My Google Ads lead quality dropped. Help!

By: Jyll Saskin Gales, Google Ads Coach

Are you experiencing a drop in lead quality despite your Google Ads metrics remaining consistent? This frustrating scenario can leave marketers scratching their heads, but fear not! I'm here to help you troubleshoot and get your campaigns back on track.

High-quality leads are the lifeblood of any successful Google Ads campaign. Even if your clicks, impressions, and conversion rates look good, a decline in lead quality can mean wasted resources and missed opportunities. It's crucial to address this issue promptly to ensure your campaigns are delivering the results you need.

In this post, I'll walk you through my "Troubleshooting Three" framework to identify and address the root causes of declining lead quality. By the end, you'll have a clear action plan to improve your lead quality and maximize your return on investment.

Troubleshooting Framework: The Troubleshooting Three

When your lead quality suddenly drops, there are three potential culprits: your landing page, your ads and your targeting. Let's find out who's guilty.

Is Your Landing Page The Problem?

Recent Changes: Have you made any changes to your landing page recently? Even minor tweaks to design, layout, or content can impact user experience and lead quality.

Conversion Tracking: Is your conversion tracking set up correctly? If not, you might be misattributing conversions or missing valuable data.

Website Issues: Are there any technical issues with your website, such as slow loading times or broken links? These can frustrate users and lead to lower quality leads.

Is Your Ad Creative The Problem?

Ad Copy and Assets: Have you changed your ad copy, headlines, descriptions, or images? If so, these changes could be attracting the wrong audience or be failing to resonate with your ideal customers.

Automatically Created Assets: Are automatically created assets enabled? If so, they might be generating irrelevant or misleading ads that are attracting low-quality leads.

Is Your Ad Targeting The Problem?

Competition: Has the competitive landscape changed? New competitors or aggressive bidding strategies can impact your lead quality.

Search Terms: Are you showing up for the right search terms? Review your search terms report to identify irrelevant or low-quality queries that might be triggering your ads.

Match Types: Are your match types too broad? Consider refining your keyword match types to ensure you're only targeting relevant searches.

Bonus Tip: Are You Using Offline Conversion Tracking?

If you're running lead generation campaigns, consider implementing offline conversion tracking (OCT). OCT allows you to track leads that convert offline, such as phone calls or in-person visits. This can help you identify high-quality leads and optimize your campaigns accordingly.

Taking Action to Improve Lead Quality

Once you've identified the potential causes of your declining lead quality, take action to address them. This might involve:

• Reverting recent changes to your landing page or website.
• Checking your conversion tracking setup and fixing any errors.
• Refining your targeting options, such as adjusting your keyword match types or adding negative keywords.
• Reviewing your ad copy and assets to ensure they are relevant and appealing to your target audience.
• Implementing offline conversion tracking to gain deeper insights into your lead quality.

By addressing these issues, you can improve the quality of your leads and ensure that your Google Ads campaigns are delivering the results you need to grow your business.