Field Service Management SaaS
Google Ads Case Study

Step 1.

Initial Analysis

We took over Google Ads management in April 2023. Before that, the campaigns were managed partly by another agency and partly by the client’s team.

Following our initial audit, we identified several critical issues.

Bad account structure

All keywords were added under one ad group, resulting in irrelevant ads being served to users.

Incorrect Google Ads search campaign setup

The campaigns primarily relied on broad-match keywords that were only loosely related to the app’s niche market. As a result, ads were being triggered by irrelevant searches, leading to inefficient ad spending. Examples of the keywords used included “sales tool”, “price offers”, “profitability tracking”, “team coordination”, etc.

Needless to say, the client was not satisfied with the results.

The conversion rate was at 0.34%, and the lead quality was awful.

On top of that, the Google Display and Partner networks were enabled.

No Negative Keywords

All campaigns were running without any negative keywords, leading to significant amounts of irrelevant traffic and wasted ad spend.

Without negative keywords, the ads were frequently triggered by searches that had little to no relevance to the app’s niche market.

Additionally, the overuse of broad-match, one-word keywords made it nearly impossible to filter out unqualified traffic.

Barebones Ad Setup

The ad setup was minimal and lacked essential elements.

Ads included only a handful of headlines, with no additional assets such as images, pricing, site links, structured snippets, etc.

Micro conversion tracking

Conversion tracking was set up correctly.

However, micro-conversions, such as time spent on the site, button clicks, and about us page views, were set as primary conversions.

As a result, the algorithm prioritized these low-value, easily attainable actions, such as button clicks or page views, instead of focusing on meaningful conversions that drive business growth, like free trial sign-ups or scheduled demos.

Step 2.

Solution Draft and Applying the Changes

After the initial analysis, we began rebuilding the account.

Keyword Research

Firstly, we conducted thorough keyword research. We identified the keywords that were most relevant to the app offering.

Grouping keywords into ad groups and planning the new account structure

We started by creating two primary keyword groups, which later formed the foundation for separate campaigns:

1. General Field Service Management Terms – This group targeted industry-neutral searches related to field service management software. Like “field service management software” or “field service management software for small business”.
2. Industry-Specific Terms – This group focused on niche industries, such as HVAC field service management software, ensuring the ads reached highly relevant audiences looking for specialized solutions.

Next, we focused on organizing keywords into tightly themed ad groups for better relevance and performance.

By structuring the campaigns this way, we improved ad relevance, quality scores, and ultimately, the efficiency of the ad spend.

Campaigns Creations

We created campaigns based on the predefined structure.

Initially, our primary focus was refining search terms and carefully managing negative keywords. It’s crucial to maintain clear boundaries between ad groups to ensure relevance.

For example, if someone searches for “HVAC field service management software,” the ad promoting software specifically for the HVAC industry should appear. This ad should direct users to a landing page that clearly explains why the software is the perfect fit for HVAC companies.

Conversion tracking and a long sales cycle

Lead Quality

One of the biggest challenges the client faced was low lead quality, with nearly 90% of leads being unqualified and unusable.

To address this, we implemented offline conversion tracking and automated lead uploads from their CRM to Google Ads, ensuring the system optimized for high-quality prospects rather than just volume.

Long sales cycle

One of the challenges the client faced was a lengthy and unpredictable sales cycle. Since Google Ads’ conversion window has a maximum limit of 90 days from the initial click, any deals taking longer than that couldn’t be tracked or attributed back to the campaigns. This created a gap in data, making it difficult for Google’s algorithm to optimize for high-value leads effectively.

To solve this, we broke the sales cycle into distinct stages, assigning value to each stage based on the probability of the deal closing. By tracking and uploading these intermediate conversion points, we provided Google Ads with more frequent and meaningful feedback, helping the system prioritize leads that were more likely to convert in the long run.

This approach provided Google Ads with more valuable data, enabling the algorithm to optimize more effectively and significantly improve lead quality.

Step 3.

Results