Real Problems. Real Solutions.
Performance marketing insights drawn from real campaign challenges. These examples illustrate the types of problems we solve and the strategies we use.
How Negative Keywords Cut Ad Waste by 40%
The Challenge
A service business was spending 40% of their Google Ads budget on irrelevant searches that never converted.
Our Approach
We built a comprehensive negative keyword list from 90 days of search term data, filtering out job seekers, competitors, and informational queries.
The Result
Cost per lead dropped by 38% in 60 days while lead volume stayed the same - the same budget now generating far more qualified enquiries.
One Headline Change That Doubled Conversion Rate
The Challenge
A landing page for a home services company was converting at just 1.8% despite good traffic quality from Google Ads.
Our Approach
We changed the headline from a feature-focused statement ('Professional Cleaning Services') to a benefit-focused one ('Get Your Home Spotless - Same Week Booking Available').
The Result
Conversion rate jumped from 1.8% to 4.1% with no other changes. The same ad spend now generated more than twice the leads.
Why Missing Conversion Tracking Cost Thousands
The Challenge
A business had been running Google Ads for 6 months with Smart Bidding but had no conversion tracking set up - meaning the algorithm had no signal to optimise toward.
Our Approach
We configured GA4, Google Tag Manager, and Google Ads conversion tracking for form submissions, phone clicks, and call tracking.
The Result
Once Smart Bidding had proper data, cost per acquisition dropped 45% within 8 weeks as the algorithm found higher-converting traffic patterns.
The Hidden Form Field Killing Leads
The Challenge
A contact form had a 68% abandonment rate even though visitors were clearly interested - they clicked through from ads and started filling in the form.
Our Approach
Microsoft Clarity session recordings revealed that a required 'Company Registration Number' field was causing almost all abandonment. Visitors didn't have it to hand.
The Result
Making the field optional immediately dropped abandonment to 31%. The same traffic volume now generated 2× the form completions.
Retargeting: Turning 90% of Lost Visitors Into Leads
The Challenge
A professional services firm was getting strong top-of-funnel traffic from Meta Ads but 90%+ of visitors left without enquiring.
Our Approach
We built a retargeting sequence: website visitors who didn't convert saw a testimonial video ad (days 1–3), then a case study carousel (days 4–10), then a limited-availability offer (days 11–21).
The Result
The retargeting sequence captured leads at one-third the cost of cold acquisition and accounted for 28% of all new enquiries within 90 days.
Pre-Qualifying Questions That Tripled Lead Quality
The Challenge
A consultancy was generating high lead volumes from Google Ads but most enquiries came from businesses that were too small or not a good fit - wasting sales team time.
Our Approach
We added qualifying questions to the lead form: company size, annual revenue range, and current marketing spend. Leads that didn't meet minimum thresholds were shown a different 'resources' thank-you page instead of triggering a sales call.
The Result
Total lead volume dropped 40% but qualified lead rate tripled. The sales team closed 3× more deals from fewer, better-qualified conversations.
Product Feed Optimisation That Doubled Shopping ROAS
The Challenge
An e-commerce store was getting low ROAS from Google Shopping because their product titles were generic (e.g. 'Blue Chair') and didn't match the search terms buyers used.
Our Approach
We rewrote product titles to front-load key buyer terms (brand, material, size, use case), added missing attributes, fixed category mismatches in the Merchant Center feed, and restructured campaigns by product margin.
The Result
ROAS went from 1.8× to 3.9× in 10 weeks. High-margin products were prioritised automatically, and impression share on top-performing products grew by 60%.
Audience Signals That Fixed a Failing PMax Campaign
The Challenge
A Performance Max campaign was spending 80% of its budget on brand searches and irrelevant Display placements, generating minimal new customer acquisitions.
Our Approach
We added structured audience signals (customer lists, in-market segments, custom intent audiences based on search terms), added brand keywords as exclusions, and created dedicated Search campaigns for brand terms.
The Result
New customer acquisition improved significantly. Brand vs. non-brand spend split moved from 80/20 to 35/65, and cost per new customer acquisition dropped by 52%.
Mistakes That Kill Campaign Performance
Running ads to a homepage instead of a dedicated landing page
Impact: Conversion rates are typically 3–5× lower on homepages vs. focused landing pages
Fix: Landing page designed around one offer with one CTA
No conversion tracking or broken tracking setup
Impact: Smart Bidding has no signal to optimise - budget wasted on non-converting traffic
Fix: Full GA4 + GTM conversion tracking setup
Headline doesn't match the intent of the search term or ad
Impact: Message mismatch causes visitors to immediately bounce
Fix: Headline alignment between keyword → ad → landing page
Mobile experience is slow, cluttered, or hard to use
Impact: 60–70% of ad traffic is mobile; poor mobile UX kills conversion rates
Fix: Mobile-first landing page design with fast load times
