Google Ads SaaS Marketing Guide: Demos vs Trials vs Freemium Strategies

"Get a Demo." "Start Free Trial." "Sign Up Free." These three buttons look similar, but they require radically different bidding strategies, landing pages, and sales teams. If you run "Get a Demo" ads for a $10/month tool, you will go bankrupt paying sales reps to talk to tiny leads. If you run "Start Free Trial" for a $50,000/year Enterprise platform, no one will convert because they need a contract and security review first.

In this guide, we break down the Offer-Fit Matrix, the "Ungated Pricing" tactic, and how to bid for "Product Qualified Leads" (PQLs).

The Financial Logic of the Offer

Your Average Contract Value (ACV) dictates your Google Ads strategy.

• Low ACV (<$<$1k/year): Must use PLG (Product Led Growth). Freemium or Free Trial. No humans.
• Mid ACV ($5k-$20k/year): The Danger Zone. Hard to automate, hard to afford sales reps. Use "Group Demos" or "Recorded Demos."
• High ACV (>$50k/year): Sales Led Growth. "Book a Meeting." Account-Based Marketing.

Theory: The Friction-Value Balance

• Free Trial: High Volume, Low Conversion Rate to Paid. (Users sign up and engage, then churn).
• Demo: Low Volume, High Conversion Rate to Closed Won. (Users who book a meeting are serious). The Hybrid Model: Use "Intent Signals" to route them.
• Small Company (1-10 employees): Route to Free Trial.
• Enterprise (500+ employees): Route to Calendar Booking.

Framework: The SaaS Funnel Metrics

Stop optimizing for "Leads." Optimize for:

1. MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead): Submitted form.
2. SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): Sales rep accepted it.
3. SQO (Sales Qualified Opportunity): Demo happened, pipeline created.
4. Closed Won: Money in bank.

The Google Ads Setup: Import your CRM stages (Salesforce/HubSpot) back into Google Ads as "Offline Conversions." Bid on SQOs, not Leads.

Execution: The "Ungated Pricing" Strategy

Most Enterprise SaaS companies hide their pricing. "Contact Sales." This frustrates users. The Tactic: Run ads targeting "Competitor Price" keywords (e.g., "Salesforce Pricing"). Send them to a page that says: "SaaS Pricing Transparency. Plans start at $500/mo." Result: You filter out the cheap leads immediately. You only pay for clicks from people who can afford $500/mo.

Advanced Strategy: The "Sandbox" Demo

Instead of "Book a Demo" (which sounds like a sales pitch), offer "Live Sandbox Access." "Play with the tool right now. No login required." How it works:

1. User clicks ad.
2. Lands on a dummy version of your app populated with fake data.
3. Clicks around.
4. To "Save" their work, they must create an account. Impact: 300% higher conversion rate than a standard landing page.

Case Study: The CRM Switch

Client: CRM Software ($5k ACV). Original: "Start Free Trial." Problem: Users signed up, saw an empty dashboard, got confused, and churned. Pivot: Changed CTA to "Watch 5-Min Walkthrough." Result:

1. Users watched the video (got educated).
2. Then signed up for the trial.
3. Activation rate (trial to paid) doubled because they knew how to use the tool.

Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Bidding on "Login" Terms

Exclude keywords like "Login," "Sign In," "Support." Existing users search "Brand + Login." You don't want to pay $10 to send a customer to the login page. Fix: Add "Login" as a Negative Keyword string.

2. The "Credit Card Required" Trap

Asking for a CC upfront kills trial signups by 80%. Only ask for CC if your product is B2C or very low ticket. For B2B, allow trial without CC.

3. Ignoring "Time to Value"

If a user signs up from an ad but doesn't "Activate" (do a key action) within 24 hours, they are gone. Sync Google Ads with your email tool to send an aggressive "Welcome Sequence" immediately after the click.

Summary

Your ad is just the front door. The Offer is the house. Match the door to the house.

Your SaaS Checklist:

1. Map your ACV to your Offer (Trial vs Demo).
2. Set up Offline Conversion Tracking for SQL/SQO.
3. Exclude "Login" keywords.
4. Test a "Sandbox" or "Interactive Demo" landing page.

Sell the solution, not the software.