Google Ads Guide for Mortgage Brokers: Dominate Lead Gen

Let's be brutally honest. Most mortgage brokers who try Google Ads end up with a lighter wallet and a list of dud leads. They get told it's a goldmine for lead generation, throw a few hundred quid at it, bid on "mortgage broker," and then wonder why their phone isn't ringing off the hook with pre-qualified clients. The truth is, advertising financial services, especially mortgages in the UK, is a completely different beast. You're not selling a pair of trainers; you're selling the biggest financial commitment of someone's life.

The platforms are stacked against you with compliance rules, the competition is fierce, and your potential clients are, rightly, sceptical of anyone they find online. But it's not impossible. In fact, it can be incredibly profitable if you stop thinking like a typical advertiser and start thinking like a specialist. It's about building a machine that filters out the time-wasters and attracts the serious buyers by proving your credibility before they even pick up the phone. This isn't about clever ad hacks; it's about getting the foundations right that everyone else ignores.

So, why are you probably losing money right now?

The problem usually boils down to a few key areas. First, brokers often treat Google Ads like a digital Yellow Pages. They assume just being there is enough. They create a generic ad, point it at their homepage, and hope for the best. This fails because it ignores the user's mindset. Someone typing "remortgage advisor for bad credit" into Google has a very specific, urgent problem. Your generic homepage that talks about your company history is useless to them. They need to land on a page that says, "Yes, we understand your exact problem, and here is how we solve it."

Second is the trust deficit. Your website might be perfectly fine for referrals, but for cold traffic from Google, it's being judged in seconds. No clear FCA registration number? No pictures of your actual team? No genuine reviews? People will just click away. Every pound you spend on a click is wasted if your landing page doesn't instantly build confidence. And finally, there's the math. Many brokers panic when they see a cost per click (CPC) of £10 or £15 and a cost per lead (CPL) of £100. They pull the plug, thinking it's too expensive, without ever calculating what a client is actually worth. A single mortgage client might be worth thousands in initial commission, plus future remortgages and referrals. Understanding this changes the game completely.

Are you even allowed to do this? The FCA and Google Compliance Minefield

Before you even think about keywords or ad copy, you need to get past the gatekeepers. In the UK, advertising mortgages is a financial promotion, which is heavily regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). On top of that, Google has its own set of hoops you need to jump through for financial services.

Mess this up, and your account will get suspended before you've spent a penny. First, you MUST be authorised by the FCA. Google will check this. You then need to go through Google's own business verification and financial services verification process. They'll want to see proof that you're a legitimate, regulated entity. It's a bit of a faff, but it's non-negotiable.

Once you're approved, you have to be incredibly careful with your wording. You can't make promises you can't keep. Phrases like "guaranteed approval" or "best rates on the market" are red flags. Any mention of rates or representative examples must come with all the required risk warnings and legal text, both in the ad (where possible) and clearly on the landing page. It's often safer to avoid specific rates in the ads altogether and focus on your service, expertise, and trustworthiness. Many advertisers find their ads get disapproved for financial services policy violations, and it's almost always because they've over-promised or left out the required disclaimers. It is a minefield but navigating the compliance requirements for UK lending ads is the first step to a successful campaign.

How to find clients who aren't just tyre-kickers

Right, once you're compliant, the real work begins. Your success hinges entirely on keyword strategy. Most brokers make the mistake of bidding on really broad, expensive keywords like "mortgage" or "mortgage advisor." The problem is, the intent behind these searches is unclear. It could be a student doing research, someone looking for a job, or someone just vaguely curious. You pay a lot of money for clicks from people who have no intention of becoming a client.

The secret is to focus on 'long-tail' keywords. These are longer, more specific phrases that signal real buying intent. Think about what someone who is fed up and needs help *right now* would type into Google.

• -> Instead of "mortgage rates," try "best 5 year fixed remortgage deals."
• -> Instead of "mortgage broker," try "mortgage advisor for self employed london."
• -> Instead of "first time buyer," try "help to buy mortgage broker near me."

These clicks will be more expensive individually, but the conversion rate will be vastly higher because you're reaching people at the exact moment they need you. Your entire campaign should be structured around these different client types. You should have separate campaigns or ad groups for First Time Buyers, Remortgagers, Buy-to-Let investors, and so on. This allows you to write highly specific ads that speak directly to their situation, which leads to a better click-through rate and a better quality score from Google.

Just as important is your 'negative keyword' list. This is a list of words that you tell Google *not* to show your ads for. This is how you stop wasting money. Your list should include terms like "jobs," "course," "training," "free," "calculator tool," "salary," and the names of competitor lenders if you don't want to compete directly on their brand terms. A well-managed negative keyword list can save you 20-30% of your budget straight away.

Writing an ad that actually gets clicked

When you're competing against dozens of other brokers, plus the big banks and comparison sites, a generic ad is invisible. "Mortgage Broker in London - Low Rates - Call Us Today" is a complete waste of digital space. Your ad copy has one job: to convince the right person that you are the most credible, trustworthy choice for their specific problem. To get that right, you need to understand the principles behind ad copy that actually converts in the UK market.

Here's how you do it:

1. Match the Search Intent: If someone searched for "buy to let mortgage broker," your headline must include "Buy-to-Let Mortgage Broker" or "Specialists in Buy-to-Let". It confirms to the searcher they're in the right place.

2. Highlight Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What makes you different? Are you a specialist for contractors? Do you have access to exclusive deals? Have you won awards? Put that in the ad. Examples: "Ex-Bankers Helping You Secure Funding" or "Specialists in Complex Income Mortgages."

3. Build Instant Trust: Trust is everything. Use your ad description to build it. Mentioning "FCA Regulated," "5-Star Google Reviews," or "20+ Years Experience" can make a huge difference.

4. Use a Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Tell them exactly what to do next. "Get a Free Mortgage Quote," "Book Your Free Consultation," or "Speak to an Advisor Today" are much better than a vague "Learn More."

5. Utilise Ad Extensions: These are extra bits of information you can add to your ads to make them bigger and more informative. Use Sitelink Extensions to link to specific pages like 'First Time Buyers' or 'About Us'. Use Callout Extensions to highlight key benefits like "No-Obligation Advice" or "Evening Appointments Available." Use a Call Extension to put your phone number directly in the ad so people can call without even clicking to your site. These are free to add and can massively improve your click-through rate.

Your website is probably where you're losing all the money

You can have the best ads in the world, but if they lead to a poor landing page, you've wasted your money. The landing page is the single most common reason why I see campaigns fail. You can't just send people to your homepage. It's too distracting. They need to be sent to a dedicated page that continues the conversation your ad started, and its only goal is to get them to contact you.

A high-converting landing page for a mortgage broker has a few non-negotiable elements:

• A clear, matching headline: If your ad said "Remortgage Advisor," the headline on the page needs to say "Remortgage Advice from Local Experts."
• Obvious trust signals: This is huge. Your FCA registration number should be clearly visible, preferably in the header or footer. Logos of publications you've been featured in ('As seen on...'), and affiliations like the CII or LIBF help. Most importantly, show real photos of yourself or your team. People want to know who they're dealing with; stock photos are a massive turn-off.
• Social Proof: Embed your latest Trustpilot or Google reviews directly on the page. Testimonials with photos of real clients are even better.
• A simple contact form: Don't ask for their life story. Name, email, and phone number is enough to begin with. Anything more will kill your conversion rate.
• A prominent phone number: Make it a 'click-to-call' link on mobile. Many people, especially for something as serious as a mortgage, would rather talk than fill out a form.
• A clear, compelling Call to Action (CTA): The button on your form shouldn't just say "Submit." Use action-oriented text like "Get My Free Quote" or "Book a Call Back."

Your landing page needs to load quickly and be easy to navigate on a mobile phone. Over half your traffic will come from mobile. If they have to pinch and zoom to read your text or find your phone number, they're gone. Often, the reason people see lots of paid traffic that doesn't convert is simply down to a landing page that doesn't build trust or make it easy for the user to take action.

Is this actually working? The simple math behind profitable leads

This is where most brokers get it wrong. They see a cost per lead of £80 or £120 and think it's a failure. But you're not selling a £20 product. You're selling a service with a massive lifetime value. To know if your campaign is profitable, you have to know your numbers.

First, calculate your average initial revenue per client. What's your average broker fee or commission from a new client? Let's say it's £1,500.

Next, think about the Lifetime Value (LTV). Does that client come back to you in 2 or 5 years to remortgage? Do they refer a friend? A single client could be worth £5,000 or more over their lifetime. For a simple calculation, let's just focus on the initial deal. If you convert 1 in every 10 leads into a client, and your cost per lead is £100, then your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) is £1,000 (£100 CPL x 10 leads). If your average revenue is £1,500, you're making £500 profit. Suddenly that £100 lead doesn't seem so expensive.

This is the mindset shift. You're not looking for the cheapest leads; you're looking for the most profitable clients. You have to be willing to spend money to acquire a customer, as long as the math works out in your favour. Once you understand this, you can confidently invest and scale your campaigns. A consistently low Google Ads conversion rate is often a sign of a disconnect between what you're willing to pay and what a good client is actually worth.

This is the main advice I have for you:

Getting this right isn't about finding one secret trick. It's about systematically implementing a solid, proven strategy. It's about building a predictable system for attracting the right kind of client, which is why a structured approach to B2B lead generation via Google Ads in the UK (and high-value B2C like mortgages) is so effective. Below is a summary of the core pillars you need to build your campaigns on.

When does it make sense to get expert help?

You absolutely can do all of this yourself. But it's a significant amount of work, and the learning curve is steep and expensive. Every mistake you make while learning is costing you real money in wasted ad spend and lost clients. You need to ask yourself: is your time better spent becoming a Google Ads expert, or doing what you do best – advising clients and writing mortgages?

Working with a specialist who already knows the mortgage market inside and out can shortcut this entire process. We've already made the expensive mistakes, we know the compliance pitfalls, and we understand how to find and convert high-value mortgage clients. We can build and manage this entire lead generation system for you, freeing you up to focus on closing the high-quality leads that come in.

If you're serious about growing your brokerage and want a predictable stream of new clients, it might be time for a chat. We offer a free, no-obligation strategy session where we can review your current situation, look at your goals, and give you an honest assessment of what's possible with Google Ads. There's no hard sell, just straightforward advice from experts. If you’d like to explore this, feel free to schedule a free consultation.