Mastering Google Ads for Selling Courses in London

Hi there,

So, you're wondering if Google Ads is actually worth it for selling courses in London. It's a fair question. London is arguably one of the most competitive advertising markets in the world, right up there with New York. The CPCs (Cost Per Click) can be eye-watering, and every man and his dog seems to be running a "masterclass" these days.

The short answer? Yes, it is incredibly effective. In fact, for many education businesses, it can be a primary driver of revenue. But—and this is a massive "but"—it is a minefield if you don't know what you're doing. If you go in with a generic strategy, targeting "London + 20 miles" with broad keywords, you will lose your shirt. I've seen it happen time and time again.

I’ve managed quite a few campaigns for course creators, from niche B2B technical training to broader B2C lifestyle courses, and the reality is that London requires a specific approach. You can't just copy-paste a strategy that worked in the Midlands or for a US audience. The density of competition here means you have to be smarter, faster, and frankly, a bit more ruthless with your targeting.

The "London Factor": Why it's a Different Beast

Let's get real about the London market. You aren't just competing with other course creators. If you're selling a marketing course, you're competing with agencies. If you're selling a coding bootcamp, you're competing with universities and massive platforms like Coursera who have deeper pockets than you. In London specifically, the cost of attention is high.

However, the value of a lead in London is also significantly higher. Salaries are higher, corporate budgets are bigger, and the propensity to invest in professional development is baked into the culture here, especially in industries like finance, tech, and creative services.

When we audit accounts for London-based clients, the first thing we look at is whether they are treating London as one big blob. It isn't. Targeting a B2B finance course to people living in Shoreditch might work, but you're probably better off hitting the City or Canary Wharf during working hours. Similarly, if you're selling a creative writing workshop, targeting the corporate districts might be a waste of spend compared to targeting areas with a higher density of creatives.

You need to understand that Google Ads is an intent-based channel. This is the key difference. On Facebook or TikTok, you are interrupting someone's day. They are scrolling, looking at cat videos or their mate's holiday photos, and you stick an ad in their face. It works, sure (we run plenty of Meta ads for courses), but the intent is lower. On Google, someone is literally typing "python course London" or "management training for new managers". They want to buy. They have a problem, and they are actively looking for the solution.

This brings me to a critical point about strategy. If you are selling a course that solves a specific, urgent problem (e.g., certification for a job, learning a skill for a promotion), Google Ads is unbeatable. If you are selling a "nice to have" hobby course, the search volume might be lower, or the CPCs might be too high relative to the course price. In that case, you might want to look at Google Ads vs LinkedIn Ads for UK online courses to decide on the best mix.

The Economics of Selling Courses via Search Ads

Before we even touch the keywords, we gotta talk about the math. This is where most course creators fail. They think, "My course is £200, so I can spend £50 to get a customer."

In London? Good luck.

Let's say the average CPC for education keywords in London is around £2.50 to £5.00 depending on the niche. If you have a conversion rate of 2% on your landing page (which is decent for cold traffic), you need 50 clicks to get one sale.

50 clicks * £3.00 CPC = £150 Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).

If your course is £200, you've made £50 profit. That sounds okay until you factor in taxes, platform fees, and your own time. It's razor thin.

This is why we always tell clients: You cannot sell low-ticket courses directly on Google Ads in a high-cost market like London unless your conversion rate is insane or your CPCs are miraculously low.

You have two options to fix this:

1. Increase the price/LTV: Sell a £1,000 course or a bundle. Now that £150 CPA looks like a bargain.
2. Change the funnel: Don't sell the course. Sell the lead. Get them into a webinar, a free training, or a email sequence. You might pay £10-£20 for a lead, and then convert 10% of them over time.

To help you visualise this, I've built a little calculator. You can plug in your own numbers to see if Google Ads is viable for your specific course price point.

Keyword Strategy: Don't Be Boring

Most people messing up Google Ads in London are bidding on keywords that are way too broad. They bid on "marketing course" or "learn python".

In London, "marketing course" could mean a university degree, a free online HubSpot cert, a weekend workshop, or a corporate training day. If you bid on that, you are paying to compete with universities who have budgets ten times the size of yours.

You need to be specific. We usually see success with what we call "Solution-Aware" keywords.

Instead of "Management Course", try "Management training for new managers London".
Instead of "Yoga Course", try "Yoga teacher training intensive London".

The addition of "London" (or specific areas) in the keyword phrase itself is crucial. It signals that the user wants something local, likely in-person or live-hybrid, which justifies a higher price point than a pre-recorded video course they could get on Udemy for £15. If you are selling a purely online course with no live element, frankly, you shouldn't be targeting London specifically unless you have data showing Londoners buy more.

Also, negatives. You gotta use negative keywords. I can't stress this enough. If you don't exclude "free", "university", "degree", "job", "hiring", you are going to burn cash on students looking for jobs or people looking for freebies. Our expert guide for Google Ads UK online course creators goes into a lot more detail on building these negative lists, but start there.

B2B vs B2C: The London Divide

If you're selling B2B courses (e.g., sales training, corporate leadership, compliance), London is a goldmine. But you have to target the decision-makers, not the employees.

The employee searches for "how to be a better manager".
The boss searches for "management training providers London".

See the difference? The first one is looking for tips. The second one is looking for a vendor. For B2B courses, you want to bid on vendor keywords. We often advise clients to strictly target keywords like "providers", "companies", "agencies", and "workshops" to filter out the DIY crowd. This ensures you reach decision-makers looking for a solution.

For B2C (hobbyists, personal development), the cost of living crisis in the UK is a factor. People are tighter with their wallets. Your ad copy needs to focus on the outcome. Don't sell the course modules. Sell the new career, the side hustle income, or the certification that gets them a raise. In London, everyone is hustling; tap into that.

The "London" Creative Strategy

Your ads need to feel local. If you are targeting London, don't use stock photos of American offices or sunny Californian campuses. Use imagery that feels like the UK. If you are running display ads alongside your search campaigns, show diversity, show British architecture, show cloudy skies if you have to!

In your text ads, call out the location.
Headline 1: Advanced Excel Training London
Headline 2: In-Person Classes - Canary Wharf

That specificity increases Click-Through Rate (CTR). People trust local. Even if it's an online course, saying "London-Based Support" or "UK Accredited" helps massively. It separates you from the faceless global platforms.

Also, consider the "vibe" of your copy. Londoners generally appreciate directness. Don't use fluffy, over-hyped American-style copy ("Explode your potential!!!"). Keep it grounded, professional, and benefit-led. "Practical management training for UK leaders" beats "Unleash your inner lion" every day of the week.

Why Your Landing Page is Probably the Problem

I see this all the time. A client comes to us, says "Google Ads doesn't work," and we look at the data. High CTR, decent CPC... but zero conversions.

Then we look at the landing page.

• It's slow.
• It's got walls of text.
• The price isn't clear (or it's too high for a cold click).
• There's no social proof (reviews, logos).

If you are driving paid traffic in London, your landing page needs to be slick. You need to answer the user's question immediately. If they searched for "Part-time graphic design course London", the headline on the page better say "Part-time Graphic Design Course in London". Not "Welcome to Sarah's Design School". Match the intent.

We worked on a student recruitment campaign where refining the strategy and funnel helped reduce the cost per booking by 80%. If you're struggling with conversions, often the issue lies in how the landing page communicates the offer. If you're struggling with this, you might want to check out our guide on London's best ad creatives and landing pages for course sales.

Visualising the Flow

To give you a better idea of how the traffic should flow, here is a breakdown of the typical "Lead Gen" funnel vs the "Direct Sale" funnel.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

I've seen some horror stories in account audits. Here are a few things you absolutely must avoid:

1. Using "Smart Campaigns":
Google will try to push you towards "Smart" campaigns where they automate everything. Do not do this. You lose control over your data, your targeting, and your budget. In a high-cost city like London, Smart campaigns are basically a donation to Google's shareholders. You need Manual CPC or Max Conversions with strict targeting.

2. Ignoring Mobile:
Commuters. London is a city of commuters (well, hybrid workers now, but still). People search for courses on their phone while on the tube or the bus. If your landing page looks rubbish on mobile, you are throwing away 60% of your traffic. Test your site on a real phone, not just the desktop preview.

3. Not Tracking Conversions:
This sounds basic, but you'd be surprised. You need to set up conversion tracking properly. Not just "page views", but actual form fills or purchases. If you don't feed Google's algorithm data on who is converting, it can't optimise for you.

A Note on Course Platforms

If you are hosting your course on Teachable, Kajabi, or Thinkific, tracking can sometimes be a bit tricky because the checkout happens on their domain. Make sure you have your Cross-Domain tracking set up in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). If you don't, you'll see a lot of sales attributed to "Direct" traffic instead of "Google Ads", and you won't know which campaigns are actually working. I recall an eLearning project we worked on where precise tracking was vital. It allowed us to optimise the campaign to the point where we achieved over 45,000 signups at under £2 per signup. If you don't have your tracking set up correctly, you won't know which campaigns are actually driving results.

When NOT to use Google Ads

I'm an ads guy, but I'll be honest—sometimes it's not the right tool.

• If your course is brand new and unproven: Validate it organically first. Don't pay to find out nobody wants it.
• If your niche is tiny: If you teach "underwater basket weaving for left-handed accountants", the search volume in London might be zero. In that case, social ads (Meta/LinkedIn) are better because you can target interests/demographics rather than waiting for someone to search.
• If you have zero budget: If you can't afford at least £1,000/month for testing, it's hard to get enough data to optimise in London. You might get lucky, but it's risky.

So, what's the verdict?

Is Google Ads effective for selling courses in London? Absolutely. It's probably the most scalable channel available if your course solves a real problem. But it demands respect. You can't half-ass it. You need tight keywords, a killer landing page, and a clear understanding of your numbers.

I've listed my main recommendations for you below:

If you're looking to dive deeper into specific tactics, like setting up your campaign structure, check out our guide on Google Ads campaign structure for education in London. It covers the nitty-gritty of ad groups and matchmaking.

It can feel overwhelming, I know. The London market is unforgiving of mistakes. If you're feeling a bit lost or just want a second pair of eyes on your strategy before you start spending real money, it might be worth getting some expert help. We offer a free consultation where we can look at your course, your margins, and tell you honestly if ads are a good fit for you. No hard sell, just a chat to see if the numbers stack up.

Hope this helps!