Why Cybersecurity Brands Are Turning to Paid Media to Reach the Right Audience
To the casual observer, cybersecurity solutions might not seem like they would be an overly difficult sell in today’s world. After all, the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey for 2025 discovered that of the businesses questioned, some 43% (four in 10) had experienced some kind of cybersecurity breach or attack over the past 12 months.
Alas, the challenges of marketing cybersecurity services – even to those organisations that could stand to greatly benefit from them – can, indeed, be great and distinctive. This might go some way to explaining why in recent years, some cybersecurity firms have reportedly spent as much as 50% or more of their revenue on sales and marketing.
While there are many branches of marketing that cybersecurity firms plough money into, it is noticeable that Pay Per Click (PPC) has attracted particularly heavy use among these businesses.
So, what factors help explain the strong demand for PPC services for growing brands in the cybersecurity space? Below are just some of them.
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The Intense Competition in the Cybersecurity Industry
There is no question that the cybersecurity landscape is a crowded one, with all manner of vendors making available complex solutions.
This underscores the importance of cybersecurity brands finding effective ways to “cut through the noise” and gain rapid visibility among the decision-makers they need to target, such as Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and IT managers.
Such a high level of competition means that even when paid media is used from an early stage, a given cybersecurity brand’s cost-per-click (CPC) can be significantly higher than what an equivalent brand in another industry may need to spend.
So, there is typically a need for ambitious cybersecurity firms to partner with trusted PPC agencies that are skilled in using precision targeting. This can help ensure the given cybersecurity brand’s ads are actually seen by professionals who are actively on the lookout for related solutions.
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The Need – And Ability – To Target High-Intent Audiences
With cybersecurity firms frequently spending such high proportions of their revenue on sales and marketing, it will be even more vital for those marketing efforts to reach the audiences that are likeliest to convert. Sure enough, this is something that – when used well – paid media can greatly help with.
Paid media allows for highly precise targeting on the basis of specific demographics, behaviour, and job titles. It allows for cybersecurity brands to focus on high-intent audiences, such as IT directors in particular industries, drawing upon intent-driven ads. Retargeting campaigns can also be used to re-engage prospects that have previously interacted with the given brand.
The use of paid channels means that cybersecurity vendors don’t have to depend on simply broadcasting generic claims about their services; instead, messages can be tailored to the distinct needs of CISOs, IT admins, and risk managers.
To give a few examples of how this may manifest on particular platforms: on LinkedIn, sponsored content can appear in target users’ feeds, and sponsored messaging can allow for personalised messages to be sent directly to CISOs’ LinkedIn inboxes.
Google Search Ads, meanwhile, can be used with long-tail, intent-driven keywords such as “enterprise ransomware protection solution” or “solutions for GDPR compliance cybersecurity”.
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The Long and Complex Sales Cycles Typical of This Sector
Before a given organisation commits to a particular cybersecurity solution, it is likely that extensive research will be made into the various options. Furthermore, multiple stakeholders are likely to be involved in reaching any final decision.
This extended process may seem to run counter to the reputation of PPC marketing as a practice that is very much about immediate, short-term impact.
However, the reality is that paid media also works well with an account-based marketing (ABM) approach and retargeting strategies, which allow for a given cybersecurity firm to keep itself top-of-mind throughout the buyer’s journey.
“Account-based marketing”, of course, refers to a strategic approach whereby sales and marketing teams work together to target specific, high-value accounts with personalised campaigns and content. ABM, then, entails each targeted company being treated as a “market of one”, which marks a contrast from a broad, “spray and pray” approach to marketing.
Paid Media Packs in A Lot of Power for Cybersecurity Vendors
It may not seem to every bystander that PPC would necessarily be the most natural match to the requirements of cybersecurity players.
In truth, though, great numbers of such businesses have already leveraged paid media to navigate this notoriously competitive and trust-driven sector. In the process, cybersecurity businesses have gained impressive results targeting high-intent decision-makers and maximising return on investment (ROI) through precise, data-driven campaigns.
