When people want more leads from Google Ads, the first instinct is usually to spend more. But often the quickest win is making the budget you already have work harder.
This is exactly what happened with a roofing company in Surrey whose Google Ads I manage.
The problem
In May, the account looked busy. It was getting plenty of traffic, but too much of it wasn’t turning into enquiries. Money was being spent on clicks from people who were never going to book a roofer.
That’s one of the most common problems I see. The ads are “working” in the sense that people are clicking, but the wrong people are clicking.
What I changed
Throughout June, I reviewed the search terms every few days and made four main changes.
1. Blocked the wrong searches
A surprising number of clicks were coming from people looking for roofing suppliers and materials, not a roofer. They want to buy felt or tiles, not book a job. I added these searches as negative keywords so the ads stopped showing for them.
2. Put more behind what was already working
Some areas, devices and audiences were already bringing in leads at a good price. I raised bids where the leads were coming from, so more of the budget went to the people most likely to get in touch.
3. Switched to target cost per lead
The account had been bidding to get as many clicks as possible. Clicks don’t pay the bills, so I switched the bidding to target cost per lead instead. That tells Google to find enquiries, not just traffic.
4. Rewrote the weakest ads
I rewrote the ads that weren’t pulling their weight, and switched off Google’s auto-generated ads, which were saying things the business wouldn’t have chosen to say.
The results
In June, on exactly the same budget as May:
| May | June | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leads | 18 | 23 | +28% |
| Cost per lead | – | – | −24% |
| Clicks that became enquiries | 4.3% | 6.5% | +2.2 points |
| Click-through rate | – | – | +22% |
Every lead cost 24% less, and the business got five more enquiries without spending any more money.
Why it worked
None of this was complicated. It came down to a few basics done properly:
- Fewer wasted clicks meant more of the budget went on people ready to book a job.
- Better ads meant more of the right people clicked.
- Smarter bidding meant Google was looking for enquiries, not just visitors.
Could your account do the same?
If your ads get plenty of clicks but not many calls, there’s a good chance some of your budget is going on the wrong searches. My £150 Ads Audit will show you exactly where, and what to change.
You can also see this and my other results on the case studies page.