How I Reduced a SaaS Company's CPC by 40% Using SKAGs

High cost-per-click (CPC) is one of the biggest challenges SaaS companies face when running Google Ads. In this case study, I'll walk through how I helped a B2B SaaS client reduce their CPC by 40% using Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs).

What Are SKAGs?

SKAGs (Single Keyword Ad Groups) are a Google Ads structure where each ad group contains only one keyword. This allows for:

• Highly relevant ad copy
• Better Quality Scores
• Improved click-through rates
• Lower CPCs

The Problem

The client was running broad ad groups with dozens of keywords, resulting in:

• Poor Quality Scores
• Low ad relevance
• High CPCs ($12+)
• Inconsistent conversions

The Solution: Implementing SKAGs

I restructured their campaigns into SKAGs using the following steps:

1. Keyword grouping by intent
2. Creation of tightly themed ad copy
3. Dedicated landing pages for each keyword group
4. Ongoing negative keyword refinement

Results

After 60 days, the campaign saw:

• 40% reduction in CPC
• 25% increase in CTR
• 30% increase in conversion rate
• 2x improvement in Quality Score

Lessons Learned

• SKAGs require more setup, but deliver better performance
• Ad relevance directly impacts CPC and Quality Score
• Negative keywords are critical for maintaining clean traffic

Conclusion

SKAGs aren't for every account, but for high-CPC industries like SaaS, they can be a powerful way to regain control of performance. If you're struggling with high CPCs, consider testing a SKAG structure.