Client Overview
DevSquad is a premium SaaS development partner with a team of over 80 elite developers focused on helping entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 brands take software ideas from concept to reality.
Their team supports the full product development lifecycle, helping clients build high-quality products and continuously improve their platforms to drive competitive advantage through technology.
DevSquad offers a high-performance delivery model built around small, specialized teams, paired development for complex engineering challenges, automated testing, and fast development cycles that allow clients to ship features weekly (and often daily).
Their services include:
- SaaS development
- Startup MVP development
- Enterprise modernization & business app development
To scale demand and generate more high-quality inbound opportunities, DevSquad partnered with Velocity. The goal was to improve Google Ads performance by filtering out low-intent leads, increasing sales-qualified pipeline volume, and making paid search a reliable acquisition channel that consistently drives real software development opportunities.
79%
Reduction in cost per sales-qualified lead (SQL)
7x
Increase in lead-to-SQL conversion rate
3x
3x increase in Google Ads-driven opportunities
The Problem
DevSquad is a premium development partner serving founders and businesses with serious software projects, meaningful budgets, and long-term product roadmaps. But like many high-ticket B2B services, DevSquad faced a challenge: lead volume was easy to generate, but consistent, high-quality pipeline was tricky.
Prior agencies had focused on increasing form submissions without filtering for actual buying intent. While lead volume and cost per lead improved, many inquiries lacked legitimate budgets, timelines, or real software projects. The result was wasted ad spend, wasted sales time, and inconsistent performance from Google Ads.
DevSquad needed a paid search strategy that could:
- Reach in-market buyers with real SaaS and business application projects
- Attract second-time founders and teams building internal business software
- Reduce low-quality lead volume while improving SQL and opportunity generation
- Create a reliable system that could connect ad spend directly to pipeline outcomes
To achieve this, DevSquad partnered with Velocity to restructure their Google Ads program, close the loop between paid search and CRM performance, and build a scalable, performance-driven demand generation engine.
Our Strategy
Full account restructuring for control and scalability
We overhauled DevSquad’s Google Ads account to improve structure, campaign clarity, and performance visibility. This created a stronger foundation for ongoing experimentation and allowed budget to be dynamically allocated with precision across service offerings, keywords, match types, and funnel intent.
Budget allocation based on real pipeline contribution
Instead of optimizing for surface-level conversion volume, we reallocated spend based on what actually generated sales-qualified leads and downstream pipeline. This ensured that budget flowed toward keywords and match types that consistently produced real buying intent, not just clicks and form fills.
HubSpot integration to close the loop
To create end-to-end measurement, we integrated Google Ads performance directly with DevSquad’s HubSpot CRM. This funnel math closed the reporting gap and allowed optimization decisions to be based on actual SQLs, opportunities, and closed-won performance.
Methodical bid strategy testing to improve cost per SQL and CAC
We tested multiple bidding strategies to balance scale and efficiency. The goal wasn’t simply to increase conversions; it was to increase qualified pipeline volume while improving cost per SQL and overall customer acquisition economics.
Programmatic negative keyword expansion to eliminate search term bleed
To protect lead quality and prevent irrelevant traffic, we implemented aggressive negative keyword expansion and search term filtering. This reduced wasted spend, improved persona targeting accuracy, and helped ensure ads appeared only for searches aligned with DevSquad’s ideal buyer profile.
Rapid experimentation across messaging and campaign types
To continuously improve performance, we ran ongoing tests across new campaign types, positioning angles, messaging variations, and offers. This helped DevSquad stay competitive in the auction while dialing in the highest converting combos.
Results
By partnering with Velocity, DevSquad transformed Google Ads into a predictable, high-performing acquisition channel tied directly to revenue-driving outcomes.
Rather than focusing on volume for volume’s sake, DevSquad built a funnel that prioritized qualified pipeline, allowing performance to be evaluated based on what mattered most: sales-qualified leads, opportunities, and closed-won deals.
As a result:
- Lead-to-SQL conversion rate increased by up to 43% in peak business months
- Cost per SQL dropped significantly – 79%
- Google Ads generated up to 3x more opportunities in under 12 months
- The channel became stable, scalable, and measurable with full funnel visibility
With closed-loop reporting and consistent testing in place, DevSquad gained the ability to confidently scale spend while maintaining lead quality and predictable quarterly pipeline trends.
The end result was a paid search program built for long-term growth, one that reliably produced legitimate software development opportunities and gave DevSquad a clear “dollars in, revenue out” acquisition channel.