Side by side
| LinkedIn Ads | Google Ads | |
|---|---|---|
| What it buys | Attention from a chosen title at a chosen company, whether or not they are looking | A person who is looking, at the moment they look |
| Targeting | Company list, job title, function, seniority, industry, size, skills, groups; retargeting; CRM segments | Search keywords, in-market and affinity audiences, customer match, website visitors, inferred company (limited) |
| Formats | Single image, video, carousel, document, thought leader ads, message and conversation ads, event ads, CTV | Search, Shopping, display, YouTube, Discovery/Demand Gen, Performance Max |
| Typical B2B CPM | $36.23 median across 944 accounts; $50 UK, $84 US | Display and YouTube $5 to $15; search priced per click |
| Cost per click | $17.54 per landing page click median; $9.18 good; $11.33 on single image website visits | $5 to $15 on B2B search; $1 to $3 display; competitive software terms $20 to $60+ |
| Cost per lead | $164 content, $343 demo (form); $56 / $175 message ads; $721 landing page | Widely reported $50 to $250 for B2B search where volume exists; higher in competitive SaaS categories |
| Volume | Limited by the size of the audience you name | Limited by search volume in the category |
| Intent | None; the evidence is who they are | High on search; low on display |
| Account-based reporting | Companies tab, company breakdown, matched lists | None native; third-party IP tools |
| Minimum spend to test | About $4,000 a month for a full funnel; $25 to $50 a day for one content campaign | $1,000 to $3,000 a month on a tight keyword set |
| Time to first lead | Days for a content offer; about 12 days for a demo in the feed | Days, if the search volume is there |
| Where it is weakest | Cost per visit; no intent signal; small audiences price high | Nothing to buy when the buyer is not searching; competitor bidding inflates the click |
When LinkedIn wins
- The buyer is not searching. A new category, an enterprise problem nobody types into Google, a product that replaces a spreadsheet. Google has no inventory for that; LinkedIn has the title.
- The plan is a list. Account-based programmes need the list reached at every seniority; LinkedIn is the only one of the two that can buy it directly, and the Companies tab shows which accounts responded.
- The deal is large and the cycle is long. At a $50,000 deal, a $343 demo lead is noise; what matters is reaching the buying committee before the RFP, which is a LinkedIn job.
- Trust is the product. Thought leader ads put a person in front of the list (22% cheaper per landing page click than the company-page version, and read rather than skipped); nothing on Google does that.
- You need the outbound list. Engaged companies from LinkedIn ads reply to outbound at about three times the cold rate; Google's search terms report tells you what was searched, not who.
When Google wins
- Demand exists. If "[category] software" and competitor names have volume, capturing it costs less per lead than creating it, every time.
- The deal is small and closes fast. Under about $5,000, a LinkedIn demo lead is 7% of the deal before a conversation; a Google search lead is usually cheaper and warmer.
- The budget is small. $1,000 to $3,000 a month on a tight keyword set is a real Google test; on LinkedIn it is one campaign.
- Volume is the goal. Google scales with search volume to seven figures a month; LinkedIn scales with the size of the audience you can name.
- Branded search has grown. Once LinkedIn (or anything else) has created demand, Google is where it lands; not capturing it hands it to a competitor.
How they work together
The standard B2B structure is not either/or. LinkedIn thought leader ads and retargeting on the named list create awareness and site visits; Google search captures the branded and category searches that follow (branded search growth is the cleanest sign LinkedIn is working); both platforms retarget the same visitor pool at their own price; and LinkedIn's Companies tab plus Google's search terms feed the outbound list. Reported on one page by stage: reach and engagement on the list (LinkedIn), demand captured (Google), pipeline by source (CRM). That is how we run paid media, and we run Google on its own where the demand is already there.
Splitting the budget
| Situation | Split | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Established category, strong search volume, competitors bidding | 60 to 70% Google, 30 to 40% LinkedIn | Capture first; LinkedIn for the list and the accounts search misses |
| New or niche category, thin search | 70 to 80% LinkedIn, 20 to 30% Google | Create the demand; Google catches branded and the little category volume there is |
| Enterprise ABM, six-figure deals | 80%+ LinkedIn (incl. CTV above $30,000 a month), Google on brand and competitor terms only | The list is the plan; search is a safety net |
| Under $5,000 a month total | One platform | Splitting a small budget tests neither; pick by search volume |
| Selling to SMB, transactional | Google-led, LinkedIn for retargeting and SMB-only lists ($39 CPM, $12.57 per click) | Volume and intent live on Google; LinkedIn's cheapest audience is SMB |
Revisit the split quarterly against branded search volume and cost per opportunity by source. The LinkedIn numbers on this page are on how much do LinkedIn ads cost; whether LinkedIn is worth it at all for your deal size is on are LinkedIn ads worth it; the Meta comparison is here.
Google Ads figures are typical B2B ranges from published industry benchmarks and Kiin's client accounts, not a Kiin Labs panel; LinkedIn figures are the median advertiser account across 944 accounts, 12 months to 7 September 2026.