Case Study: How the Company Targeting Plug-In Increased Engagement by 538% for a B2B Advertiser
In B2B PPC, precision is everything.
Targeting the right companies isn’t just about reducing waste, it’s about completely changing the type of traffic your campaigns attract.
This case study shows how WRD Agency used the Company Targeting Plug-In to transform a manufacturer’s Performance Max campaigns, delivering higher engagement, better conversion behaviour, and dramatically improved lead quality.
Background
The client, a UK-based Enterprise Networking Provider, wanted to improve lead quality from Google Ads. Their traditional Performance Max campaigns were delivering plenty of clicks, but the wrong kind.
Traffic looked strong in volume but weak in commercial intent.
To fix this, WRD tested a new approach using the Plug-In PPC Company Targeting Plug-In.
The hypothesis was simple:
The Hypothesis
“If we show Our ads only to our ICP, and not the general public, every click should be worth significantly more.”
What We Did
Two Performance Max campaigns were set up to run in parallel from 1 July to 1 October 2025:
Control Campaign:
- Targeted the entire UK but excluded known ICP company offices.
Variant Campaign:
- Targeted only identified ICP company offices using WRD’s Plug-In PPC Company Targeting Plug-In.
- Both campaigns were identical in structure, ad assets, and bidding strategy, the only difference was the audience targeting method.
- Tracking
- Initially, only form fills were counted as conversions, but this caused the campaigns to over-broaden their targeting.
- To improve optimisation, proxy conversions (high-value on-site engagement events) were introduced in July.
- These included key actions such as downloads, interaction with product configurators, and contact intent clicks, indicators of meaningful B2B engagement.
The Results
The difference in performance was immediate, and dramatic.
Even after adjusting for differences in ad spend, the company-targeted campaign outperformed the control across every meaningful KPI.
| KPI | Adjusted Growth | Original Growth | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTR | +146% | — | The company-targeted audience showed much higher interest in the ads. Fewer impressions overall, but far stronger engagement. |
| Engagement Conversion Rate | +538% | +686% | The strongest signal of quality: ICP companies were over 5× more likely to complete key engagement events on the site. |
| Conversions | +106% | +254% | Significantly higher volume of engaged, valuable users reaching conversion points. |
| Impressions | -77% | — | The company-targeted campaign reached fewer people overall, reflecting a narrower but far more qualified audience. |
| Clicks | -42% | — | Fewer clicks, but each click carried meaningfully higher intent and engagement. |
| Avg. CPC | +329% | — | Cost per click increased, but the value per click increased even more. Cheap clicks from the control campaign were proven to be low quality. |
Key Insight
At first glance, fewer impressions and clicks might seem negative, but in B2B performance marketing, volume is vanity.
The company-targeted campaign attracted fewer people, but the right people.
Instead of paying for cheap, curious clicks, the Plug-In PPC approach paid for decision-maker engagement, the type of behaviour that converts to RFQs and long-term contracts over the following months.
Why Company Targeting Worked
The Plug-In PPC Company Targeting Plug-In works by matching campaign delivery to verified company data.
Instead of targeting by keywords alone, it uses:
- Verified company office postcodes
- Firmographic filters (industry, size, revenue)
- IP and domain data matching
- CRM integration to exclude existing customers
This allows ads to show only to companies within your Ideal Customer Profile, ensuring that every click comes from a potential buyer, not a casual browser.
The Impact
The improved precision changed everything:
- CTR +146% – audiences recognised the offer as directly relevant to them.
- Engagement +538% – real engineers, buyers, and decision-makers spent more time exploring.
- Conversions +106% – more high-quality interactions that progressed into pipeline discussions.
- Budget control – even though cost per click increased, the return per engaged visitor skyrocketed.
By the end of the test period, both Google’s automated bidding and WRD’s manual optimisation shifted the majority of budget toward the company-targeted campaign, not because it got more clicks, but because it got better outcomes.
Lessons Learned
This test proved what Plug-In PPC was designed to show:
- Broad PPC reach doesn’t equal growth.
- Relevance and qualification outperform cheap traffic every time.
- Company targeting turns Google Ads from a volume engine into a precision revenue channel.
Summary
By combining data precision, targeted company delivery, and engagement-based optimisation, the Company Targeting Plug-In helped this B2B Advertiser to transform wasted ad spend into measurable performance.
Even with fewer impressions and higher CPC, the campaign achieved a 538% improvement in engagement quality and a 106% lift in conversion actions, clear proof that targeting the right companies beats chasing more clicks.
If you want to see how the Plug-In PPC Company Targeting Plug-In could work for your business, Request a demo or consultation with WRD Agency.
