Google Ads Pilot
Paid search pilot that validated market demand and diagnosed funnel gaps
The Situation Azizeh needed to grow her Portland client base with no paid search history and no local visibility data. The goal was not to generate volume — it was to test whether Portland couples were actively searching for premium private-pay therapy, and whether the market would respond to the right message.
The Strategy
I designed and ran a tightly controlled Google Search-only pilot with a $25/day budget. Every decision was intentional:
- Search Network only — no Display, no YouTube, no Partners
- Targeted Portland, Beaverton, and Tigard only
- Phrase match keywords focused on high-intent local searches
- Aggressive negative keyword list filtering out insurance seekers, crisis searches, job seekers, and low-cost shoppers
- Two clear conversion paths: Book a 20-minute consult or Request a callback
- GTM/GA4 tracking tied only to meaningful actions — no vanity metrics
I also designed and developed a dedicated landing page built specifically for high-intent Portland searchers, with premium positioning and private-pay clarity throughout.
Campaign Results (Feb 19 – Mar 2, 2026):
Clicks: 42
Impressions: 560
CTR: 7.50%
Avg CPC: $5.18
Total Spend: $217.46
Engagement rate: 76.32%
Top of page rate: 82.2%
Impression share: 48.9%
Mobile traffic: 65.8% of spend
Audience insights:
Strongest age concentration: 35–54
Top 10% household income: 40.2% of spend
Highest intent days: Sunday and Monday
What the data revealed: The campaign validated that the right audience was searching and responding. However it also uncovered critical funnel issues:
Visitors were leaking from the landing page to the main website through the hamburger menu
The callback form tracking had a visibility gap in GA4
Mobile UX friction was reducing conversion follow-through
The incorrect phone number was blocking calls at the most critical moment
Key Insight A 7.5% CTR in a competitive therapy market means the keywords, ad copy, and positioning were working. The campaign proved the audience was there and responding — the bottleneck was the conversion path, not the ads. This pilot served as both a lead generation test and a funnel diagnostic tool, giving us a clear roadmap for what to fix before scaling.
Year: 2026
