Solved: Google Ads for Video Leads on Sunshine Coast

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! Happy to give you some initial thoughts on using Google Ads to get video leads there on the Sunshine Coast. It's a question we get a lot from service businesses, and the answer isn't as simple as just turning on some ads and waiting for the phone to ring.

The real challenge isn't just getting in front of 'local businesses'; it's about getting in front of the *right* local businesses, at the exact moment they're feeling the pain that your video services can solve. Most people get this wrong, they spend a load of money shouting at everyone, and end up with nothing to show for it. We're going to avoid that.

Below I've put together a pretty detailed breakdown of how I'd approach this, moving beyond just 'running ads' to building a proper client acquisition system. It's a bit of a read, but should give you a solid framework.

Your ICP is a Nightmare, Not a Demographic

Right, first things first. We need to completely scrap the idea of targeting "local businesses". It's the single biggest mistake people make and it's why most local service ad campaigns fail. It’s like trying to catch a specific fish by draining the entire ocean. You'll spend a fortune and end up exhausted with very little to show for it.

A marketing agency might tell you to build an 'Ideal Customer Profile' (ICP) that looks something like this: "Cafes on the Sunshine Coast with 5-10 employees". This is utterly useless. It tells you nothing about their problems, their goals, or whether they're in a position to even consider paying for video services. It leads to generic ads with messages like "We make videos for local businesses!" that speak to no one and get ignored.

Instead, you need to define your customer by their pain. Their specific, urgent, expensive, career-threatening nightmare. Your ICP isn't a person or a business type; it's a problem state. When you understand the nightmare, you can craft a message that feels like you're reading their mind.

Let's make this real. Instead of "cafes", think about:

• The Ambitious Restaurant Owner: Her restaurant is great, but she's staring at empty tables on Tuesday nights. She sees her competitor down the road is packed because their Instagram is full of slick, mouth-watering videos of their food and cocktails. Her nightmare is irrelevance and falling behind. She doesn't want "a video", she wants a full restaurant on a Tuesday.
• The High-End Real Estate Agent: He's got a stunning multi-million dollar property in Noosa Heads that has been sitting on the market for months. Standard photos aren't doing it justice. His nightmare is an unhappy vendor and a massive commission slipping through his fingers. He doesn't want "a video", he wants a buyer to fall in love with a lifestyle before they even step through the door.
• The Specialist Tradie (e.g., a custom pool builder): He does incredible work, but struggles to communicate the quality and complexity of his projects. He keeps losing out on high-value jobs to cheaper, less skilled competitors because he can't effectively show his process and results. His nightmare is being seen as a commodity and competing on price. He doesn't want "a video", he wants to justify his premium price tag and attract clients who value quality.

When you define your clients this way, your entire advertising strategy changes. You're no longer selling a commodity (video production), you're selling a solution to a critical business problem. This is the absolute foundation. If you get this wrong, nothing else I'm about to tell you will work.

We'll need to look at Google Search Ads first...

Now that we've defined *who* we're talking to, let's figure out *where* to talk to them. Your question was specifically about Google Ads, and you're on the right track. For a service like yours, Google Search should be your primary, and perhaps only, focus to begin with.

Why? It's all about intent.

People on Google are actively searching for a solution to a problem they already have. That restaurant owner is literally typing "social media video for restaurants sunshine coast" into the search bar. The real estate agent is searching for "luxury property videographer noosa". They have a problem, they're aware of it, and they are actively looking to pay someone to solve it. This is what we call 'capturing demand'. These are the hottest leads you will ever get.

Compare that to social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. People there are looking at photos of their grandkids or arguing about politics. They are not in a 'buying' mindset. To get their attention, you have to interrupt them with an ad. This is 'creating demand'. It can work, especially for B2C products, but for high-ticket B2B services, it's a much harder, longer, and more expensive game. You have to convince them they have a problem first, then convince them you're the one to solve it. It's an uphill battle.

We've worked with numerous service businesses, and the story is almost always the same. I remember a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area; we focused purely on Google Search for keywords like "emergency aircon repair". The leads cost around $60 each, but they were from people with a broken AC unit who needed help *now*. They converted at a very high rate. Trying to find those same people with a Facebook ad would have been impossible and a complete waste of money.

So, the strategy is simple: start with Google Search to capture all the existing, high-intent demand in your area. Only once you have maxed that out (which could take a while) should you even consider using other platforms to create new demand.

I'd say you need a killer keyword and ad copy strategy...

Alright, so we're focusing on Google Search. Now we need to make sure your ads actually show up when the right people are searching, and that the ad itself is compelling enough for them to click on. This comes down to two things: keywords and ad copy.

1. Keyword Strategy: Think Like Your Client

Your goal is to bid on keywords that signal strong commercial intent. You want to avoid broad, informational keywords that will just waste your budget on people doing research. Based on our 'Nightmare ICPs', here’s how I’d structure it.

You'll want to create different 'Ad Groups' in your campaign, each targeting a specific service or client type. This allows you to write highly relevant ads for each search.

Notice how specific these are. We're not bidding on "video marketing". That's too broad. Someone searching for that might just be a student doing research. We want keywords that scream "I need to hire someone now".

2. Ad Copy: Sell the Solution, Not the Service

Once someone searches and your ad appears, you have about three seconds to convince them to click. Most businesses waste this opportunity with boring, feature-led copy like "Professional Video Production | High-Quality 4K Cameras | Fast Turnaround".

Nobody cares. They don't care about your camera. They care about their problem. Your ad needs to speak directly to their 'nightmare' and offer a glimmer of hope. We'll use the Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) framework.

Headline 1: Call out the problem or audience.
Headline 2: Agitate the pain, hint at the solution.
Description: Briefly explain how you solve it and include a call to action.

Let's write some ads for our ICPs:

For the Real Estate Agent (targeting "property video services" keywords):

• Headline 1: Luxury Listing Not Selling?
• Headline 2: Cinematic Videos That Sell a Lifestyle
• Description: Standard photos don't cut it. We create emotive property films that attract high-end buyers. Get a Free Video Strategy Session.

For the Restaurant Owner (targeting "social media video for restaurants" keywords):

• Headline 1: Slow Nights at Your Restaurant?
• Headline 2: Fill Tables With Mouth-Watering Video
• Description: Stop foot traffic with stunning social media videos of your food. We handle everything from filming to posting. See How It Works.

See the difference? These ads don't just state what you do; they demonstrate that you understand your client's business and have a specific solution for their specific problem. This is how you get high-quality clicks from people who are pre-sold on the *value* you provide, not just the service you offer. The ad copy here is one of the most important elements of your campaign.

You probably should delete the 'Request a Demo' Button

Right, this might be the most important part of this entire letter. You can have the best targeting and the best ads in the world, but if they click through to a landing page that fails to convert, you've wasted all your time and money. The most common point of failure is the 'offer', or the Call to Action (CTA).

Most service business websites have a button that says "Contact Us" or "Get a Quote". This is, frankly, one of the worst CTAs you can possibly have. It's high-friction and low-value for the prospect. It asks them to do work (fill out a form, explain their project) with no immediate payoff. It instantly positions you as a salesperson they need to defend against. It screams "I'm about to be sold to".

Your offer’s only job is to deliver a moment of undeniable value—an "aha!" moment that makes the prospect sell themselves on your expertise. You must solve a small, real problem for free to earn the right to solve the whole thing.

Instead of a high-friction "Get a Quote", you need to create a low-friction, high-value 'Transitional Call to Action'. Something they can say yes to easily, that provides them with instant value and demonstrates your expertise.

Here are some ideas tailored for your business:

• The Gold Standard: "Book a Free 15-Minute Video Strategy Session"
  This is perfect. It's not a 'sales call'. It's a 'strategy session'. You're positioned as an expert consultant, not a vendor. It has a defined, short time limit, so it feels low-commitment. On this call, your only job is to give them genuinely helpful advice. At the end, if they're a good fit, you can say, "If you'd like our help to implement this, we can talk about what that would look like." The sale becomes a natural next step, not a pushy pitch.
• The Content Offer: "Download Our Free '3 Social Media Video Ideas for Sunshine Coast Cafes' PDF"
  This is a 'lead magnet'. You offer a valuable piece of content in exchange for their name and email address. This is lower intent than the strategy session, but it allows you to build an email list of potential clients that you can nurture over time. You could create different PDFs for different ICPs (e.g., for real estate agents, tradies, etc.).
• The Audit Offer: "Get a Free Analysis of Your Competitor's Video Strategy"
  This is incredibly powerful. You offer to do a quick video audit of their main competitor and send them a short Loom video with your findings. It provides immense value, shows off your expertise, and taps into their competitive nature.

When you shift your landing page's focus from "Hire Us" to "Here's Something Valuable for Free", everything changes. You stop being a commodity and start being a trusted advisor. This is how you build a pipeline of leads who are already convinced of your value before you even speak to them.

You'll need to understand the numbers: From CPL to LTV

So, what should you expect to pay for a lead, and how do you know if it's "worth it"?

For local service businesses on Google Ads in a place like Australia, the cost per lead (CPL) can vary wildly. I'd say you could be looking at anything from $15 to over $80 per lead, depending on the competition and the specific service they're searching for. As I mentioned, we have an HVAC client in a competitive area seeing CPLs around $60. On the other hand, a home cleaning company we worked with was getting leads for about £5 ($10 AUD). For a specialised B2B service like yours, I would budget for something in the middle, maybe in the $30-$60 range to be safe. To start, a monthly ad spend of $1,000-$2,000 is a reasonable starting point to gather enough data.

But here's the thing: obsessing over CPL is a rookie mistake. The real question isn't "How low can my CPL go?" but "How high a CPL can I afford to acquire a truly great customer?"

The answer lies in its counterpart: Lifetime Value (LTV). How much is a new client actually worth to your business over the long run? A restaurant might hire you for one project, but if you do a great job, they could come back for seasonal promotions every year. A real estate agent could become a source of consistent, high-volume work. You need to know this number.

Let's do some quick maths. The calculation for a service business is a bit simpler than for a SaaS company.

Average Project Value (APV): What's the average price of a single video project? Let's say it's $3,000.
Repeat Projects Per Year: On average, how many times does a client hire you in a year? Let's say it's 1.5.
Client Lifespan (Years): How many years does the average client stick with you? Let's say it's 2 years.
Gross Margin %: What's your profit margin after all costs (equipment, software, your time, etc.)? Let's say it's 60%.

LTV = (APV * Repeat Projects Per Year * Client Lifespan) * Gross Margin %
LTV = ($3,000 * 1.5 * 2) * 0.60
LTV = $9,000 * 0.60 = $5,400

In this example, each new client is worth $5,400 in gross margin to your business. Now things look different. A healthy LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio is at least 3:1. This means you can afford to spend up to $1,800 ($5,400 / 3) to acquire a single new customer.

If you close 1 in 5 qualified leads from your "Strategy Sessions" into a customer, you can afford to pay up to $360 ($1,800 / 5) for a single lead. Suddenly, that $60 CPL from Google Ads doesn't seem expensive, does it? It looks like an absolute bargain.

This is the maths that unlocks aggressive, intelligent growth. It frees you from the tyranny of cheap leads and allows you to focus on acquiring high-value clients. Use the calculator below to plug in your own numbers and find your truth.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

Okay, that was a lot to take in. To make it a bit more manageable, here is a summary of the step-by-step action plan I would implement if we were to take on this project. This is the framework we use to build scalable lead generation systems for service businesses.

As you can see, there are quite a few moving parts to get right. It's not just about technical skill with the Google Ads platform, but a deep understanding of strategy, messaging, and customer psychology. Each element builds on the last, and a weakness in one area can undermine the whole system.

Getting this structure set up correctly from the start can be the difference between a campaign that profitably generates clients month after month, and one that just burns cash with little to show for it.

This is where expert help can make a significant difference. We've been through this process hundreds of times and can help you avoid the common pitfalls and accelerate your path to getting a consistent flow of high-quality leads. We handle the entire process, from the initial strategy and ICP definition right through to campaign build, management, and ongoing optimisation.

If you'd like to chat through how we could apply this framework specifically to your business on the Sunshine Coast, I'd be happy to offer you a free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session. It's not a sales pitch; we'll pull up your website, look at your market, and give you some actionable advice you can use whether you decide to work with us or not.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh