Which Google Ads conversions should I optimise for?

This is for you if you're not 100% sure about which Google Ads conversions to optimise for.

I find it helpful to think about optimising for conversion stages, not conversion actions. Let me explain...

A lead goes through 4 stages:-

1. Pre-lead actions on the landing page. These are things like clicking a call button, clicking an email link, clicking through to a contact page and so on.

They could result in a lead, but that doesn't always happen. Someone clicks on the call button but doesn't complete the call. Someone clicks on the email link but doesn't send the email. You get the point.

2. Lead created. This happens when someone attempts to contact your business. Usually through a contact form, call, live chat, WhatsApp etc.

3. Qualified lead. The lead wants what we sell, and we could do business with them. You'd find this out by speaking to the lead or having them give you extra information about their enquiry.

4. Converted lead. The lead has bought goods or services from us.

A conversion stage can have many conversion actions. For example, the lead created stage could track the following conversion actions:-

• A contact form submission.
• A call from a click-to-call button on an ad asset.
• A call from a number shown on a landing page or website.
• A live chat.
• A WhatsApp message.

Optimise for one conversion stage at a time.

In my mind it makes sense only to try an optimise for one conversion stage at a time.

If you're optimising for the lead created stage you'd set the lead created conversion actions to primary and the rest to secondary. If you were optimising for qualified leads you'd set those conversion actions to primary and the rest to secondary. And the same if you were optimising for pre-lead or converted lead.

But, some people optimise for several conversion stages at once. They do this by assigning values to conversions in each stages. Here's an example of how this approach might work.

I understand the theory. But I'm not convinced that the extra complexity actually leads to better results. If you've got data that says I'm wrong please let me know. I'd love to have my mind changed.

Which conversion stage should you optimise for?

I don't optimise for pre-lead actions as they don't represent anything of value. A click on a call button is useless unless it turns into a call. In fact, most of the time I don't even bother tracking any pre-lead actions.

I start a new campaign by optimising for the lead created stage. That's because in the beginning there aren't usually enough qualified lead conversions.

As soon as I have enough (say > 30 qualified leads per campaign per month) I switch to optimising for qualified leads.

I seldom optimise for converted leads. Here's why...

Consider a photographer advertising on Google. They get a lead who wants to hire a wedding photographer.

The lead is qualified: They're in the area the photographer services. The bride loves the photogapher's styles. They've got enough in their budget. They're a perfect lead.

Our photographer would sell his soul for more leads like this.

But, a deal doesn't happen because the photographer is already booked for their wedding day.

How about a someone wanting an expensive safari to the Okavango Delta. They've got the budget. They're from a country where visas are not a problem. They can fly from an airport close to home. Again a perfect lead.

But their enquiry rots in an inbox for 4 days because the salesperson broke her leg. By the time she hobbles into the office, our lead has booked with someone else.

In both cases the leads were good but the sale didn't happen for reasons unrelated to lead quality. If we were optimising for converted leads the bidding algorithm would learn that these leads were a poor fit. At massive lead volumes that wouldn't matter, but at smaller volumes it would.

Hope this is useful. Yell with any questions.

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