How I helped a client reduce their risk while scaling up a Google Ads campaign.

I've been advising a specialist vehicle workshop in the UK on their Google Ads strategy. Over the past few months, they’ve optimized their campaigns and landing pages to the point where they're getting affordable high-quality leads.

Currently, they advertise to customers within a 50-mile radius of their workshop. It’s a limited area, and they’ve maximized the potential for leads there. But, they want to grow by 25% this year.

When we met this month they asked me about expanding their advertising to include London. They told me that even though they're at least an hour's drive away, they often have customers referred to them because:

• They've got a great reputation.
• Their service is so specialised that they’re actually the closest workshop to London.

But, they had 2 key concerns:

1. Would advertising in London cannibalise the budget from their existing campaign?
2. Would cold leads from London actually make the trip?

Here's how we're going test this without risking their existing lead flow.

Instead of adding London to their current campaign’s location targeting, we'll set up a separate campaign. It's a little more work but it allows us to:

• Protect their current lead flow: We're not touching the original campaign, so we're not risking the leads they depend on.

• Set aside a testing budget: We can decide, "We'll spend £5,000 on testing," and know that's the limit.

• Tailor the messaging: The ads and landing pages can recognise the distance but stress they’re the closest qualified workshop.

• Track the ad cost per sale: By isolating the campaign, we'll be able to measure the ad cost per job done for London leads to see if they're profitable.

They'll use the Google Ads Editor to copy the existing campaign and make bulk edits to the ad copy.

It's too early for any results. But I'm confident that the low-risk approach is the right way to scale a successful campaign.

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