The challenge
James Hartley had been running Google Ads for his Cheltenham-based building firm for two years. The campaigns had been set up by a previous agency and never properly optimised. He was spending £1,200 a month and generating just six to eight enquiries — most of which were poorly qualified.
"I knew Google Ads worked because I'd seen competitors using them. But I couldn't make ours work. I was burning money every month with nothing to show for it."
What we did
When SearchMaven took over the account, the first audit told a clear story: broad match keywords were eating most of the budget, the campaigns had no negative keyword list, and the ads were pointing to the homepage rather than a dedicated landing page.
We restructured the account from scratch:
- Tighter keyword targeting — switched to phrase and exact match, eliminating irrelevant searches that were costing clicks
- Negative keyword list — built out a comprehensive list of terms to exclude (DIY, apprentice, jobs, etc.)
- New landing pages — created conversion-focused pages for each service (extensions, new builds, refurbishments)
- Conversion tracking — set up call tracking and form tracking so we could see exactly which campaigns were generating leads
- Bid strategy — switched from manual bidding to Target CPA once we had enough conversion data
The results
Within 90 days:
- Enquiry volume increased by 143%
- Cost per lead dropped from £148 to £41
- Phone call enquiries up 220%
- Year-on-year revenue up 60%
"SearchMaven took our Google Ads from a money pit to our best lead source. I wish I'd found them two years earlier."
James Hartley, Hartley Building Services
What we learned
The Hartley Building Services account is a good example of a common problem: a well-intentioned setup that was never properly maintained. Google Ads rewards active management. Budgets drift, quality scores decay, and competitors change their approach. Without regular attention, even a well-built campaign underperforms.
For trades and construction businesses, tight geographic targeting and strong negative keyword management are essential. Search intent is high but so is irrelevant traffic — the job is filtering signal from noise.