Case Study: How We Reduced Cost Per Lead 64% with Google Ads

Industry: Professional Services | Service: Google Ads / PPC Management | Timeline: 6 months

Quake Media reduced a professional services company’s cost per lead from $180 to $65 through strategic Google Ads account restructuring, aggressive negative keyword deployment and landing page optimization. The campaign also lifted click-through rates from 2.1% to 5.8% while more than doubling return on ad spend within six months of engagement.

The Challenge

A Vancouver-area professional services firm had been running Google Ads for over two years with disappointing results. Their account had been set up by a previous agency using broad match keywords with minimal structure and no negative keyword lists. The result was predictable: high cost per click, irrelevant traffic and a cost per lead that had ballooned to $180.

The core problems ran deeper than keyword selection. Quality Scores across the account averaged 4 out of 10, meaning Google was charging a premium for every click. Ad copy hadn’t been updated in over a year. Landing pages were generic service pages with no conversion-focused design, no clear calls to action and load times exceeding four seconds on mobile.

Monthly ad spend sat at $6,500 but the client was only generating about 36 leads per month. Of those, roughly half were unqualified inquiries from irrelevant searches that had slipped through the broad match net. The client was essentially paying $360 per qualified lead, a number that made their paid advertising unsustainable.

They needed a complete account overhaul. Not a few tweaks, but a ground-up restructuring that would eliminate waste, improve ad relevance and build a conversion path that actually turned clicks into clients.

The Solution

Account Restructuring

We started by auditing the entire account using our Google Ads audit framework. The existing campaign structure grouped dozens of unrelated services into two campaigns with oversized ad groups. We broke these down into tightly themed campaigns organized by service category, each containing single keyword theme ad groups (SKAGs) for high-value terms and small themed groups for related queries.

This restructuring immediately improved ad relevance. When someone searches for a specific service, they now see ad copy that mirrors their exact query. That alignment is the single biggest lever for Quality Score improvement.

Negative Keyword Deployment

We pulled the search terms report for the previous 12 months and identified over 800 irrelevant queries that had triggered ads. Terms related to jobs, DIY tutorials, free services and unrelated industries were all burning budget. We built a comprehensive negative keyword list at both account and campaign levels, then set up weekly search term reviews to catch new irrelevant queries early.

This alone cut wasted spend by an estimated 30% in the first month. Budget previously going to unqualified searches was redirected toward commercial intent queries.

Landing Page Optimization

Generic service pages don’t convert paid traffic. We built dedicated landing pages for each high-value campaign with a clear single purpose: get the visitor to call or fill out the contact form. Each landing page included:

• Headline matching the ad copy for message continuity
• Social proof: review count, star rating and client testimonials
• Clear benefit statements, not feature lists
• Single call to action above the fold with phone number and form
• Page load time under 2 seconds on mobile
• Trust signals: certifications, years in business and association logos

The result: higher conversion rates from message continuity and better Quality Scores because Google measures landing page experience as a core component.

Smart Bidding Implementation

Once we had 30 days of clean conversion data from the restructured account, we migrated from manual CPC bidding to Target CPA. This allowed Google’s machine learning to optimize bids based on signals we can’t manually account for: device, location, time of day, browser and hundreds of other factors. We set conservative CPA targets initially and gradually tightened them as the algorithm learned.

We also implemented CPC reduction strategies including ad scheduling to reduce bids during low-converting hours and geographic bid adjustments to increase spend in high-performing postal codes.

The Results

Client Testimonial

“Our Google Ads were a money pit before Quake Media stepped in. Tyler and his team completely rebuilt our campaigns from scratch. They explained every change in plain English, showed us exactly where our budget was being wasted and fixed it. Within three months our cost per lead dropped by more than half. We’ve used dozens of agencies in the past, made the switch to Quake years ago and would never look elsewhere.”

Jason B. – Business Owner

Key Takeaways

• Structure drives Quality Score: Tightly themed ad groups with matching ad copy and landing pages lifted Quality Scores from 4 to 8, directly reducing cost per click
• Negative keywords are non-negotiable: Over 800 irrelevant search terms were draining 40% of the budget before cleanup
• Landing pages are half the equation: Dedicated conversion-focused pages outperform generic service pages every time for paid traffic
• Smart bidding needs clean data: Automated bidding only works after you’ve fixed the account structure and established reliable conversion tracking
• Ongoing management matters: Weekly search term reviews and bid adjustments prevent waste from creeping back in

Frequently Asked Questions

Stop Wasting Ad Spend. Start Generating Qualified Leads.

If your Google Ads cost per lead keeps climbing and your ROAS is stagnant, your account needs a professional restructure. Book a free Google Ads audit and we’ll show you exactly where your budget is leaking.

Phone: 604-901-7668 | Email: info@quakemedia.ca

See more: PPC Management | Google Ads Audit Checklist | Reduce Google Ads CPC | Free Audit