Most advertisers think all they need to boost their average click-through rate is to add some keywords, throw in some hard-hitting calls to action, and the sales and inquiries will start to flow in.
Well, it takes a little more effort than that. It can be quite an uphill battle when it comes down to increasing your conversion and click-through rates by scaling your pay per click marketing.
Google keeps updating its algorithms, and businesses keep increasing their marketing budget to see what sticks and what no longer works. But that’s not the right way either.
If you don’t manage or improve Google Ads click through rate for your account using the right techniques, your click-through rates, along with your conversion rates, are bound to take a hit. You will end up spending huge amounts of money on your digital marketing campaigns without the traffic or sales to justify them.
So, how do you improve your Google click-through rates when everyone is bidding for the same keywords and utilizing highly specialized digital marketing tools?
Let us look at some of the techniques digital marketers can use to ensure/improve Google ads CTR attract the most traffic and generate the most leads:
Google Ads uses Quality Score to score keywords from a range of 0 to 10. It denotes the relevancy of advertisements from their keywords, which is based on the probability that someone will click on these Google ads.
If you haven’t heard of Quality Score, it’s best to start from this metric. Ads with higher quality score get high rankings and accumulate fewer costs per click. They’re also more likely to have a high click-through rate.
Many factors impact Quality Score, right from your ad copy ad and URL to how relevant your PPC landing page and whether you positioned your keyword in the headline for your ad. The average click through rate CTR for Google is 3.17%, and boosting your quality score can inch you towards a higher percentage.
Google Ads has revamped its bidding game, incorporating smart bidding strategies and automation for its auctions.
Utilise smart bidding strategies: this allows Google to utilize automation for ad bidding, boosting your likelihood of getting ad clicks and your conversion rates. For this, Google relies on past data and boosts your bids for Google ads that are likely to do well with the audiences.
This automatically censors out the bids for Google ads that do not perform well and allows you to focus your energies on auctions with higher CTR (click-through rates).
With Google’s optimized bidding strategies, you can enhance your ad performance greatly. Since each auction is different, it isn’t feasible to analyze the performance of each auction manually.
Automation allows you to adjust your bids according to the performance of the keywords and saves you time from trawling through each keyword bid manually.
While this technique might not apply to all advertisements, it surely does work for e-commerce ads. Listing the price of your product in your ad copy can boost your click-through rates, particularly if your prices are lower than your competitors.
While some ad extensions do this for you automatically, highlighting pricing in your ad copy can distinguish you from your competitors’ ads when audiences see these ads side by side.
It is a useful technique to boost the average click-through rate because it gives your audiences additional information about your products or services and entices them into following through on your ad.
The more informative and descriptive you make your Google ads, the more they’re likely to consider clicking on them.
A compelling, well-written, and customized ad copy can help distinguish you from he tons of Google ads that cater to your niche and allow you to stand out from your competition. If you don’t differentiate your ad copy from your competitors, you will see a fall in your very High click-through rate (CTR) .
Make sure to emphasize your unique selling points, brand value, and why audiences should click on your ad instead of your competitors. Do you offer something that they don’t? Highlight these USPs and make sure they are reflected in your ad copy.
Including an enticing and powerful call to action in your ad copy can go a long way in boosting your click-through rate.
Many marketers focus on selecting the right keywords and writing an informative description but miss out on their CTA, which ends up leaving their piece sounding like an article rather than an ad copy.
Google analytics tend to review and rate strong calls to action quite positively, leading to improved click-through rates. Many copywriters tend to adopt the wrong approach when it comes to CTAs.
Simply announcing the roll-out of new products or making the languages too flowery and verbose can both impact the efficacy of the CTA. Make your CTAs blunt and concise to push the audience to act on the command.
Instead of relying on paid ads, try to make your ads enticing and attract organic traffic to your site. 94% of the clicks generated on online ads are through organic search engine result.
Study keywords and their search volume to know how many people are searching for those specific phrases. It might be tempting to go for keywords that have the highest rankings.
However, keywords with low-to-medium clicks can often have high conversions. This allows you to avoid competition while also guaranteeing high conversion rates from your visitors.
Conversely, high-ranking keywords with low CTR or conversions can end up costing you more without much business generated your way.
Also, avoid inserting too many keywords into your ad copy as it can impact your ad text and keywords. Too many keywords can affect your quality scores and, eventually, your Good CTR (click-through rates). The key is to use tightly themed keywords in your ad text and ad group them into smaller ad group.
The key to a high conversion rate is to make your ads more relevant to your target audience rather than projecting them to a huge audience. For this, you can use negative keywords to weed out the audience you know will not follow through on your ads.
Get the most of your budget by using SEO techniques and data to pinpoint the most relevant keywords and utilize them in your ad copies. By acquiring more SERP space, you’re bound to improve your click-through rate and conversion rate.
Your Average CTR is around 30% if you’re ranked number 1 on Google. With just third place, your average click through rate (CTR) drops to 10%. Therefore, your rankings can have a huge impact on your click-through rates.
One of the most effective techniques to increase click-through rate, which many marketers tend to overlook, is to analyze their competition sufficiently. This includes identifying competitors, analyzing their keywords, and understanding their ad copy.
You can use analytic tools to identify better what makes their ad click for audiences, especially the keywords they’re using and the language they incorporate in their ads.
Likely, they have already performed A/B testing on different variations of the same ad, and what you’re seeing is the best-performing variant.
Skip out on the testing process and take their best performing ad to understand why it performs the best. Try and incorporate similar techniques for your ad, but do not copy their ad word for word, and make sure to present your unique selling points.
When it comes to determining the relevancy of your ads, testing is the best option since it can be hard to tell what the audiences will respond best to. The key to this is to test multiple search ads for the same product or service and allow Google or search engines to decide which one performs the best.
Testing is a continuous process and even involves testing out different ad types on other locations online. Many times, it’s not what is in the ad copy but rather where your ad is placed. If your ad is placed where you aren’t likely to find customers, your click-through rates will be lower naturally.
It is crucial to test different ad types and keep the testing in-process continuously. For example, if you’re running tests on three variations of an ad copy, keep the two top-performing Google ads and remove the losing ad.
Meanwhile, create another ad variation and add it into the mix in place of the lowest-performing ad to keep the process ongoing.
The most popular testing technique is the A/B testing method, which includes two variants, and allows you to use one variant as the control.
The key is always to test out different ad types and keep things in flux since audience demands keep changing. Test numerous parameters, such as headers, CTAs, images, and graphics to determine what works best for your audiences.
Marketers can use remarketing campaigns to deliver re-customized ads to specific users and visitors. This involves targeting particular ads to visitors who have already viewed your content and making it clearer for them.
You can tweak your ads to cater to specific visitors, narrow down on particular products, or create new ads to upsell your existing customers. If they know you, then they are more likely to click on your ad. This means excluding users you know aren’t likely to be interested in your products.
Utilizing ad extensions can be an excellent way to improve your click-through rate. Location extensions can aid small business owners and help them to match with nearby customers. In addition, site links and callouts can enhance the relevancy of your ads, boosting your conversions and click-through rates.
There are many kinds of ad extensions, but not all of them apply to every advertisement campaign. If you aren’t utilizing the complete mix of ad extensions, then you’re missing out from reaching your full potential on Google.
You can make your ads appear more relevant to Google, increase their reach, and improve your click-through rate by utilizing the full range of extensions.
The tips detailed above are simple enough to implement easily in your current Google ads campaign. But make sure to test what you’ve done several times over to ensure that your intended audiences respond to your ads the way you want them to.
It is also vital to get qualified traffic that’s right for you. This means don’t just attempt to increase your visitors for the sake of it but aim for more conversions. Curious about pricing? Take a look at our guide to the cost of PPC management services. Contact us for more info!
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When you’re a plumber relying on a steady flow of leads to be profitable, it’s not enough to get your leads through word-of-mouth alone. That may work if you’re only a two-person team, but if you plan to grow your business, you’ll need to start marketing your services, specifically with PPC advertising.
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are a beneficial form of advertising, but they can be a source of leads or a money pit for plumbers. When done right, PPC helps plumbing companies generate targeted leads looking for services, but poorly-crafted PPC campaigns can burn through a budget without results. The good news is with smart targeting, strategic bidding, and continual optimization, plumbers can generate qualified leads at a cost that provides a positive ROI. Here’s how pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is done for lead generation for plumbing businesses.
The biggest mistake plumbers make is targeting a broad area rather than a specific local area. Hitting your target audience by demographic and location will be critical to be most efficient in your PPC ad spend. Even when your company serves customers throughout several counties, you’ll want to create ad campaigns that target each individual city or county. If your ads are reaching people outside of your service area, you’re paying for clicks that won’t turn into paying customers.
An easy way to prevent this problem is to use location targeting inside of your PPC account to set your target location by zip codes, cities, or a custom radius around your main location. This will ensure your ads will only be seen by leads you can actually convert.
You’ll also want to explicitly exclude areas you don’t serve. For example, you might serve a whole county with the exception of a couple cities or neighborhoods because of traffic congestion or licensing issues. Make sure to add these locations as exclusions in your ad campaign settings to avoid wasting money.
The keywords that will bring you the best leads are keywords that signal high intent to purchase. This includes terms like “emergency plumber near me,” “24-hour plumber,” “toilet overflowing fix,” or “fix for busted pipe.” The people who search for these terms aren’t just casual browsers. They’re people who need a plumber immediately.
This type of expert keyword research isn't necessarily rocket science, but it's critical for your rankings in search engine results pages.
Prioritize these keywords and increase your bid to capture more of these leads.
Avoid using the kinds of keywords that will attract people who aren’t likely to hire you for plumbing services. For example, terms like “DIY toilet repair” or “how to fix (fixture)” will rarely lead to calls. People who search for these phrases are usually just looking for ways to fix their own problem, so filter them out.
When people need a plumber, they want to call and get someone out fast, especially if their basement is flooding or they’re dealing with a busted pipe in the house. Google offers call-only ads that let users tap to call you immediately from search results rather than click to visit your website, where they’d need to search for a way to contact you. This ad type alone will increase your conversions.
It’s crucial to use ad tracking tools like Google’s call forwarding or third-party platforms that track which ads generate your phone calls. Knowing what ads are driving your best leads will help you do more of what works and eliminate what doesn’t.
Since most leads will want to call you immediately, only schedule your ads to run when you’ll be available to answer the phone. If you don’t offer 24/7 emergency services and don’t answer your phone at 2 AM, don’t schedule your ads to run until the start of your business day.
Depending on your location and services, you might get more calls on weekdays or weekends. To find out your peak, check your reports to see when you’re getting the most calls and then adjust when you run your ads based on your actual performance data.
Don’t create complicated, wordy ads. Use simple, clear, and direct headlines that speak directly to the problems your leads may be dealing with. They’re going to be drawn to ads that promise to help them with real problems. For example, write headlines like “Broken water heater? Get 24/7 help,” “Clogged drains fixed fast,” and “Overflowing toilet? Get help now.”
In your ad copy, it helps to use location-specific phrases. For example, you might write “Serving Phoenix homes since 2001.” Doing this helps build trust and establishes relevancy.
For Google Ads that send visitors directly to your website, you’ll need to optimize your landing pages for conversion. The following elements are essential:
· Landing page copy that matches your ad. To create a seamless experience, don’t send leads to your home page. Send them to a landing page that matches your ad. For example, if your ad targets people with a clogged drain, ensure your landing page speaks to people with a clogged drain.
· An easy-to-find phone number. Your phone number should be readily visible on every page of your website, including all of your landing pages. The ideal place is in the top right corner of every page header.
· A click-to-call button. It’s easier for mobile leads to click to bring up your phone number in their dial pad rather than forcing them to write down a phone number they’ll need to then dial.
· A call-to-action (CTA). Leads need to be told what to do. Be direct and tell them to call you now for an estimate or to schedule a service call.
Your search ads will only bring you potential leads. Your landing pages are responsible for converting potential customers into paying customers.
To maximize your ROI without wasting money, you’ll want to set a realistic daily budget and scale it only when you know you’re ready. Most local service providers stick with a $10-$50/day budget, but it depends on the industry and your location.
Over time, you’ll find that some campaigns are working better than others. A varied performance can be caused by a variety of factors, and you’ll need to take a close look before making any changes. For example, underperforming keywords and plumbing ads that don’t get many clicks should be paused. However, if your ads are getting clicks, but limited conversions, you’ll want to tweak your landing page copy and/or your offer.
Sometimes irrelevant keyword searches will display your ads, so if you can come up with a list of keywords related to services you don’t provide, you can limit where your ads show up. For example, if you don’t offer sewer camera inspections, make “sewer camera” a negative keyword. If you don’t service septic systems, make “septic” a negative keyword. Doing this will prevent clicks from irrelevant leads.
Local Service Ads appear at the top of Google’s search results above the typical PPC text ads and organic listings. LSAs are pay-per-lead, not pay-per-click, which makes them even more profitable. With LSAs, you only pay when a lead contacts you directly through your ad, either by calling you or messaging you. This is a much safer way to manage your ad spend and generate qualified leads. It’s also an easier way to capture bottom-of-the-funnel leads who need emergency plumbing services.
To set up these ads, head over to Google’s LSA page and click “get started.” You’ll be prompted to go through the setup process, which includes confirming your business eligibility. To complete the process, you’ll need your business license, general liability insurance proof, and at least one Google Business Profile with positive reviews. The system will then ask you to choose the zip codes or cities you serve, list the types of services you provide, and set your weekly budget. Once you submit the form and pass Google’s screening process, you’ll start showing up in results for searches related to your business.
Try to get as many positive reviews on your Google Business Profile as possible since businesses with better reviews tend to rank higher with Local Service Ads. Also, keep in mind that Google tracks your response times, and the faster you reply, the better placement you’ll get. Unlike PPC ads, you can request refunds from leads that aren’t relevant, like leads requesting the wrong services or who are outside your service area.
It’s important to take advantage of these ads because it’s an easy way to get your business listed at the top of search results pages when people search for terms like “plumber near me.” It’s easier than waiting months for SEO to kick in, and it will bring you immediate leads. People will see your reviews and your Google Guaranteed badge, which will boost your credibility.
Getting your business verified by Google will give you a green checkmark next to your business name in your Local Service Ads. It tells customers that Google has personally verified your business, you’ve passed a background check, your insurance has been verified, and Google Ads will back your services with up to $2,000 in reimbursement if a customer isn’t satisfied with your services.
Getting this badge can boost your visibility and credibility, which can get you more clicks, leads, and paying customers. It will also help you rank higher in the list of LSAs.
To get this green checkmark, you need to get approved for Google LSAs. Once you’re approved for LSAs, you’ll get the “Google Guaranteed” checkmark badge automatically. Just make sure you renew your insurance policy on time, maintain a high review rating, and keep responding to leads quickly. If you don’t maintain these things, Google Ads might remove your badge.
You can’t improve what you don’t track. Track your critical metrics, including call tracking, form tracking, and chat tracking. Run regular reports and check in with your ad campaign performance on a regular basis. It will take a little bit of time to gather enough data to make informed decisions, but the sooner you catch underperforming ads, the sooner you can make necessary changes.
It’s important to split test ads to see what elements drive the most conversions. Split testing, also called A/B testing, is where you run two nearly identical ads, but with one small difference between them. The difference could be a headline, colors, an image, the main copy, or the CTA. Once you run the ads long enough, take the winning ad and change one more element to test. Repeat this process by changing just one element at a time to see which version performs better. Use Google keyword planner to help navigate this. When done correctly, your clicks should increase over time.
Getting satisfied customers to review you is crucial, and as previously discussed, it can impact how your Local Service Ads show up. Reviews can also impact how you show up in the Local Pack. The more high-quality, genuine, recent reviews you have, the more likely you are to show up in search results. You’re also more likely to get clicks.
Positive reviews act as social proof that helps customers choose which business to call. You could have the best ad copy in the world, but if your competitor has 150 five-star reviews and you only have 6 reviews from 2019, customers will choose them over you.
It’s easy to get clicks, but getting real leads from search engines– the kind that book your plumbing services – takes work. For plumbers, a strong PPC strategy can make the difference between getting steady jobs or wasting cash. By targeting high intention search terms, targeting narrow service areas, and optimizing your ads, you can create high-performing ads that deliver real results without burning through your marketing budget.
Lead generation is critical for your plumbing business, but when done without a positive return on investment, it's foolish.
Whether you’re new to PPC ads, or you’re tired of wasting money on ads that don’t generate calls, we’d love to help you get real results. Our PPC experts specialize in helping local service businesses in the plumbing industry just like yours attract high intent plumbing leads, reduce wasted ad spend, and grow predictable revenue.
Contact us now for a free evaluation for your lead generation strategies, PPC campaigns and search engine optimization services – we’d love to help.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is the lifeblood of modern digital marketing, a finely tuned machine designed to separate serious advertisers from those who enjoy setting their money on fire. At its core, PPC is about buying attention—whether it’s from Google Ads, Facebook (or should we say Meta?) Ads, LinkedIn’s overpriced clicks, or whatever ad network is currently promising “unprecedented results.” The trick, of course, is making sure that the attention you’re paying for actually turns into conversions, and not just a collection of clicks that lead nowhere.
This guide is for marketers who already know the basics and are ready to squeeze every last drop of ROI from their PPC campaigns. If you’re looking for a “Beginner’s Guide to Google Ads,” this isn’t it. But if you’re tired of watching your ad spend disappear into the void and want to start running PPC like a ruthless efficiency machine, read on.
There’s nothing quite as tragic as a PPC campaign with no clear objective. Running ads without goals is like throwing darts blindfolded—sure, you might hit the board occasionally, but mostly you’re just making a mess. Before you even think about setting up a campaign, define what success looks like. Are you driving leads? Pushing e-commerce sales? Increasing brand awareness (ugh, we’ll get to why that’s usually a waste of money later)? If your goal is just “more clicks,” congratulations—you’ve just fallen for the ultimate PPC scam: paying for traffic that doesn’t convert.
Every campaign should have a quantifiable, measurable outcome tied to business KPIs. That means actual revenue, leads that don’t ghost you, or at the very least, cost per acquisition (CPA) that doesn’t make your CFO break out in hives.
Google Ads is the undisputed king of PPC, but let’s not pretend it’s the only game in town. Depending on your audience and objectives, Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram) can still be a goldmine—if you’re willing to put up with Meta’s ever-changing rules and the occasional algorithmic meltdown. LinkedIn Ads? Great if you enjoy paying $12 per click for someone who will never fill out your lead form.
And then there’s the rising trend of alternative ad platforms. TikTok Ads are fantastic if you’re targeting Gen Z and have the budget to experiment. Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads) may be the underdog, but they offer cheaper CPCs and a surprising number of high-intent users. If you’re in e-commerce, don’t ignore Amazon Ads—they print money for sellers who get their targeting right.
Google would love for you to just use broad match keywords and let their algorithm “figure things out.” Spoiler alert: this is a terrible idea. Broad match means your ad could show up for searches so unrelated to your business that it’s practically performance art.
Instead, focus on high-intent keywords—the ones that indicate users are actually ready to buy. Long-tail keywords often convert better because they signal more specific intent. The goal is not just to drive traffic, but to attract users who already have their wallets half-open.
Want to know what works? Look at your competitors. Tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, and Google’s Auction Insights let you see what keywords they’re bidding on, which ones they’re ranking for, and—most importantly—where they’re burning money so you don’t have to.
If a competitor is bidding on specific high-intent keywords, that’s your signal to investigate. Either they’re seeing a positive ROI, or they’re making an expensive mistake that you can learn from. Either way, it’s free intelligence.
Great PPC ads aren’t just about catchy headlines—they’re about aligning with search intent, making a compelling offer, and convincing users that clicking your ad is the smartest decision they’ll make today. A well-optimized ad uses clear, persuasive language with a direct CTA, because vague CTAs like “Learn More” are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
A/B testing is non-negotiable. Your gut instinct is probably wrong, so test different headlines, CTAs, and descriptions to see what actually drives conversions. If you’re not actively testing, you’re just guessing.
You have about three seconds to convince visitors that they made the right choice clicking your ad. If your landing page loads slowly, looks like it was designed in 2008, or makes users hunt for the CTA, they’re gone.
Your landing page should have a singular focus: conversion. That means no distractions, no unnecessary links, and definitely no autoplay videos that scare people away. A strong landing page aligns perfectly with the ad copy, ensuring a seamless experience from click to conversion.
Nothing kills conversion rates faster than misleading ad-to-landing page alignment. If your ad promises “50% off running shoes” and your landing page is a generic homepage with no mention of that discount, expect a bounce rate that makes your campaign ROI cry. Every landing page should reinforce the ad message, use clear headlines, and make it painfully easy for users to complete the desired action. If a user has to think, they’re already gone.
If you’re still using manual CPC bidding across all campaigns, congratulations—you’re officially working harder, not smarter. Google’s automated bidding strategies have their place, but blindly trusting the algorithm is like handing your credit card to a stranger and hoping for the best.
Smart bidding, when done correctly, can optimize conversions and lower CPA, but it requires constant monitoring. Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) and Maximize Conversions can be effective, but only if you have historical data to feed the algorithm. If you’re running a new campaign, manual bidding still gives you more control.
Running PPC without proper tracking is like driving blindfolded and hoping you’ll reach your destination. You need to track not just clicks, but actual conversions, customer lifetime value (CLV), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Google Ads’ built-in tracking is decent, but combining it with Google Analytics, heatmaps, and call tracking will give you a full picture of what’s working.
Scaling PPC isn’t as simple as increasing your budget and watching conversions skyrocket. If you scale too fast, you’ll tank your ROI. The right approach is incremental scaling—gradually increasing spend while monitoring CPA and conversion rates. If your CPA starts climbing faster than your revenue, it’s time to reassess. And if your PPC manager insists that “everything is going great” while your ROAS tells a different story? It might be time for a new PPC manager.
