Your Google Ad Is Getting Clicks but No Calls: Fix the Page It Sends People To
If your ads get clicks and your phone stays quiet, don't touch the ad yet. Look at where the click lands.
Most people who run ads spend their time on keywords, budgets and headlines. The page that opens after the click gets whatever they already had, usually the homepage. That's like paying for a billboard that points to the front door of a shopping centre instead of your shop.
The ad made a promise. The page has to keep it.
Someone searches "blocked drain Hamilton". They click your ad, which says "Blocked drain fixed today, fixed price". Then they land on a homepage with a photo of your team, a paragraph about how you started in 2009, and a menu with nine links.
They came for one thing. The page makes them hunt for it. Most won't.
A good landing page for an ad does the opposite. It repeats the words from the ad in the first line, so the person knows they're in the right place. Then it answers the three things they're wondering: can you do this, what will it cost or how do I find out, and how do I get started.
Unbounce, a company that studies landing pages, looked at 41,000 pages and found a typical conversion rate of about 6.6%. That means roughly 7 in every 100 visitors take the next step. If your page gets 2 in 100, it's worth fixing before you spend another dollar on clicks. Treat 6.6% as a rough guide, not a target, because tradies, lawyers and shops all behave differently.
What goes on the page
Keep it short and keep it about one thing. One service, one place, one next step.
A headline that matches the ad. If the ad says "Heat pump install, Tauranga", the page headline says the same, not "Welcome to Smith Heating".
The main reason to pick you, high up. This is your offer: the result, the price or how you work out the price, how fast you can start, and any guarantee. If you've built a good offer, this is the page where it earns its keep.
Proof near the top. Two or three real reviews with first names and suburbs. A photo of actual work. Not a stock photo of a handshake.
One clear button. "Get a free quote" or "Call now" works better than "Submit". And say what happens next: "We'll call you within one working day."
A phone number that's easy to tap. Most people searching from their phone want to ring, not fill in a form. Make the number a tap-to-call link and keep it visible as they scroll.
Fewer links. Take the main menu off if you can. Every link is a way out of the page.
Check it on your phone first
Open your ad's page on your own phone, on mobile data, not your office wifi. Ask yourself:
Can I tell what this business does within three seconds?
Can I see the button without scrolling?
Does it load fast? If you're waiting, so are they.
Could I fill in the form with one thumb?
If any answer is no, that's your first fix. Most clicks come from phones, so a page that only looks good on a laptop is losing you work.
Keep the form short
Every extra box on a form costs you some enquiries. For a service business, name, phone number and a line about the job is usually enough. You can ask for the rest on the phone.
Same goes for Facebook and Instagram ads. If the ad sends people to a page, the page should look like the ad, with the same photo and the same words. If they've just seen a picture of a finished deck, don't land them on a page of stock images of tools.
Changing the page changes your costs
Google scores how useful your page looks for the search, and this affects what you pay per click and how often your ad shows. A page that matches the search well can get you the same spot for less money. I covered how that fits into the bigger picture in the full guide to Google and Meta ads, but the short version is simple: a better page is the cheapest upgrade in your whole ad account.
How to test without making a mess
Don't redo everything at once. Change one thing, like the headline or the button wording, and leave it for two to four weeks. If you only get 20 clicks a week, you won't be able to tell much from a few days. Write down the date, what you changed and how many enquiries came in before and after.
Make sure your enquiries are being counted properly first. If your phone calls and form fills aren't recorded in Google Ads, you won't know whether the new page worked.
Your next step
Pick your single best-spending ad. Click it yourself, from your phone. Count the seconds before you know you're in the right place, and count the taps to reach a button. If it takes longer than you'd put up with as a customer, you've found the leak.
