Why is my Google Ads cost per lead so high?
The usual causes are irrelevant search terms eating the budget, broad match keywords without negatives, broken or duplicate conversion tracking that misleads smart bidding, Performance Max spending on low-intent placements, and landing pages that load slowly or ask too much. Fixing tracking and search terms first typically gives the fastest drop in cost per lead.
Check these in order
- 1Conversion tracking. Make sure each lead is counted once, and that page views or button clicks are not counted as leads.
- 2Search terms report. Sort by cost and add negatives for searches that will never buy.
- 3Match types. Broad match needs good tracking and a strong negative list to work.
- 4Performance Max. Check channel and placement reports, and exclude your brand name if it is taking credit for people who would have found you anyway.
- 5Location settings. Use people in or regularly in your area, not people interested in it.
- 6Landing page. One clear offer, a phone number on mobile, a short form, and a page that loads in under three seconds.
What fixing it looked like
LIFEART Vision came to us with an account that was competing with itself. After cleaning tracking and restructuring, cost per conversion fell 47% and return on ad spend rose from 1.72x to 2.79x. For a Las Vegas home buying business, average cost per acquisition fell 28%.
Proof from our own clients
Want this done for your business?
Founder of Luceds, with 7+ years in paid search, SEO and web projects. Runs Google Ads, SEO and website projects for service businesses and online stores in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India.
More about Shivam Singh