Solved: Need Expert Review of Google Ads Setup for Event Photography

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on your Google Ads setup based on what you've described and my experience running campaigns for service businesses and other types of clients.

Sorting out your Performance Max campaign...

So you've got a PMax campaign running for event photography. These campaigns can be really powerful when set up right, but they are a bit of a black box compared to standard Search or Display campaigns.

First thing, absolutely, you need to be completely sure your conversion actions are configured perfectly. This is non-negotiable. PMax is entirely conversion-driven. If it's tracking the wrong things, or missing things, the campaign is optimising towards a false goal. It needs to know *exactly* what a valuable action is for you – booking a consultation, filling out a contact form, maybe a phone call from an ad extension if that's relevant? Make sure these are setup as primary conversions in the Google Ads account and selected correctly in the PMax campaign settings. This is the single most important thing you mentioned; without it, nothing else matters really.

Regarding setting a tCPA or raising budget - Google's suggestions often come when the system thinks it can get more conversions at a similar cost per conversion based on the data it has. If you have enough conversion volume coming through your PMax campaign (usually needs a fair few a week for the system to have reliable data), setting a target CPA can help guide it more specifically towards the cost you are willing to pay per conversion. Raising the budget tells it you're happy for it to spend more to get more of what it's currently finding. I'd probably lean towards setting a tCPA if you have a clear idea of your target cost per lead/booking, assuming you have the conversion data. If you don't have much data yet, letting it run with maximise conversions for a bit longer to build that data might be the first step before adding a tCPA.

And yes, adding more asset variations to your asset group is defo worth it. PMax works by shuffling together all the different headlines, descriptions, images, and videos you give it to create various ad combinations. The more variations you provide, the more potential combinations Google has to test and find what resonates best with different audiences across all the different placements (Search, Display, Discovery, YouTube, Gmail). Make sure you're adding a good mix – different messaging angles, different visuals, different lengths of copy. It can really help the campaign learn faster and find those winning combinations.

Looking at your Search campaign performance...

You mentioned pausing non-converting keywords that are driving cost. After 2.5-3 months, for sure you should have enough data to start making calls on keyword performance, especially if you're spending a decent amount. Look at the keywords that have accumulated significant cost but have zero conversions or conversions at a cost per conversion way higher than you can afford. Pausing those is a pretty standard optimization step to stop wasting spend on irrelevant or poorly performing traffic. Don't just pause based on a few clicks; look for keywords with a decent number of clicks or spend that haven't resulted in a conversion.

Expanding your keyword list is often a good idea too, assuming there are relevant terms you aren't currently targeting. Put yourself in the shoes of someone looking for an event photographer. What exact phrases might they type into Google? Use keyword research tools (even Google's own Keyword Planner) to explore variations, longer-tail keywords, and related searches. Think about different types of events (weddings, corporate events, parties, etc.) if you specialise, or maybe location-specific searches like "[Your City] event photographer". Just make sure any new keywords are tightly relevant to the services you actually offer.

Improving match types and ad copy goes hand-in-hand with this. Make sure you're using a mix of match types, but perhaps lean more towards phrase and exact match for core terms to maintain tighter control over relevance, especially if you're struggling with irrelevant clicks. Broad match can work, but requires very careful management of negative keywords. On the ad copy side, this is where you can really stand out. Test different headlines and descriptions. Highlight your unique selling points – your style, experience, types of events you cover, a specific offer perhaps? Good ad copy improves your click-through rate (CTR), which can lower your cost per click (CPC) and generally improve campaign performance. Make sure your ads are highly relevant to the keywords you're targeting and the landing page they go to.

We've seen costs per lead vary massively for service businesses. Like, one campaign we ran for a home cleaning service got leads for around £5, which was brilliant. Others, like for an HVAC company in a competitive area, were more like $60 a lead. It really depends on your specific niche, location, competition, and importantly, your conversion rate on the website. So look at your cost per lead for the converting keywords and see if that works for your business model.

We'll need to look at traffic quality and your website...

Now, ads are only one piece of the puzzle. Getting clicks and visitors to your website is important, but what happens when they get there? Based on my experience with campaigns for various clients, including service businesses, a really common issue when ads aren't converting well isn't always the ads themselves, but the landing page or website they are sent to. Even the best traffic in the world won't convert if the website doesn't do its job.

Think about what you want someone to do when they land on your site from an ad – presumably, you want them to contact you or book something? Is it immediately obvious what you offer and how to take that next step? Is the website persuasive? Does it build trust?

Sometimes issues I've seen include:
- Unclear calls to action (CTAs): Is the "Contact Me" or "Request Quote" button prominent and easy to find?
- Lack of persuasive copy: Does the text clearly explain the benefits of your service? Does it speak to the potential customer's needs? Professional copy can make a massive difference here.
- Missing trust elements: Do you have testimonials or reviews? Examples of your work (a portfolio)? Information about you or your experience? Contact details like a phone number or address? Links to social media or other platforms where you have a presence? For service businesses, people want to feel comfortable and confident hiring you.

Your website's conversion rate has a direct impact on your ad campaign's cost per lead. If you double your website's conversion rate, you halve your cost per lead from the ads, assuming traffic quality stays the same. So making sure your website is optimised to turn visitors into enquiries or bookings is just as crucial as optimising the campaigns themselves.

Okay, so putting that all together for optimisation...

Running paid ads effectively, especially for services like photography, really is about continuous testing and iteration. You test different keywords, different ad copy, different audiences (if you try other platforms later), and crucially, different landing pages or elements on your website. See what works, double down on it, and cut what doesn't. Two and a half months is a decent start, but it's often just the beginning of the optimisation journey.

The key is to have a clear understanding of your numbers: what does a lead cost you, how many leads do you need to get a booking, what is the value of a booking? This lets you figure out if your ad spend is profitable and how much you can afford to pay per lead.

Recommended Actions Overview

Here's a quick summary of the main points to focus on:

Going through all this yourself can be a fair bit of work, especially when you're also busy running the photography business! Sometimes, having an expert eye look over things can help spot issues you might miss or suggest strategies that have worked for similar businesses. We've helped plenty of businesses get more out of their ad spend by fine-tuning their campaigns and improving their websites.

If you'd like to talk through any of this in more detail and see how these principles might apply specifically to your situation, we'd be happy to book in a free consultation. It can be useful just to get some tailored feedback.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh