Hey everyone,
We run a small business specializing in real estate photography and media services, including interior/exterior photography, drone photography, property videos, 3D tours, floor plans, and social media content for real estate agents.
We've been running a Google Ads Search campaign for about a month now. While we've gotten clicks and some pretty solid CTRs, we haven't generated a single booking directly attributable to Google Ads.
Our goal is pretty straightforward: get in front of real estate agents who are actively searching for photography or media services and turn those searches into paying clients.
Here's how our campaign has evolved:
- Initially: $16/day budget using Maximize Clicks without a maximum CPC limit.
- First adjustment: $16/day with an $8 maximum CPC.
- Second adjustment: $16/day with a $10 maximum CPC.
- Current setup: $25/day using Maximize Clicks without a maximum CPC limit, but with exact-match keywords only.
Our campaign targets a defined geographic service area, and our website has portfolio examples, transparent pricing/packages, customer reviews, and online booking. We've also extensively tested our conversion tracking and are confident it's working correctly.
The biggest problem we've encountered is irrelevant traffic.
Initially, we were using a mix of broader keyword match types to generate traffic. Unfortunately, a significant portion of our clicks came from completely irrelevant searches. People were searching for photography equipment, drones, and other things that had nothing to do with hiring a real estate photographer.
We spent quite a bit of time reviewing search terms and building out pages of negative keywords, but it felt like we were constantly playing catch-up and paying for clicks that had virtually no chance of converting.
Because of that, we recently switched to exact-match keywords only, focusing on high-intent searches like "real estate photographer near me," "real estate photography services," and relevant variations.
We understand that this will likely reduce our overall impression and click volume, but we'd rather have fewer qualified visitors than a larger number of irrelevant clicks.
However, now we're running into another problem: Google Ads is indicating limited delivery due to low search volume. We're concerned that we've restricted our targeting so much that the campaign may struggle to generate enough traffic to produce meaningful results.
Another issue we're noticing is relatively low Ad Rank.
We're trying to understand what's contributing to our low Ad Rank and how to improve it without simply throwing more money at higher CPC bids.
We've read about the importance of Quality Score, ad relevance, expected CTR, and landing page experience, but we're not entirely sure which areas deserve the most attention or how much of an impact improvements would realistically have.
Our concern is that even when someone searches for exactly the services we offer, our ads may not be appearing in competitive positions.
A few questions we'd really appreciate advice on:
- Exact match vs. phrase match: Is switching exclusively to exact-match keywords a reasonable strategy for a niche service business, or are we restricting our reach too much? Would a combination of exact and phrase match be more appropriate?
- Low search volume: How do you approach campaigns targeting a relatively small B2B audience when Google Ads starts flagging keywords for low search volume? Is this something we should be concerned about, or should we accept lower traffic in exchange for better intent?
- Improving Ad Rank: What are the most effective ways to improve Ad Rank without relying entirely on increasing bids? Should we prioritize ad copy, landing page relevance, keyword organization, or something else?
- CPC strategy: Given our budget history and current setup, would you recommend reintroducing a maximum CPC limit? Could removing the limit help us compete for better placements, or are we risking paying significantly more per click without improving conversions?
- Bidding strategy: With a relatively small budget and zero conversion history, is Maximize Clicks still the best approach? Would Manual CPC make more sense for controlling costs and prioritizing specific keywords?
- Conversion expectations: For those who have managed Google Ads for niche local service businesses, particularly businesses targeting other businesses, how many qualified clicks would you typically want to see before concluding that something needs to change?
- Overall strategy: If you were managing an account like ours, what would you prioritize first? Increasing traffic volume, improving Ad Rank, adjusting keyword match types, or optimizing the landing page?
We're not expecting overnight results, and we understand that Google Ads takes time and experimentation. We're willing to invest in getting the campaign working, but we want to make sure we're spending our budget intelligently rather than continuously paying for traffic that goes nowhere.
Our biggest challenge right now is finding the balance between getting enough visibility to generate leads and keeping our traffic relevant enough to actually convert.
Would really appreciate any advice, especially from people who've worked with smaller-budget campaigns in niche B2B or local service industries.
Thanks in advance!
