-ads/ |
| Lead quality matters far more than lead volume | https://opgenmedia.com/resources/blog/b2b-lead-quality-vs-lead-volume |
| Long sales cycles require multiple touchpoints | https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-05-20-gartner-survey-finds-sixty-nine-percent-of-b-two-b-buyers-turn-to-sales-reps-to-validate-ai-generated-insights |
During my time managing the accounts for these companies, I realised success had very little to do with finding clever PPC tricks or trends. Instead, it came from understanding how engineers research, how procurement teams evaluate suppliers and how long buying journeys change the way we measure success.
What I thought
When I first started working on industrial accounts, I assumed buyers searched for products first because that was how the account had been structured. Someone needing temporary power might search for “generator rental”, while someone needing heating might search for “industrial furnace”.
What actually happened
After speaking with the client and their regional teams, with a big focus on the LATAM market, it became clear that this wasn’t how customers thought. Buyers weren’t looking for equipment; they were looking for solutions to problems within their industry. Instead of building campaigns around products, we restructured the account around industries and business challenges.
Rather than focusing on just products:
- Generator rental
- Cooling systems
- Load banks
We built campaigns around specific industries and the problems each had:
-
Cooling solutions for Mining
-
Renting vs Buying equipment for Construction
-
Oil & Gas (Upstream, downstream & midstream differenciation)
-
Energy & cooling for Events
What did this change result on
In the LATAM market, the strategy contributed to over 40% year-on-year growth in conversions, alongside a 13% improvement in click-through rate through more relevant messaging and keyword targeting.
In some European markets, such as Spain and Italy, we saw growth of 10, 15% in conversions and improved lead quality, as stated by local market leads.
Why Paid Media matters more than ever
Buyers start online
Google has repeatedly reported that B2B buyers conduct extensive online research before contacting suppliers, often completing a significant portion of their evaluation independently. Search engines are a key part of that journey.
Technical buyers search differently
They are not searching for “industrial furnace”; they are searching for things like “rotary kiln manufacturer”, “waste heat recovery system” or “electric furnace with graphite resistances”. Refine your high-intent queries rather than using super-broad terms. Speak with the internal technical teams and learn from them.
Decision-makers use different channels
It just doesn't happen all through one channel or platform
- Google Search → identify vendors
- LinkedIn → validate expertise
- Company website → review technical content
- ChatGPT → compare technologies or suppliers
- Sales call → shortlist vendors
- Procurement → final evaluation
Long sales cycles require consistent visibility
Sometimes a project won’t start until six months or a year in, so prospects still need to remember you when the RFP arrives. That makes remarketing, educational content and ongoing brand presence just as important as lead generation.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
- Should campaigns be organised by product or industry?
- In our case, organising campaigns around industries and business problems worked better than relying only on product categories. Products can still sit underneath that structure where the search intent, messaging and landing pages require it.
- How important are landing pages?
- Extremely. Buyers expect information, not slogans or fancy user interfaces.
- How much budget do I need?
- Probably the most frequently asked question. There isn’t a universal answer. Build your budget backwards from search demand, cost per click, conversion rate, lead-to-sale rate and average contract value. Even relatively small budgets can generate strong ROI in these markets because each opportunity carries significant value.
Sources & Further Reading
- Gartnerhttps://www.gartner.com/en
- Think with Googlehttps://business.google.com/aunz/think/future-of-marketing/b2b-marketing-strategies/
- Opgenmediahttps://opgenmedia.com/resources
