Why book-an-appointment conversions are so difficult with Google Ads
I consulted with a wedding photographer, who wasn't getting any conversions from Google Ads.
His ad account setup was OK, and his landing page was pretty typical for his industry - It had a lot of magnificent photos, a list of packages and prices, along with some fantastic testimonials and reviews from previous clients.
The only thing that stood out as a possible concern, was his call to action.
Normally, an landing page would have a contact form, or phone number. Our hero’s page asked prospective clients to book a call with him on his calendar, as a first step.
Whilst it’s always good to get people to make an appointment early on in the proceedings, this was too much commitment, too soon, for the particular service he was offering.
The photographer explained that he liked to have a discussion with people, before finalising his quote. He wanted to speak with the bride or groom about travel costs, whether or not they wanted videos, if they wanted ‘getting-ready’ photos and so on.
He was good on the phone, and in the past, he had been lucky enough to be able to close some deals, and take a deposit during those first calls.
Allowing people to book onto his calendar was easy and efficient, but... nobody was booking.
In my experience, this is not unusual. I believe this might be because of the way we find suppliers or service providers on the internet. Especially for services which are time/date sensitive. The photographer’s service was a prime example of this. Let me explain...
A bride doesn't start by looking for the best combination of price and style. She starts by eliminating photographers with fatal flaws (although she's unlikely to use that term).
Fatal flaws are things that make it impossible or too risky to do business with a supplier - regardless of how good they are.
If you want to hire a photographer, and they're already booked for your wedding day, it's a fatal flaw. It's impossible to do business with them, no matter how much you like their style or pricing.
Nobody is going to book an appointment just to ask you if you're available on their wedding day. But, they might fill in a form, send a message or make a quick call.
My advice would be to pitch the contact form accordingly, and decide what would make someone keen to fill it in. If you’re offering wedding photography, a prospective client needs to be able to tell you the date and time. (And if your ads cover a wide area, the place)
Date, time, phone number and place information means you would be able to check your calendar, and call back, with a much stronger sell.
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