Software companies do not buy leads, they buy users who activate and stay. The ones that grow online are the ones measuring past the signup, to the accounts that actually convert and renew.
Most SaaS accounts we look at are optimised to the wrong event. Google Ads is told that a free trial signup is the goal, so it goes and finds the lowest-cost signups on the internet. Cost per conversion falls, the dashboard looks better every month, and revenue does not move. The campaign is working exactly as instructed. It was instructed badly.
The event worth optimising to sits further down: the account that reaches first value, invites a colleague, connects an integration, or converts to paid. That signal is harder to wire up, because it happens inside your product rather than on a thank-you page. It is also the only one that correlates with revenue, which makes it the one worth the setup work.
Optimising to revenue, not to the lowest cost per signup the auction can find.
Activation and paid conversion sent back to Google Ads as offline conversions, so bidding optimises to accounts worth having rather than to signups. This is the work that makes everything else worth doing.
The highest-intent queries in software are your category, your competitors' names and the word alternatives. Buyers run those searches with a shortlist already open. Most vendors will not write those pages.
Category and problem terms, competitor terms where they are worth defending, and negatives that keep students and job seekers out of the account. Spend follows the segments that activate.
Most of what is written about digital marketing assumes a form fill is the finish line. In software it is barely the start. Three things change as a result.
The buying window is long and self-directed. Someone researches for weeks, reads comparisons, tries two products and talks to nobody until late. Last-click attribution will credit the final branded search and tell you the rest did nothing.
The conversion happens inside the product. Activation, invites and upgrades are the events that matter, and none of them fire on a thank-you page.
Competitor brand names are legitimate keywords. In most industries chasing them is a waste. In software, alternatives and comparison searches are how buyers genuinely shop.
Software buyers have moved a chunk of their research into ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers. Ask any of them to compare tools in your category and they will name a handful. Being one of them is now a distribution channel.
What gets quoted is specific and checkable: pricing stated plainly, an honest comparison against named alternatives, integration and migration detail, and clear limits on what the product does not do. Marketing pages that dodge those questions do not get cited, because there is nothing in them worth quoting.
A traditional retainer pays for a team and the office above it. For a business with a defined market and a specific buyer, most of that structure is overhead you never see the benefit of. Here is the difference in plain terms.
| Traditional agency | Dizian | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $1,500 to $3,000 | Competitive, delivery is AI-enabled |
| Who does the work | Account manager, delivery by juniors | One experienced expert, AI doing the manual layers |
| Minimum term | Commonly a fixed lock-in | 30 day terms, no lock-in |
| Where the fee goes | Work plus team and office overhead | Work plus tooling, with the difference free for media |
This is not a discount. It is a leaner delivery model, and what it frees up goes into your media budget rather than our overhead, which is where it turns into trials worth having.
AI carries the production load: research, auditing, reporting, first drafts. It does not own the outcome. Every Dizian account is run by an experienced expert who sets the strategy, checks the output and is accountable for the result. As an accredited Google Partner with 14 years behind us, $3.4M in media managed and 6.2x average ROAS across the book, the judgement calls are made by someone who has made them before.
Results vary with market, budget and starting position, and past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Want to know whether your Google Ads is buying trials or buying noise? Book a free digital audit at dizian.com.au/contact.
How is SaaS SEO different from normal SEO?
The page types differ more than the technique does. Software buyers search in comparisons, alternatives, integrations and use cases, so those pages carry most of the commercial value. A blog full of general advice will pull traffic that never buys, while a well-built comparison page pulls a handful of visitors who are already choosing.
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Should we bid on competitor brand names?
Often yes, in software specifically. Buyers actively search competitor names alongside the word alternatives, so the intent is genuine rather than hostile. It needs a landing page that makes a fair comparison and it needs watching, because it invites the same treatment in return. We would test it on a small budget before committing.
We already track free trial signups. Is that not enough?
It is the most common setup and it quietly costs the most. Optimising to signups tells the ad platform to find people who will sign up, which is not the same as people who will pay. Once activation or paid conversion is sent back as the conversion signal, bidding usually shifts on its own and cost per paid account falls even when cost per signup rises.
Do you work with SaaS companies outside Melbourne?
Yes. Software has no service area in the way a trade does, and most of this work happens remotely anyway. We are Melbourne-based and take clients across Australia. If you want someone in the room occasionally, that is easier if you are local, and everything else is the same wherever you are.
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"We found Dizian through a trusted referral, and I’m glad we did. Before engaging Alex, our SEO and Google Ads were honestly in a mess. There was no clear structure, money was being spent without clarity, and campaigns were being tested without a proper strategy. Alex came in, reviewed everything thoroughly, and cleaned up a lot of loose ends. He brought structure, accountability, and clarity to our digital marketing. It immediately removed the headache of wasted ad spend and uncertainty. Unlike many SEO agencies out there, Dizian genuinely takes the time to understand the client’s requirements, the products, and the overall business model. Alex didn’t apply a generic template — he took the time to understand what we do and aligned the strategy accordingly. What stands out most to me is Alex’s integrity and character. He is trustworthy, transparent, and genuinely committed to helping his clients succeed. His depth of knowledge and experience is strong."
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Andatech
"Dizian Digital made our move to satphoneshop.com.au seamless and handled the transition with care and professionalism. They protected our search visibility throughout the process and helped strengthen our online presence in the Australian market. Beyond the migration, they improved the structure and performance of our campaigns, which helped us attract more of the right customers and generate better quality enquiries and sales. They were proactive, clear in their communication, and genuinely took the time to understand our business, our products, and the importance of trust and reliability in the satellite communications space."
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SatPhoneShop
“We were looking for an agile, responsive and strategic digital partner to help manage our website. Dizian met our brief and continues to deliver beyond expectations, providing proactive and valuable SEO and data-driven expertise.”
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Law Chambers
"Alex has been great to work with. His projections have all been correct and we are seeing unprecedented inquiries through the website."
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Dwyer Brick Fences
"We have been working with Alex & team over one year now and are very happy with the service. It is very professional, and we get very quick replies for our requests. We have regular meetings with reporting and are very happy to recommend Dizian services."
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Venla Resell+Relove
"I've had the privilege of working closely with Alex since 2018. His skillset and dedication to genuinely adding significant value to his client's is second to none. Highly, highly recommend for businesses looking to secure an unfair advantage for their business on Google."
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Edition
"Alex was able to help us implement an upgrade to our Google Ads Search and Shopping campaign structure across NZ and Australia. He helped ensure the structure was set up in a way that was clear and easy to use. Alongside this, he designed a supporting user friendly dashboard to report progress. Alex really knows his way around Google Ads and was very responsive to our needs during the project."
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Six Barrel Soda
"Awesome service and great results. Alex is really knowledgeable and helpful. Makes everything easy for us to understand with no hassles."
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Urban Herbalist
"Dizian has been an integral partner in our online business requirements for the last 5 years. Alex has been attentive to all of our digital needs and has allowed us to grow our online presence in a very competitive industry. We are very pleased with his services and continue to see positive results."
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Skye Dental
"Alex is an expert in his field and has always provided us with thoughtful, strategic advice and recommendations. We’ve worked together for a number of years on activities from maintenance to specific campaigns with great results. He’s reliable, responsive and has an obvious passion for what he does."
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RUSH
"We have worked closely with Alex for over 2 years. The rapport that he spent time building right from the beginning of our relationship meant that we were able to focus on growing our business internally knowing that we can trust Alex to grow our business externally. The services that he has provided for us have been invaluable to us as an early-stage startup, ensuring we have got off to the best possible start with all the right things in play. His communication is excellent and he invests time in explaining how things work and what benefit is to us in doing things a certain way. He has gone above and beyond to provide support where needed outside of the primary scope of engagement."
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