TLDR;
- Stop hunting for "profitable keywords". You're asking the wrong question. Instead, focus on the user's intent and the specific, urgent problem they're trying to solve right now.
- Structure your entire Google Ads account around intent, not your services. Create seperate campaigns for "I need help now" (Transactional), "I'm comparing options" (Commercial), and "I'm just researching" (Informational) searches.
- Your most powerful tool for stopping wasted spend is an aggressive negative keyword list. You need to be ruthless about telling Google what you don't want.
- The key to profitability isn't cheap clicks, it's knowing how much you can afford to pay for a customer. Use our interactive Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) Calculator below to figure out your real numbers.
- Your ads are probably too generic. You need to write ad copy that speaks directly to the 'nightmare' your Frankfurt customer is facing, not just list your services.
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out! I've had a look at the problem you're facing with your Google Ads in Frankfurt. It's a really common issue, and tbh, most businesses get it wrong and end up burning cash without seeing a proper return. It sounds like you're caught in the trap of chasing 'profitable keywords', when the real solution is a bit of a shift in how you think about the whole process.
I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and a bit of a strategic framework that should help you stop wasting spend and start targeting customers who are actually ready to buy. This is the same sort of thinking we apply to all our campaigns, from local services to B2B software.
We'll need to look at your customer's intent, not just their keywords...
Alright, so the first and most important thing to get your head around is this: stop thinking about keywords. At least, not in the way you are now. The idea of a magic list of 'profitable keywords' is a myth. The real gold is in understanding the intent behind the search query. What is the person in Frankfurt typing into Google actually trying to achieve in that moment? What problem, or 'nightmare' as I sometimes call it, are they desperate to solve?
Your ideal customer isn't a demographic like "people in Frankfurt". Your ideal customer is in a specific 'problem state'. For an emergency plumber, the nightmare is a burst pipe at 2 AM. For a family lawyer, it's the dread of a messy divorce. For a roofer, it's the panic of a leak stain appearing on the ceiling. You aren't selling 'roofing services'; you're selling a dry, safe home and peace of mind. Your ads and keywords need to reflect that you understand this pain.
When you target based on this 'problem state', you automatically find the profitable searches. Someone typing "emergency roofer frankfurt" is in a completely different headspace to someone searching "how to fix a roof tile". One needs to hire you immediately, the other is looking for a DIY guide. You're probably wasting a ton of money on the second person right now.
To really get this right, you need to map out the different stages your customers go through. This is often called mapping search intent. I've put together a little flowchart to show how you can start thinking about this for your own business.
Informational Intent
"how to unclog a drain"
"was kostet eine neue heizung"
Commercial Intent
"best plumber frankfurt"
"heizungsinstallateur vergleich"
Transactional Intent
"plumber near me now"
"notdienst heizung frankfurt"
Conversion
Phone Call or Form Fill
(This is your goal)
I'd say you need to restructure your campaigns around this intent...
Once you understand intent, the next step is to build your campaigns to match it. Don't structure your account by your service lines (e.g., "Boiler Repair," "Pipe Unblocking," "New Installations"). This is a very common mistake. Instead, structure it by the customer's intent.
Here’s a simple structure that works for almost any local service business:
- -> Campaign 1: Transactional / High-Intent. This is your top priority. It targets people who need help right now. These are your most valuable clicks. The keywords here are urgent and specific. They often include terms like "sofort", "notdienst", "buchen", "in meiner nähe", "preis", "kosten". You should be willing to bid highest for these terms because they convert at the highest rate.
- -> Campaign 2: Commercial / Mid-Intent. This campaign targets people who know they have a problem and are actively researching solutions and providers. They're comparing their options. Keywords might include "bester", "vergleich", "erfahrungen", "test". These leads are still very valuable, but might take a bit more nurturing to close. Your ad copy and landing page should focus on trust, reviews, and why you're the best choice.
- -> Campaign 3: Informational / Low-Intent (Handle with Care!). This is for people at the very start of their journey. They're searching for "how to..." or "what is...". Tbh, if you're struggling with ROI, I would pause this type of campaign entirely or give it a very small, seperate budget. The goal here isn't direct leads, but maybe to get them to read a helpful blog post and remember your name for later. It's a long-term play and not where you should be focusing your money right now.
By seperating your campaigns like this, you gain incredible control. You can allocate your budget intelligently, putting most of it into the Transactional campaign where the ROI is highest. You can also write much more relevant ad copy for each stage, which improves your Quality Score and lowers your cost-per-click (CPC).
Example: Campaign Structure for an Electrician in Frankfurt
| Campaign (By Intent) | Example Ad Groups | Example Keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional (High-Intent) | Emergency Service Installation Quotes |
[elektriker notdienst frankfurt] "stromausfall hilfe frankfurt" [kosten neue steckdose installieren] |
| Commercial (Mid-Intent) | Best Electricians Local Firms |
"bester elektriker in frankfurt" "elektrofirma frankfurt bewertungen" |
| Informational (Low-Intent) | DIY Help Safety Info |
"sicherungskasten beschriftung" "wie schließe ich eine lampe an" |
You probably should get ruthless with negative keywords...
This is probably the single biggest area where businesses waste money on Google Ads. What you tell Google not to show your ads for is just as importent as what you tell it to target. Every single campaign you run needs a comprehensive negative keyword list from day one.
You need to be constantly looking at your 'Search Terms' report in Google Ads to see the actual queries people are typing that trigger your ads. You'll be shocked at what you find. You're likely paying for clicks from people looking for jobs, free services, DIY instructions, or services you don't even offer.
Here are some universal negative keywords you should probably add right away:
- Job Seekers: job, ausbildung, praktikum, stelle, gehalt, karriere
- DIYers: selbst machen, anleitung, tutorial, video, forum, anleitung
- Price Shoppers (looking for free stuff): kostenlos, gratis, umsonst, free
- Irrelevant Locations: Any city, town, or region you don't serve. (Even though you're targeting Frankfurt, sometimes Google's matching is a bit loose).
- Educational Seekers: was ist, definition, schule, uni, kurs
Building this list is an ongoing process. You should be reviewing your search terms report weekly and adding new negative keywords. Every irrelevant click you prevent is pure profit saved. I remember one of our most successful campaigns for a consumer service was for a home cleaning company where we achieved a cost of just £5 per lead. A huge part of that success came from being absolutely ruthless with the negative keyword list and other optimisation techniques. It's that powerful.
You'll need to understand what a customer is actually worth...
The next bit of the puzzle is to stop thinking about "cheap leads" and start thinking about "affordable acquisition cost". To do that, you need to know what a customer is actually worth to your business over their lifetime. This is your Customer Lifetime Value, or LTV. Once you know this number, you can make much smarter decisions about your ad spend.
The calculation is pretty simple. You need three bits of info:
- Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): How much does a typical customer spend with you each month or year?
- Gross Margin %: What's your profit margin on that revenue? (Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue.
- Monthly Churn Rate %: What percentage of your customers do you lose each month?
The formula is: LTV = (ARPA * Gross Margin %) / Churn Rate %
For example, if a customer pays you €200 on average, your margin is 70%, and you lose 5% of your customers each month, your LTV is (€200 * 0.70) / 0.05 = €2,800.
This means each customer is worth €2,800 in gross margin to you. A common rule of thumb is to have a 3:1 LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio. This means for a €2,800 LTV, you can comfortably afford to spend up to €933 to acquire that customer. If your sales team closes 1 in 5 leads, you can afford to pay up to €186 per lead. Suddenly that €50 CPL from your 'Transactional' campaign doesn't look so expensive, does it? It looks like a bargain.
To make this easier, I've built a little interactive calculator for you. Play around with your own numbers to see what your LTV is and what you can afford to spend per lead.
This math is what seperates amateur advertisers from the pros. It frees you from the tyranny of trying to find the cheapest clicks and allows you to focus on finding the best customers, even if they cost a little more to reach.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
So, to bring it all together, here's a step-by-step action plan. This is the framework you should implement to fix your campaigns and start getting a real return on your investment in Frankfurt. It moves you away from just guessing keywords and towards a proper, data-driven strategy.
| Step | Action | Why It's Important |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Define the 'Nightmare' | Forget demographics. Identify the specific, urgent, and expensive problems your Frankfurt customers are trying to solve when they search on Google. | This is the foundation. It ensures your entire strategy is focused on solving real customer problems, leading to higher-quality leads and better ad relevance. |
| 2. Restructure Campaigns | Rebuild your Google Ads account with seperate campaigns for Transactional, Commercial, and Informational search intent. Allocate at least 70% of your budget to the Transactional campaign. | This gives you precise control over your budget, allowing you to invest heavily in users who are ready to buy, while minimizing spend on those who are just browsing. |
| 3. Build Negative Lists | Create a master negative keyword list with terms like "job," "ausbildung," "selbst machen," "gratis." Review your Search Terms report weekly to find and exclude more irrelevant queries. | This is the fastest way to stop wasting money. Every irrelevant click you prevent directly improves your ROI. |
| 4. Calculate Your LTV | Use the LTV formula or the calculator above to understand the true value of a customer. Use this to set a realistic target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). | This shifts your mindset from "cost-cutting" to "investing". Knowing you can spend €150 to acquire a €2,800 customer changes how you approach bidding and budgeting. |
| 5. Write Pain-Point Ads | Rewrite your ad copy to speak directly to the customer's 'nightmare'. Use the Problem-Agitate-Solve framework. E.g., "Rohrbruch in Frankfurt? (Problem) Wasser im Keller? (Agitate) Soforthilfe in 30 Min. Jetzt anrufen! (Solve)". | Generic ads get ignored. Ads that show you understand the customer's pain get clicked. This will dramatically improve your Click-Through Rate (CTR) and lead quality. |
I know this is a lot to take in, and it's a very different approach from just trying to find a list of keywords. The truth is, effective paid advertising is a complex specialism. It requires constant testing, analysis, and strategic adjustments. It’s not just about setting up a campaign and hoping for the best; it's about building a robust system designed to attract the right customers profitably.
This is where expert help can make a huge difference. An experienced consultant can implement this kind of structure for you much faster, avoiding the costly mistakes that come with learning on the fly. We could take this entire process off your hands, from the deep strategic thinking to the day-to-day optimisation, ensuring every pound of your ad spend is working as hard as it possibly can to grow your business.
If you'd like to discuss this in more detail, we offer a completely free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session where we can go through your current account and provide some more specific, actionable advice. It's often the quickest way to find the biggest opportunities for improvement.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh